Head of Scientific & Capability Learning

Job Description Summary

The Head of Scientific Learning & Capability is a strategic enterprise leader responsible for designing building and sustaining industryleading capabilities across International Medical Affairs (IMA). This role leads the Scientific Learning & Capability team to strengthen scientific functional and execution capabilities across International Regional and Country medical teams.

The Director defines and delivers a coherent learning strategy and curriculum that enhances individual and team performance improves key medical metrics and ensures organizational readiness for current and future business needs. They drive standardization and consistency of learning practices processes and tools and enable effective knowledge management across IMA. They design and deploy strategic learning programs covering both scientific and field medical capabilities tailored to International Regional and Country needs and set clear standards for learning effectiveness measurement and governance. The role oversees field execution capabilities including the design and delivery of core curricula (e.g. iSEA) and other field medical learning pathways to ensure consistent highquality execution in the field.

Within this remit the Director systematically assesses capability needs across IMA including abovefunction skills working closely with Head of Medical Knowledge and Innovation team in GMA as well as the Head of Learning & Capability Building in International to ensure alignment with evolving business priorities. As the Medical voice of learning the Director represents IMA in the International Learning Council and other governance forums ensuring medical needs are reflected and aligned with enterprise learning strategies.

They partner closely with technology and platform teams to embed modern learning solutions and digital capabilities (including global learning platforms and analytics) into medical teams and manage external vendor partnerships for learning design and doing so the Director also leads change management efforts to drive adoption of new tools processes and ways of working ensuring that learning solutions are both impactful and sustainable.

This role can be based in Dublin Ireland or Barcelona Spain or London United Kingdom.

Job Description

Major Accountabilities:

Effective Capability Building:

• Develop and implement a fitforpurpose industryleading capability curriculum for key medical roles across the International Medical organization including country and field medical teams.
• Lead the design of integrated curricula covering scientific acumen Medical Affairs excellence field medical execution and crossfunctional skills. Partner with Director Medical Data Analytics Insights & AI to ensure appropriate and timely technical trainings where needed.
• Systematically assess learning and capability gaps (rolespecific and crossfunctional) using a datadriven approach (e.g. needs analyses performance metrics feedback) and translate these into clear learning priorities and solutions. Identify training and capability needs related to platforms working with and leading their team in the design and delivery of targeted modules and elearnings.
• Design and implement innovative blended learning solutions (e.g. virtual inperson selfpaced social learning) to drive sustained capability development and application on the job.
• Define and apply consistent standards for learning effectiveness measurement and governance (e.g. success criteria evaluation levels outcome metrics).
  

Strategic Leadership:

• Shape and lead the Medical Capability Building strategy and roadmap across IMA ensuring strong alignment with TA strategies IMACE priorities and International Medical objectives.
• Represent Medical in International and Global forums and workstreams related to learning and capability ensuring IMA perspectives and needs are reflected in enterprisewide learning initiatives.
• Collaborate closely with capability and learning teams from other functions/divisions to leverage best practices avoid duplication and build cohesive crossfunctional capability programs.
• Act as a thought partner to IMA leaders providing functional capability foresight and aligning/orchestrating capability development to enable business priorities.
• Continuously innovate and improve learning approaches integrating external benchmarking adult learning principles and emerging trends in learning science and technology.
  

Scientific & Field Medical Capability:

• Provide strategic direction for scientific learning across IMA ensuring medical teams maintain highlevel scientific literacy and can effectively interpret communicate and apply complex data.
• Oversee field medical capability frameworks and curricula including onboarding core skills advanced capabilities and ongoing development for MSLs and field medical leaders.
• Establish clear standards and expectations for field medical execution excellence in close collaboration with Director Field Medical Execution and ensure learning programs are designed to build and reinforce those standards.
  

Technology Platforms & External Partnerships:

• Benchmark external best practices in learning and capability (both within and outside the pharmaceutical industry) to inform the IMA capability strategy.
• Partner with technology and platform teams to identify implement and optimize effective learning technologies and platforms (e.g. LMS virtual classrooms content libraries analytics tools).
• Advance existing capabilities by ensuring country and regional teams can effectively use global platforms and tools; identify and address capability gaps related to digital learning and collaboration.
• Manage relationships with external vendors and providers for learning design facilitation and platforms including selection contracting quality oversight and performance evaluation.
  

Functional Excellence Governance & Knowledge Management:

• Establish and maintain governance for capability programs including clear decisionrights standards and processes for program design approval and evaluation.
• Ensure capability programs adhere to regulatory requirements ethical standards and internal policies and are auditready where relevant.
• Develop and maintain SOPs guidelines and enablement materials that provide clarity and consistency in learning design and delivery.
• Build and support communities of practice and knowledgesharing mechanisms to enable the reuse of assets reduce duplication and facilitate rapid dissemination of best practices across IMA and countries.
• Embed mechanisms to gather feedback from learners managers and stakeholders and use this feedback along with performance data to refine and scale programs.
  

Leadership & Culture:

• Lead coach and develop the Scientific Learning & Capability team fostering a highperformance learningoriented culture.
• Set clear goals roles and expectations; provide regular feedback performance management and development planning to build a robust talent pipeline.
• Attract futureready talent and strengthen succession and capability across the organization in the learning and capability domain.
• Rolemodel Novartis Leadership Expectations by inspiring high performance demonstrating selfawareness and growth mindset and promoting inclusivity collaboration and psychological safety.
• Serve as a visible advocate for learning and continuous improvement across IMA encouraging leaders and associates to prioritize and invest in development.

Experience:

• Experience & Leadership: 8 years of experience in pharmaceutical healthcare or life sciences organizations with a substantial focus on Medical Affairs Learning & Capability Building or Medical Excellence with demonstrated leadership and people management experience strongly preferred. Experience across both country-level and regional/global roles is highly valued.
• Medical Affairs Knowledge: Exposure to drug development and/or Medical Affairs with a strong understanding of medical roles (including field medical) and associated capability needs.
• Organizational Awareness: Deep organizational awareness including the interrelationship of functions and business priorities; significant experience working in a matrix environment crossfunctionally across country regions global/international.
• Capability Program Design: Proven track record in designing scaling and sustaining crossfunctional capability programs with measurable business and performance outcomes.
• Learning Technologies: Experience with Learning Management Systems analytics platforms and modern learning modalities (e.g. blended learning virtual classrooms microlearning social learning).
• Business Mindset: Strong business mindset combining innovative and critical thinking with a performance and outcomeoriented drive.
• Change Leadership: Demonstrated ability to lead change and drive adoption of new tools platforms and ways of working high learning agility.
• Communication Skills: Strong communication facilitation and presentation skills with the ability to engage and influence at senior levels and across cultures.
• Governance & Compliance: Experience establishing governance standards and quality assurance processes for capability programs ensuring regulatory compliance ethical promotion and audit readiness.
• Knowledge Management: Proven ability in knowledge management (e.g. building communities of practice driving asset reuse reducing duplicative content).
• Cultural Adaptability: Cultural sensitivity and strong market understanding to tailor capability solutions and processes to local regulations language and customer expectations while preserving global consistency.
• Continuous Improvement: Continuous improvement mindset with experience piloting learning and scaling programs based on learner feedback manager input and performance data.

• Education & Qualifications:

  Advanced degree in life sciences/healthcare (e.g. PhD PharmD MD) or equivalent with strong experience in pharmaceutical industry or healthcare; additional training in capability learning training/learning is an advantage.

• Languages:

  Fluent oral and written English required. Additional country or regional language(s) desirable.

Core Capabilities:

• Capability Building & Learning Excellence: Demonstrates strong expertise in diagnosing capability needs and translating them into coherent learning strategies and curricula. Designs highquality programs that achieve strong reach completion and measurable improvements in rolespecific and crossfunctional capabilities (e.g. via assessments performance metrics and manager feedback).
• Field Medical & Scientific Capability Development: Deep understanding of field medical and broader Medical Affairs roles and capability requirements. Able to design and implement programs that tangibly enhance scientific engagement quality confidence and the consistency of scientific exchange in the field.
• Stakeholder Partnership & Alignment: Builds trusted partnerships with TA Heads functional leaders and country/regional medical teams. Skilled at aligning diverse stakeholders around shared capability priorities and integrating Medical learning needs into broader enterprise learning agendas.
• Operational Excellence Governance & Compliance: Strong program management skills ensuring learning initiatives adhere to governance standards timelines. Ensures high adoption of learning platforms and tools and maintains auditready documentation and compliance across learning and capability activities.
• Culture Building Talent Development & Leadership: Proven ability to foster a learningoriented growthmindset culture. Strong people leadership and coaching skills with a track record of developing talent strengthening succession pipelines and supporting internal mobility and longterm engagement.

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion:

Novartis is an Equal Opportunity Employer and take pride inmaintaininga diverse environment. We do not discriminate in recruitment hiring trainingpromotionor other employment practices for reasons of race color religion gender national origin age sexual orientation genderidentityor expression marital or veteran status disability or any other legally protected status. We are committed to building diverse teams representative of the patients and communities we serve and we strive to create an inclusive workplace that cultivates bold innovation through collaboration and empowers our people to unleash their full potential.

Skills Desired

Collaboration Decision Making Skills E-Learning Employee Training Facilitation (Business) Team Effectiveness Training Programs Vendor Management