Job Description:
Key Account Manager, Companion Animal Business Unit – Animal Health Canada
Reporting to the Associate Director, Sales Manager, Key Accounts and Remote Account Management, the Key Account Manager is responsible for managing the strategic accounts assigned within the Companion Animal Business Unit. This role focuses on developing, negotiating and growing long-term relationships and business opportunities related to our animal health products and services.
The incumbent will work closely with commercial teams, including Sales, Marketing and Veterinary Services, to establish strong relationships with key decision-makers and influencers. They will maintain regular contact with customers, develop an in-depth understanding of accounts and implement short- and long-term business plans to strengthen our reputation as a trusted business partner while maximizing sales and market share.
Key Responsibilities:
- Implement the key account management model across Companion Animal Business Unit accounts by fostering engagement, value creation, retention and account growth.
- Develop a deep understanding of customers and accounts in order to strengthen relationships and create differentiated value propositions.
- Build strong relationships and conclude agreements and partnerships with both emerging and established key accounts.
- Coordinate and support activities related to key account sponsorships, conferences, promotional initiatives and other account-related projects.
- Develop multi-level relationships within client organizations to strengthen engagement, improve account access at clinic level and foster better communication between clients and our company.
- Provide targeted support to the sales team for key accounts, including during customer visits, implementation of value-added programs and execution of commercial agreements.
- Collaborate with internal stakeholders to identify business opportunities and investment strategies that demonstrate the value of the partnership with the client.
- Implement individual key account business plans in close collaboration with the Regional Business Directors, Marketing and Veterinary Services.
- Conduct business analyses and account reviews as needed, providing relevant sales and performance information, including growth trends, occupancy rates and clinic performance.
- Ensure all activities are carried out in compliance with the Code of Conduct, company values and standards, as well as applicable policies, procedures, industry standards, laws and regulations.
Qualifications:
Required Experience and Skills:
- Bachelor's degree in marketing, sales, business management or a related field.
- Solid experience in marketing and/or sales of animal health products, or equivalent experience in key account management, training, strategy development or implementation in a relevant sector.
- Experience in the companion animal sector is an asset.
- Excellent negotiation skills and strong commercial skills, with the ability to identify and close opportunities in complex, large-scale negotiations.
- Proven success in account management, with the ability to establish and maintain strong client relationships and exert influence at all levels.
- Ability to work collaboratively and influence multidisciplinary teams, including in marketing, sales, regulatory affairs and legal affairs.
- Strong analytical skills, with the ability to interpret business metrics and use Microsoft Excel and Word effectively.
- Strategic and innovative approach to marketing and business development.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to interact effectively with key account stakeholders.
- Mastery of French and English is required.
The candidate must reside in one of the following provinces: Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick, Alberta
Travel requirements:
- Approximately 25% of the time.
This job offer is for an existing vacancy.
The anticipated base salary range for this position is $81,280 – $121,920 CAD. At our company, we are firmly committed to providing fair pay for comparable work and experience, which is a fundamental part of our organizational culture. Individual employee compensation is determined based on several factors, including relevant experience, skills and level of proficiency, as well as other legitimate factors related to appropriate internal comparators.
At our company, people are at the heart of our priorities. This position is eligible for our discretionary short-term incentive program, which promotes a pay-for-performance culture. In addition, our total rewards and benefits programs go beyond traditional plans (medical and retirement) to create a flexible and inclusive workplace conducive to employee well-being, development and long-term success.
We may use artificial intelligence and automated tools to support our recruitment process. These tools are used to support, not replace, human judgment. All hiring decisions are made by our hiring managers.
We are proud to be a company that values the contribution of diverse, talented and committed people. The fastest way to foster innovation is to bring together diverse ideas in an inclusive environment. We encourage our colleagues to respectfully challenge one another's views and solve problems collectively. We are an equal opportunity employer and are committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace.
We encourage applications from all qualified candidates. In accordance with our accommodation policies and applicable provincial and federal accessibility legislation, we are committed to providing reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process.
Required Skills:
Account Management, Account Management, Account Planning, Accounts Development, Animal Health Sales, Bid Management, Business Acumen, Business Decisions, Business Development, Business Opportunity Identification, Contract Management, Customer Centric Solutions, Customer Engagement, Customer Management, Customer Relationship Building, Customer Satisfaction, Data Analysis, Financial Acumen, Industry Knowledge, Key Account Management, Market Analysis, Market Development, Product Sales, Relationship Building, Relationship Management {+ 8 more}
Preferred Skills:
Current Employees apply HERE
Current Contingent Workers apply HERE
Secondary Language(s) Job Description:
Key Account Manager, Companion Animal Business Unit - Animal Health Canada
Reporting to the Associate Director – Sales Manager, Key Accounts and Remote Account Management, the Key Account Manager is responsible for managing assigned key accounts within the Companion Animal Business Unit. This role focuses on developing, negotiating, and growing long-term relationships and sales opportunities for our Animal Health products and services.
The Key Account Manager will work collaboratively with the commercial organization, including Sales, Marketing, and Veterinary Services, to build strong relationships with key decision makers and influencers. The role will establish regular contact with customers, deepen account understanding, and execute both short- and long-term account plans to strengthen our reputation as a trusted business partner while maximizing sales and market share.
Key Responsibilities:
- Implement the key account management model across Companion Animal Business Unit accounts by engaging, creating value, retaining, and growing accounts.
- Develop deep customer understanding and account insights to enhance relationships and create differentiated value propositions.
- Build strong relationships and drive agreements and partnerships across both emerging and established key accounts.
- Coordinate and support tasks related to key account sponsorships, conferences, promotional activities, and other account initiatives.
- Develop relationships across multiple levels within key account organizations to strengthen engagement, improve account access at clinic level, and enhance communication between customers and our company.
- Provide the sales team with targeted support in key accounts, including sales calls, implementation of value-added programs, and support for account agreement execution
- Collaborate with internal stakeholders to identify business opportunities and investment strategies that demonstrate the value of the partnership with the customer.
- Execute individual key account plans in close collaboration with Regional Business Managers, Marketing, and Veterinary Services.
- Conduct business analysis and account reviews as required, providing relevant sales and performance information such as growth trends, occupancy, and clinic performance.
- Ensure all activities are performed in compliance with the company’s Code of Conduct, Values and Standards, policies, procedures, industry standards, and applicable laws and regulations.
Qualifications:
Required Experience and Skills:
- Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Sales, Business Management, or another related field.
- Solid experience in marketing and/or sales of Animal Health products, or equivalent experience in key account management, training, strategy development, or execution in a relevant industry.
- Experience in the Companion Animal business is an asset.
- Strong negotiation and commercial skills, with the ability to identify and close opportunities in complex, large-scale negotiations.
- Proven success in account management, with the ability to build and sustain strong customer relationships and influence at all levels.
- Ability to work collaboratively and influence cross-functional teams, including Marketing, Sales, Regulatory, and Legal.
- Strong analytical skills, with the ability to interpret business metrics and use Microsoft Excel and Word effectively.
- Strategic and innovative approach to marketing and business development.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage effectively with key account stakeholders.
- Fluency in English and French is required
Candidate should reside in one of the following provinces Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick, Alberta
Travel requirement:
- Approximately 25%.
This job posting is for an existing vacancy position .
The anticipated base salary range for this position is $81,280 – $121,920 CAD. At our company, we are firmly committed to provide fair and equitable pay for similar work and experience as a fundamental aspect of our workplace culture. Individual employee salaries will be based on several factors such as relevant experience, skills & proficiency, and/or other bona fide factors relative to appropriate internal comparators.
At our Company, we lead with people. This role includes eligibility to our discretionary short-term-incentive plan which fosters a pay-for-performance culture. Also, our contemporary rewards and benefit programs go beyond traditional medical plans and retirement programs, to create a flexible, inclusive workplace to support employee well-being, development and long-term success.
We may use artificial intelligence and automated tools to support our recruitment process. AI tools are used to support, but not replace, human judgment. All hiring decisions are made by our hiring managers.
We are proud to be a company that embraces the value of bringing diverse, talented, and committed people together. The fastest way to breakthrough innovation is when diverse ideas come together in an inclusive environment. We encourage our colleagues to respectfully challenge one another’s thinking and approach problems collectively. We are an equal opportunity employer, committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace.
We encourage applications from all qualified candidates. In accordance with our accommodation policies and applicable provincial and federal accessibility legislation, we are committed to providing reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process.
This job posting is for an existing vacancy position.
The Primary location for this role is
CAN - Quebec - Kirkland (16750 Transcanada)
The anticipated base salary range for this position is listed below. This range reflects the Company's reasonable expectation of the base salary applicable to this role at the time of posting. At our company, we are firmly committed to providing fair and equitable pay for similar work and experience as a fundamental aspect of our workplace culture. Individual salaries will be based on several factors such as relevant experience, skills and proficiency, and other bona fide factors relative to appropriate internal comparators.
We may use artificial intelligence and automated tools to support our recruitment process. AI tools are used to support, but not replace, human judgment. All hiring decisions are made by our hiring managers.
At our Company, we lead with people. This role includes eligibility for our discretionary short-term incentive plan, which fosters a pay-for-performance culture. Our rewards and benefits programs go beyond traditional medical plans and retirement programs to create a flexible, inclusive workplace that supports employee well-being, development, and long-term success.
Additional location(s): Please note the base salary range above applies to the Primary Location of the position role, including where the role is designated as remote but tied to the Primary Location for compensation purposes. Where a role has other listed locations, different compensation guidelines may apply. You may find the base salary ranges for additional locations below. If the base salary range is not listed for the location to which you are applying, our Talent Acquisition team may provide further information about compensation applicable to your location, where required by law.
Additional location(s) Compensation Information:
$81,280 – $121,920 CAD.
Search Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully
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.
Employee Status:
Regular
Relocation:
No relocation
Visa Sponsorship:
No
Travel Requirements:
25%
Flexible Work Arrangements:
Hybrid
Shift:
Not Indicated
Valid Driving LIcense:
Yes
Hazardous Material(s):
n/a
Job Posting End Date:
10/23/2026
*A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFORE the listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date.
