Associate Director, Learning & Development

Associate Director, Learning & Development (L&D)

At AstraZeneca we turn ideas into life changing medicines. Working here means being entrepreneurial, thinking big and working together to make the impossible a reality. We’re passionate about the potential of science to address the unmet needs of patients around the world. We commit to those areas where we believe we can really change the course of medicine and bring big new ideas to life.

Join us at our Gaithersburg campus, one of over 400 sites here at AstraZeneca, providing a collaborative environment where everyone feels comfortable and able to be themselves is at the core of AstraZeneca’s priorities. This site includes a fitness center, employee healthcare clinic, electric vehicle charging stations, dry cleaning, full-service cafeteria and copy center, game rooms, community garden and much more to keep our employees happy and balanced! This modern and vibrant scientific campus is the home of Oncology in the U.S.

As Associate Director, Learning & Development, you will play a key role in shaping and delivering an ambitious learning strategy for the R&D business making valuable contributions and driving tangible business outcomes that demonstrate the impact of learning to the organization. Reporting to a Head of Learning & Development within Oncology R&D, you will work independently to deliver learning initiatives in often ambiguous and dynamic workplace settings, being highly collaborative and resourceful, with the ability to quickly identify the appropriate learning opportunities while working effectively with and across the global R&D enterprise to deliver L&D projects.

Typical Accountabilities:

Project management of L&D Activities:

• Supports the Heads of L&D, R&D to facilitate and coordinate networks of business learning representatives across R&D where a component of their role is to represent the voice of the business and evolve the R&D learning strategy ensuring alignment of L&D activities within R&D and to the AZ Global Talent & Development (T&D) strategy.
• Leads or project manages a portfolio of L&D projects, including key cross R&D L&D initiatives (e.g., Onboarding, R&D Foundations). Able to identify and align internal resources and drive implementation of agreed solution/s at pace.

Business partnering and consulting:

• Builds strong and trusted working relationships with business leaders and HR / T&D partners, interacting with and effectively managing collaborators, including BioPharma and Oncology R&D Leadership teams, HR Leadership teams and Chief Operating Officer (COO) Leadership team.
• Provides learning consultation and expert L&D advice to business leaders and subject matter experts to ensure new learning content builds skills and capabilities that drive business performance goals.
• Undertakes learning needs analyses for key groups, articulating enterprise learning needs, and translating these needs into learning offerings and/or recommendations.

Design & Delivery of L&D initiatives:

• Brings strong L&D expertise to design and build high quality learning solutions that blend education, exposure and experiential elements to drive relevant business focussed learning outcomes.
• Ensures content is appropriately integrated into AZ learning technology platforms; responsible for maintaining and updating content to meet current and future business needs and aligns with the R&D / AZ approach to learning to ensure a positive, seamless learner experience.
• Where appropriate works with third-party vendors or academic / external institutions to bring best-in-class learning solutions to the business. This also includes working with Procurement, managing budgets and providing project oversight.
• Directly (or indirectly) manages and is responsible for the delivery of virtual and/or in-person training events or learning symposia; from venue logistics, arranging speakers / trainers, communication activities, delegate attendance and follow-up activities.
• Maintains awareness of current trends in learning and development practices and keeps understanding of the learning landscape current, fresh and engaging for the modern employee. Brings innovative approaches to functional learning activities along with ideas / recommendations for the R&D enterprise.

Communication and Driving Change:

• Delivers effective communications to support R&D L&D activities and instils a culture of lifelong learning. Champions and promotes change, using internal networks to extend reach and impact.
• Strengthens and builds L&D capability within R&D through active participation in AZ and R&D Learning Communities (e.g., Learning Guild) and supports capability development of L&D and technical staff involved in delivering learning solutions.

Learning Insight and Evaluation:

• Actively engages the learner audience, conducting regular voice of the employee exercises, using social platforms (e.g. workplace) and organizing / facilitating local learning engagement activities. Makes it easy for people to understand the real benefits of evolving and developing their learning.
• Contributes to the development of the L&D evaluation strategy, establishing key measures, data collection and building insightful reports and analyses for leadership (and the R&D enterprise L&D team) to demonstrate clear value and return on investment for learning activities.

Essential Requirements:

• 5-8 years of experience within clinical research of the R&D drug development life cycle, working in a highly regulated environment and an understanding of the learning styles and needs of the R&D professional.
• Bachelors degree required in a relevant scientific / technical subject area; Master's degree preferred
• Higher level qualifications or accreditations in learning and development related specialty and a proven track record in development and delivery of learning and development solutions in a Pharma R&D environment.
• Excellent working knowledge of adult learning theories, learning design and delivery and capability development, and experience applying these in a technical business setting.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, able to work in a matrix environment and influence / lead others without authority.
• Delivery and outcome focused, ability to set and manage priorities, resources and goals for complex, fast-paced projects.
• Problem solving skills; able to conduct root cause analysis and apply critical / analytical thinking to identify the most appropriate solutions to drive business performance.
• Expert communicator and facilitator. Possesses gravitas and/or Executive Presence when engaging with senior leaders and is able to motivate and inspire the learner by simplifying the complex and making learning relevant to them.
• Creative thinking, able to bring new ideas and learning innovations to life for the business.
• Able to quickly adapt to a continuously evolving business and learning landscape.
• Change management skills; takes a people-centered approach to drive tangible business change.
• Highly collaborative, excellent relationship builder and connector, resourceful and well organized.
• Experience working in a global organization, across countries, cultures and time zones.

Why AstraZeneca?

At AstraZeneca when we see an opportunity for change, we seize it and make it happen, because any opportunity no matter how small, can be the start of something big. Delivering life-changing medicines is about being entrepreneurial - finding those moments and recognizing their potential.

Join us on our journey of building a new kind of organization to reset expectations of what a bio-pharmaceutical company can be. This means we’re opening new ways to work, pioneering innovative methods and bringing unexpected teams together. Interested? Come and join our journey.

Are you already imagining yourself joining our team? Good, because we can’t wait to hear from you.

Where can I find out more?

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