Associate Director – Hyderabad Tech Center Site Operations Leader

• Based in Hyderabad, join a global healthcare biopharma company and be part of a 130- year legacy of success backed by ethical integrity, forward momentum, and an inspiring mission to achieve new milestones in global healthcare.  

• Be part of an organisation driven by digital technology and data-backed approaches that support a diversified portfolio of prescription medicines, vaccines, and animal health products.  

• Drive innovation and execution excellence. Be a part of a team with passion for using data, analytics, and insights to drive decision-making, and which creates custom software, allowing us to tackle some of the world's greatest health threats.  

Our Technology Centers focus on creating a space where teams can come together to deliver business solutions that save and improve lives. An integral part of our company’s IT operating model, Tech Centers are globally distributed locations where each IT division has employees to enable our digital transformation journey and drive business outcomes. These locations, in addition to the other sites, are essential to supporting our business and strategy.  

A focused group of leaders in each Tech Center helps to ensure we can manage and improve each location, from investing in growth, success, and well-being of our people, to making sure colleagues from each IT division feel a sense of belonging to managing critical emergencies. And together, we must leverage the strength of our team to collaborate globally to optimize connections and share best practices across the Tech Centers.  

Role Overview 

The Associate Director, Site Operations Leader is accountable for leading the Hyderabad Tech Center site operations as a critical enabler of Global IT priorities. The role provides operational leadership and governance for our strategically important Technology Center in Hyderabad, ensuring a safe, efficient, compliant, and employee-focused environment that supports business continuity, scalability, and the delivery of global priorities. 

The role is positioned within a broader India and Global technology center network and partners closely with stakeholders at the Hyderabad Tech Center, Pune Tech Node, global IT functions, and other technology centers across geographies. The role is accountable for shaping, sustaining and strengthening site readiness and operations, employee experience, financial stewardship and ensuring service delivery excellence across internal teams and external vendors. 

Key responsibilities: 

1) Site Operations Leadership 

• Own the day-to-day leadership of Hyderabad Tech Center operations, ensuring the site consistently supports employee and business needs with reliability, quality, and control. 

• Establish and sustain operational processes, standards, and governance mechanisms that enable an effective site operating model. 

• Monitor service performance, identify gaps, and drive timely corrective actions to maintain continuity, efficiency, and service quality. 

• Continuously improve site operations by identifying opportunities to strengthen efficiency, responsiveness, and the overall employee experience. 

• Act as the key operational leader for the site, ensuring site priorities are aligned with broader Global IT and technology center objectives. 

2) Budget Planning and Financial Control 

• In partnership with Site Finance and Global IT FP&A lead annual and ongoing budget planning for site operations, including forecasting, tracking, and variance analysis, 

• Exercise financial stewardship over site-related spend, ensuring resources are used effectively and in alignment with business priorities. 

• Identify opportunities to optimize cost, value, and service delivery without compromising quality, safety, or employee experience. 

• Maintain transparency, control, and governance in all site-related expenditures. 

3) Site Ramp-Up and Operational Readiness 

• Lead and coordinate operational readiness activities for site ramp-up, transition, or expansion initiatives impacting the Hyderabad Tech Center. 

• Manage cross-functional dependencies across HR, Facilities, IT, Communications, Global IT Talent Enablement, Global Talent Acquisition (GTA), and other support functions to ensure readiness for launch, stabilization, and scale-up. 

• Track milestones, risks, actions, and issues to maintain momentum and ensure timely escalation and resolution. 

• Ensure the operational infrastructure, service model, and support processes are in place to enable effective site growth and continuity. 

• Help ensure the Hyderabad Tech Center remains a critical and scalable location supporting Global IT priorities. 

4) Employee Experience and Workplace Services 

• Drive the employee experience agenda for the site, ensuring workplace services are responsive, reliable, and aligned to the needs of the organization. 

• Responsible for overseeing and ensuring the effective delivery of employee-facing services such as transport, catering, parking, and related workplace amenities in partnership with teams like GWES, Procurement, Finance & other teams. 

• Serve as a visible site leader and key point of contact for workplace matters, proactively identifying issues and opportunities through close engagement with employees and stakeholders. 

• Partner with internal teams to improve the quality of workplace services and enhance the overall site experience. 

• Use employee insights and feedback to continuously strengthen site engagement, service responsiveness, and workplace effectiveness. 

• Partner with relevant stakeholders in Global Talent Acquisition and Communications on Employer Value Proposition and external branding initiatives. 

5) Stakeholder Engagement and Cross-Functional Collaboration 

• Build trusted relationships with internal stakeholders across Global IT, the Hyderabad Tech Center, Pune Tech Node, and relevant Global Support Functions (GSFs) including HR, Finance, GWES (Facilities, EHS & Real Estate), Legal, Ethics & Compliance, and Global Security. 

• Partner with local and global stakeholders to align priorities, resolve issues, and support site and enterprise objectives. 

• Influence across functions and geographies to ensure that site operations are integrated with broader technology center and Global IT needs. 

• Represent the Hyderabad Tech Center in relevant forums and discussions to support decision-making and execution. 

6) Vendor Management and Service Governance 

• Provide governance over external service providers supporting site operations, working through the Procurement function and respective business owners for those vendor relationships. 

• Establish review mechanisms to assess vendor performance, address gaps, and drive accountability. 

• Manage service partners in a way that supports operational excellence, continuity, and a high-quality employee experience. 

7) Event and Leadership Visit Coordination 

• Provide leadership oversight to the planning and execution of site events, employee engagements, town halls, and leadership visits. 

• Ensure all logistics, services, and stakeholder coordination are managed with professionalism, quality, and attention to detail. 

• Deliver site experiences that reflect well on the organization and support leadership visibility, employee connection, and organizational culture. 

• Support effective representation of the company in external forums such as BioAsia and similar GCC forums in India, including engagement with local government representatives and delegates, in alignment with the right internal stakeholders. 

8) Team Leadership 

• Lead and guide the site operations team and support resources, setting direction, priorities, and expectations for strong execution. 

• Foster a culture of accountability, service orientation, and continuous improvement. Coach and develop team members and support resources to build capability, ownership, and responsiveness. 

• Ensure the team operates effectively in support of a growing and increasingly complex site environment. 

9) Compliance and Risk Management 

• Ensure site operations are conducted in accordance with applicable safety, statutory, regulatory, and organizational requirements. 

• Identify operational risks early and implement preventive or corrective actions as needed. 

• Maintain a strong control environment and promote a culture of accountability, compliance, and operational discipline. 

• Support a safe and resilient workplace environment that enables continuity and protects the organization. 

Scope and Impact 

• The role is critical to the functioning of the Hyderabad Tech Center, which serves as a strategically important center for Global IT priorities. 

• The position has an impact beyond Hyderabad through alignment and collaboration with global IT stakeholders across functions, and engagement with other Technology centers and Tech Nodes across geographies. 

• The role has direct impact on operational continuity, workplace effectiveness, employee experience, vendor service quality, and site readiness, with broader influence on the ability of Global IT to deliver its priorities. 

Preferred Competencies – Operations Leader 

• Enterprise-minded operational leadership 

• Strategic judgment and business acumen 

• Stakeholder influence and cross-functional collaboration 

• Change and project leadership 

• Financial stewardship and vendor governance 

• Employee experience orientation 

• Problem solving and escalation judgment 

• Team leadership and accountability 

• Compliance and risk awareness 

• Clear and effective communication 

Experiences required: 

• 15+ years of experience in site operations, workplace services, facilities management, or a related operational leadership role. 

• Experience in a technology center, GCC, shared services, or matrixed multinational environment is preferred. 

• Ability to operate credibly with senior leaders and cross-functional stakeholders at local, regional, and global levels 

• Proven experience managing budgets, service delivery, and cross-functional stakeholders across multiple functions and geographies. 

• Demonstrated ability to lead operational readiness, transition, ramp-up, or scale-up activities. 

• Strong understanding of compliance, safety, and workplace operating requirements. 

• Experience leading teams and support resources in a complex, evolving environment. 

Who we are:  

We are known as Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, New Jersey, USA in the United States and Canada and MSD everywhere else. For more than a century, we have been 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.  

What we look for:  

Imagine getting up in the morning for a job as important as helping to save and improve lives around the world. Here, you have that opportunity. You can put your empathy, creativity, digital mastery, or scientific genius to work in collaboration with a diverse group of colleagues who pursue and bring hope to countless people who are battling some of the most challenging diseases of our time. Our team is constantly evolving, so if you are among the intellectually curious, join us—and start making your impact today.