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 industry‑leading 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, high‑quality execution in the field.
Within this remit, the Director systematically assesses capability needs across IMA, including above‑function 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 deployment. In 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 fit‑for‑purpose, industry‑leading 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 cross‑functional skills. Partner with Director, Medical Data, Analytics, Insights & AI to ensure appropriate and timely technical trainings where needed.
• Systematically assess learning and capability gaps (role‑specific and cross‑functional) using a data‑driven 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 e‑learnings.
• Design and implement innovative, blended learning solutions (e.g., virtual, in‑person, self‑paced, 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 enterprise‑wide learning initiatives.  
• Collaborate closely with capability and learning teams from other functions/divisions to leverage best practices, avoid duplication, and build cohesive cross‑functional 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 high‑level 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 decision‑rights, standards, and processes for program design, approval, and evaluation.  
• Ensure capability programs adhere to regulatory requirements, ethical standards, and internal policies, and are audit‑ready 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 knowledge‑sharing 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 high‑performance, learning‑oriented culture.  
• Set clear goals, roles, and expectations; provide regular feedback, performance management, and development planning to build a robust talent pipeline.  
• Attract future‑ready talent and strengthen succession and capability across the organization in the learning and capability domain.  
• Role‑model Novartis Leadership Expectations by inspiring high performance, demonstrating self‑awareness 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, cross‑functionally across country, regions, global/international. 
• Capability Program Design: Proven track record in designing, scaling, and sustaining cross‑functional 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, micro‑learning, social learning).   
• Business Mindset: Strong business mindset, combining innovative and critical thinking with a performance‑ and outcome‑oriented 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 high‑quality programs that achieve strong reach, completion, and measurable improvements in role‑specific and cross‑functional 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 audit‑ready documentation and compliance across learning and capability activities.
• Culture Building, Talent Development & Leadership: Proven ability to foster a learning‑oriented, growth‑mindset culture. Strong people leadership and coaching skills, with a track record of developing talent, strengthening succession pipelines, and supporting internal mobility and long‑term engagement.

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion: 

Novartis is an Equal Opportunity Employer and take pride in maintaining a diverse environment. We do not discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion or other employment practices for reasons of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or 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