Job Description
Are you passionate about being the enabling force driving the leaders who are shaping the future of AI in healthcare and enterprise operations Do you thrive in fast-paced environments where attention to detail discretion and strategic foresight are essential Join our AI Process Intelligence Software Engineering and Human Experience Organization (APEX) within IT as the Executive Administrative Assistant to the Chief AI Officer (CAIO).
In this role you will serve as the CAIOs strategic execution partner owning calendar stewardship meeting preparation relationship management and day-to-day orchestration while acting as a strategic partner to ensure the CAIOs time is managed to focus on delivering the organizations AI vision and priorities. You will leverage Generative and Agentic AI to maximize your effectiveness and lead the evolution of intelligent admin assistant agents staying at the forefront of AI and agentic capabilities. You will collaborate across the company and with external partners to help the CAIO drive outcomes through disciplined time management strategic stakeholder engagement and crisp execution.
Core Responsibilities: Operational Excellence and Executive Support
Act as the primary point of contact to the CAIO; manage inbound requests with discretion judgment and prioritization aligned to strategic objectives.
Own end-to-end calendar management ensuring time is allocated strategically to maintain key relationships with company executives and external parties (vendors industry leaders academic partners regulators standards bodies ecosystem communities).
Coordinate complex domestic and international travel multi-leg itineraries visa/passport processing and on-the-ground logistics; develop contingency plans and provide real-time support during travel.
Process expense reports accurately and promptly; maintain budgets and actuals for all of APEX and reconcile costs for APEX-related initiatives and events.
Maintain comprehensive records documents and knowledge assets; manage executive files and ensure confidentiality.
Strategic Partnership and Time Stewardship
Understand the CAIOs strategic vision annual objectives and quarterly priorities; ensure the CAIOs calendar and engagements directly map to strategic goals OKRs and key initiatives.
Partner with the CAIO to triage and prioritize opportunities requests and meetings; recommend acceptance/deferral based on impact readiness and alignment.
Build and maintain a strategic relationship map (internal and external) and an engagement plan to ensure regular purposeful touchpoints with critical stakeholders.
Prepare the CAIO for each meeting day week and month: agenda framing stakeholder profiles recent interactions decision points risks/issues and desired outcomes.
Coordinate pre-reads meeting materials and follow-ups; ensure actions owners and timelines are captured and executed.
Meeting Communication and AI-Orchestrated Workflows
Develop and drive operating rhythms: weekly exec one-on-ones steering committees vendor reviews R&D syncs quarterly business reviews board updates and quarterly town halls.
Partner with APEX/IT Communications to craft edit and review e-mails memos internal announcements and external communications; ensure messaging aligns with CAIO strategy and company policies.
Build agendas and briefing packets; synthesize complex technical inputs (AI/ML strategy model performance compliance risk) into clear concise executive summaries for the CAIO.
Track and ensure closure on decisions and action items from meetings; follow through with stakeholders to keep momentum.
Anticipate and mitigate scheduling conflicts risks and reputational considerations; escalate thoughtfully with recommended options.
Use Generative and Agentic AI (within all approved corporate systems) to draft briefings summarize pre-reads generate meeting minutes and action trackers prioritize tasks and proactively flag conflicts or dependencies maintaining appropriate review for accuracy tone and compliance.
Program Process and Intelligent Agent Enablement
Establish and maintain executive operating mechanisms (cadences calendars dashboards trackers) to sustain progress across APEX and the CAIOs portfolio (strategy initiatives pilots partnerships compliance and adoption).
Coordinate town halls and leadership strategy/operational sessions & offsites; liaise with Conference Services Webcast Services and Communications to deliver high-quality events.
Support utilization of collaboration platforms and knowledge bases to keep materials organized searchable and current across all approved corporate systems.
Drive continuous improvement in administrative processes across APEX; mentor and align with peer administrative assistants to standardize best practices and build community.
Lead the evolution of intelligent admin assistant agents: define use cases author prompts/playbooks curate context test and QA agent workflows measure outcomes train colleagues and partner with IT/AI teams to improve reliability and integration with enterprise systemsstaying on the forefront of AI and agentic capabilities.
Coordinate and ensure successful delivery of communications across the company specifically focused on initiatives like AI Horizons webcast AI Town Halls etc..
Stakeholder and Vendor Engagement
Cultivate enabling relationships with admin assistants and support functions to all company executives technical leaders vendors and external experts; coordinate introductions demos and connect sessions aligned with CAIO strategy.
Support vendor and partner lifecycle activities (NDA routing scheduling evaluations tracking milestones coordinating executive briefings).
Serve as a trusted representative of the CAIO in coordinating cross-functional work ensuring professionalism and confidentiality at all times.
Risk Compliance and Confidentiality
Uphold data privacy security and compliance expectations in all administrative and AI-enabled activities including handling sensitive information and regulated content.
Ensure awareness of and adherence to applicable regulations and internal policies relevant to the role including GxP where applicable.
Schedule and Availability
Hybrid role with on-site presence in Rahway NJ.
Flexibility to support global stakeholders across time zones.
Availability after hours as needed and on weekends when the CAIO is traveling or during critical events.
Education: High School Diploma.
Minimum 8 years of Administrative Assistant experience.
Minimum 3 years supporting senior executives (VP and above) as an Executive Administrative Assistant.
Advanced proficiency in MS Office Suite (Outlook Word Excel PowerPoint) and collaboration tools; ability to create executive-ready materials.
Experience scheduling complex multi-leg domestic and international travel; demonstrated experience processing visas/passports.
SAP or equivalent ERP experience processing expense reports and basic financial tasks.
Exceptional communication skills to interact effectively with executives and internal/external stakeholders both onsite and remotely.
Demonstrated experience using Generative AI tools to draft summarize plan and streamline workflows with strong judgment on application and review.
Proven ability to handle confidential information with discretion and professionalism.
Preferred Qualifications
Advanced education (associate or bachelors degree) or relevant certifications (Certified Administrative Professional PMP PHR/SPHR project coordination).
Experience in healthcare life sciences or enterprise IT; familiarity with AI/ML concepts and terminology to support effective meeting preparation and communication.
Experience with Agentic AI or workflow automation tools (e.g. copilots orchestration agents RPA/IPA platforms); ability to design prompts templates and process automations.
Strong organizational skills with the ability to prioritize simultaneous assignments and manage to deadlines.
Extraordinary attention to detail; proactive self-directed and comfortable making decisions with incomplete information.
Experience with event planning executive operating rhythms and cross-functional coordination.
Familiarity with all approved corporate systems for collaboration knowledge management finance and vendor management.
Experience mentoring others on AI-assisted workflows and establishing practical playbooks.
Success Measures
CAIO calendar reflects strategic priorities and yields measurable progress on quarterly objectives.
CAIO is well-prepared for all meetings decisions are documented and actions are closed on time.
Visible productivity and quality improvements from AI-assisted workflows with consistent adherence to company policies and GxP considerations where applicable.
Adoption and satisfaction with intelligent admin assistant agents across the APEX admin community; documented playbooks and process improvements.
Stakeholder relationship health indicators improve across internal and external networks.
Administrative processes are reliable efficient and continuously improved.
Confidentiality compliance and professionalism are consistently maintained.
#MSJR
The salary range for this role is:
$98400 - $155000
This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. An employees position within the salary range will be based on several factors including but not limited to relevant education qualifications certifications experience skills geographic location government requirements and business or organizational needs.
The successful candidate will be eligible for annual bonus and long-term incentive if applicable.
We offer a comprehensive package of benefits. Available benefits include medical dental vision healthcare and other insurance benefits (for employee and family) retirement benefits including 401(k) paid holidays vacation and compassionate and sick days.
Required Skills:
Adaptability Adaptability Collaboration Tools Communication Management Communication Systems Confidential Data Handling Database Management Data Entry Detail-Oriented Document Management Enterprise Systems Event Planning Executive Summary Facility Management Interpersonal Relationships Operational Excellence Prioritization Process Improvements Processing Expense Reports Purchase Order Management Reporting and Analysis SAP Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Scheduling Stakeholder Communications Stakeholder Engagement 2 morePreferred Skills:
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NoTravel Requirements:
10%Flexible Work Arrangements:
HybridShift:
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02/2/2026*A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFOREthe listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date.
Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, New Jersey, USA is known as “Merck” in the United States, Canada & Puerto Rico. We are known as “MSD” in Europe, Middle East, Africa, Latin America & Asia Pacific. We are a global biopharmaceutical leader with a diverse portfolio of prescription medicine ... View more