Job Description

Overview:

The HR Automation Senior Specialist drives the employee experience agenda through the prioritization and identification of processes that can be enhanced by emerging technologies and improving the ease of doing business for our internal customers through the automation of rule-based and repetitive tasks.  These services are differentiated according to our Moments that Matter approach by ensuring that key interactions can deliver a consumer grade-experience to our employees whilst remaining interactions are scalable, robust, and reliable.

Reporting directly to the Learning Operations Service Experience Lead, s/he is responsible for assessing automation, data analytics and emerging digital opportunities with a view to their design, development, deployment, and maintenance across our Learning Operations landscape.

The Automation Specialist is responsible for:

• • Leading the process assessment and automation feasibility studies across the Learning Operations landscape to inform the roadmap for future deployments.
  • Enabling our contact channel optimization strategy embracing emerging technologies such as Robotics Process Optimization (RPA), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Chatbots.
  • Functional oversight of the installed automations, including the continuity of services during any unplanned outage or interruption to automation services, e.g., Bot management.
  • Tracking and communicating automation benefits to demonstrate how digital solutions create capacity, reduce manual effort, and lower operational costs.
  • Managing the roadmap to the planned rollout schedule whilst anticipating the potential for risk and planned interruptions due to specific technical or operational constraints and assuring business as usual continuity for on-going operations.

Duties, Responsibilities, Activities:

Drive Learning Operations Automation Agenda

• • Drive the RPA program using quality assessment tools, audits, and best practices.
  • Review application specifications and work with project teams to gain in-depth understanding of system requirements; including the impact on internal and external customers, use cases, pilots, etc.
  • Enable an automation approach which ensures the delivery of proper process automation while balancing schedule and budgetary constraints.

Prioritize and Identify Opportunities

• • Assess candidate processes and in partnership with HR Solutions identify technology solutions to drive the RPA and AI agenda for Learning Operations.
  • Collaborate with functional Operations teams providing consultation on feature and usability design and enhancements/ improvements for technology applications.

Maintain and Assure Continuity of Services

• • Maintain close working relationships with partners/ providers to understand their release management roadmap.
  • Identify opportunities and potential impacts to the service delivery landscape from future releases; plan and prepare implementation and risk mitigation approaches to assure the delivery of business-as-usual.
  • Create or update documentation including architecture and design documents. Estimate development efforts and provide guidance on development guidelines.

Deploy Roadmap

• • Liaise with our HR Solutions partners in the deployment of the Learning Operations Automation roadmap.
  • Assist partners in the design and implementation of the automation strategy and program.
  • Participate actively in any change/improvement discussions, contributing as per experience of any internal/external challenges in your field.
  • Execute tests and validate test results as required.
  • Develop and maintain automated processes.
  • Communicate significant issues or developments identified during automation and testing activities and provide process improvement recommendations to management.
  • Assist with change strategy development and its implementation into the organization.
  • Assess and analyze the change impact.
  • Identify any anticipated resistance from the business.
  • Contribute to the building of capability across the organization in the automation of employee service delivery in the Learning space.

Skills/Knowledge Required/Preferred

• • Proven knowledge and understanding of the impact of digital innovation on the HR service delivery landscape with exposure to the Learning space.
  • Experience working with cloud-based service technology platforms.
  • Prior experience working as a functional expert with RPA, AI and cloud-based HR solutions.
  • Excellent communication and influencing skills.
  • Strong listening & comprehension skills.
  • Strong orientation toward Innovation & Creativity.
  • Strong interpersonal skills including relationship building & maintenance.
  • Strong attention to detail and follow-up; strong analytical skills together with highly developed business acumen.
  • Demonstrated ability to work in teams and collaborate/ partner with others from across the business.
  • Ability to clearly articulate messages to a variety of audiences.
  • Problem solving and root cause identification skills.
  • Able to work effectively at all levels in an organization.
  • Familiarity with project management approaches, tools and phases of the project lifecycle.

Minimum Experience Required/Preferred

• • Bachelor’s Degree required, STEM or related experience preferred.
  • 3+ years RPA development experience in RPA industry leading platforms.
  • 3-5 years experience working within RPA, AI, or robotics development lifecycles; familiarity with scripting or programming languages is advantageous but not required.
  • Hands-on proficiency with Microsoft Power Apps, Power Automate, and AI tools (such as Microsoft Copilot, GPT-based models, or Google Gemini).
  • Automation experience in particular in a cloud-based environment with an integrated service platform.

What we offer:

• Exciting work in a great team, global projects, international environment
• Opportunity to learn and grow professionally within the company globally
• Hybrid working model, flexible role pattern
• Pension and health insurance contributions
• Internal reward system plus referral program
• 5 weeks annual leave, 5 sick days, 15 days of certified sick leave paid above statutory requirements annually, 40 paid hours annually for volunteering activities, 12 weeks of parental contribution
• Cafeteria for tax free benefits according to your choice (meal vouchers, sport, culture, health, travel, etc.), Multisport Card
• Vodafone, Raiffeisen Bank, Foodora, and other discount programs
• Up-to-date laptop and iPhone
• Parking in the garage for drivers or showers for bikers
• Competitive salary, incentive pay, and many more

Required Skills:

Analytical Thinking, Automation, Change Management, Data Analysis, Data Visualization, HR Analytics, HR Automation, HR Documentation, HR Information Management, HR Process Design, HR Process Management, HR Systems Implementation, Human Resources (HR) Technology, Process Improvements, Vendor Management

Preferred Skills:

Current Employees apply HERE

Current Contingent Workers apply HERE

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:

No Travel Required

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Hybrid

Shift:

Not Indicated

Valid Driving License:

No

Hazardous Material(s):

NA

Job Posting End Date:

10/4/2026

*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.