Director, Customer Care

Job Description

Our Animal Health Division is a trusted global leader in veterinary medicine, dedicated to preserving and improving health, well-being, and performance of animals and the people who care for them. We are a global team of professionals working together to make a positive difference in animal care and the world’s food supply and have a deep sense of responsibility towards our customers, consumers, animals, society, and our planet. 

Through our commitment to The Science of Healthier Animals®, we offer veterinarians, farmers, pet owners and governments one of the widest ranges of veterinary pharmaceuticals, vaccines and health management solutions and services as well as an extensive suite of digitally connected identification, traceability, and monitoring products. We invest in dynamic and comprehensive R&D resources and a modern, global supply chain. We are present in more than 50 countries, while our products are available in some 150 markets. 

For more than a century, we have been inventing for life, bringing forward medicines and vaccines for many of the world's most challenging diseases. Today, our company continues to be at the forefront of research to deliver innovative health solutions and advance the prevention and treatment of diseases that threaten people and animals around the world. 

Job Description:

The Head of Customer Care is a key position in our journey to transform our Customer Care organization. This role will be responsible for elevating our customer experience by evaluating our customer care model, which has grown along with our business and through acquisitions. The incumbent will ensure our internal and external customer journeys are seamless, through one entry point and a customer-centric team that provides personalized, high-value customer interactions based on customer attributes. This individual will ensure our people, processes, and systems are harmonized and simplified, providing end-to-end transparency, and aligned KPIs to deliver on high customer satisfaction.

This individual will define, create, and lead the implementation and execution of innovative strategies that deliver a consistent and trusted service experience for our company's animal health customers. To create competitive advantage, and ultimately drive revenue growth through well-served and engaged customers, the incumbent will champion the customer experience while balancing the realities of our business needs.

The Head of Customer Care will report to the head of US. Strategy and Business Channels and will be responsible for ensuring the entire Customer Care team and all the channel groups meet customer service needs. As we continue to evolve our operating model to support future growth, we also seek ways to evolve our capabilities and enhance synergies across teams with the goal of delivering a seamless, unified customer experience. This position will oversee the operations and leaders for Direct Vet and Monitoring, Channel Partners, and Large Direct customers as well as Key Customer Accounts and Pet Owners, these teams are located in Omaha, NE and Dallas, TX. As such, this leader will develop and inspire a team of leaders who uphold service standards and are driven to elevate our customer experience. This individual will be responsible for bringing unity to new and existing teams, upskilling, reskilling, and ensuring teams are engaging in best practice sharing and ensuring the best customer service experience. This role will also work with Marketing, Finance, Business Service Center (BSC), and other groups to ensure highest operational excellence in our company's animal health.

Primary Responsibilities:

Strategic (20%)

• Shape the strategy of the customer care team and lay out the roadmap to achieve goals

• Define and execute policies and procedures to facilitate an enthusiastic, holistic and effective customer service experience

• Identify initiatives and improvements in technology, systems, and policies to enhance service and employee retention; work collaboratively across functions to design and implement initiatives

 Operational (50%)

• Extensive SAP experience, ability to navigate systems, particularly related to customer service queries

• Making recommendations on practical project solutions in regard to SAP

• Provide data-driven insights on Key Performance Indicators (KPI) and standardized business metrics; taking action as needed

• Manage dashboards and reports to leadership

• Continue to develop and implement methods to record, assess, and analyze customer feedback across their journey

Leadership (30%)

• Lead, manage, and develop direct and indirect team members to increase talent, diversity, capabilities, and drive performance.

• Participate in the recruitment of industry-leading talent to build a high-performing team.

• Proactively evolve culture through providing feedback, ongoing monitoring, and coaching to develop highly effective team

• Participate as a member of the Livestock Leadership team; partner with them and other key stakeholders to champion, develop, and communicate a consistent strategic platform, mission, and purpose for the organization

• Partner, communicate, and facilitate collaborative interactions with peer organizations to ensure objectives, tactics, and long-term strategies are aligned and executed appropriately to achieve business goals.

• Ensure plans/actions/decisions do not negatively impact other of our company's species / business units.

• Manage and implement department budget

• Inspire and mentor direct reports to drive performance

• Support associate directors in systems / operations processes, customer relations & issue resolution, if escalation required

• Assist in hiring, training, and placing Customer Care Reps to ensure performance and meet requirements

Key Stakeholders

Internal – Business Ops, IT and Business functions across organization

External – Vet professionals, Strategic Accounts and Pet Owners

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree required; Master’s Degree/MBA preferred

• Minimum of 10 years of SAP experience

• Minimum of 10 years of Customer Care/Service experience

• Minimum of 10 years of people management experience

• Omaha, NE or surrounding area

Required Skills and Experience:

• Strong strategic leadership ability

• Strong financial acumen and budget planning skills

• Ability to manage budget and resources effectively

• Proven track record of managing, leading, coaching, and developing a high-performing team

• Ability to effectively influence key stakeholders and customer leadership, and drive business decisions, and sales strategies

• Demonstration of excellent business acumen, relationship management and account management skills

• Expertise in customer communication planning and sales strategy

• Advanced written and verbal communication skills

• Demonstrated computer proficiency including MS Office, Xcel emphasis and web applications

• 25% travel required

Leadership Behaviors

• Demonstrate Ethics & Integrity

• Drive Results

• Focus on Customers

• Make Rapid Disciplined Decisions

• Act with Courage & Candor

• Foster Collaboration

Professional Competencies

• Business & Financial Acumen

• Working Across Boundaries

• Strategic Thinking

• Project Management

• Productive Communication

• Problem Solving

Core Commercial Functional Competencies

• Customer and Market Insights

• Strategic Business Management

• Product Knowledge & Portfolio Management

• Account Management

• Customer Engagement

• Market Access

NOTICE FOR INTERNAL APPLICANTS

In accordance with Managers' Policy - Job Posting and Employee Placement, all employees subject to this policy are required to have a minimum of twelve (12) months of service in current position prior to applying for open positions.

If you have been offered a separation benefits package, but have not yet reached your separation date and are offered a position within the salary and geographical parameters as set forth in the Summary Plan Description (SPD) of your separation package, then you are no longer eligible for your separation benefits package. To discuss in more detail, please contact your HRBP or Talent Acquisition Advisor.

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We are an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, or disability status, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.  For more information about personal rights under the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment laws, visit:

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U.S. Hybrid Work Model

Effective September 5, 2023, employees in office-based positions in the U.S. will be working a Hybrid work consisting of three total days on-site per week, Monday - Thursday, although the specific days may vary by site or organization, with Friday designated as a remote-working day, unless business critical tasks require an on-site presence.This Hybrid work model does not apply to, and daily in-person attendance is required for, field-based positions; facility-based, manufacturing-based, or research-based positions where the work to be performed is located at a Company site; positions covered by a collective-bargaining agreement (unless the agreement provides for hybrid work); or any other position for which the Company has determined the job requirements cannot be reasonably met working remotely. Please note, this Hybrid work model guidance also does not apply to roles that have been designated as “remote”.

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Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company.  No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails. 

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