Associate Director, Training

About the role

Imagine being a part of a team committed to helping people defeat diabetes and other serious chronic conditions. Here at Novo Nordisk, we seek out opportunities to contribute to healthier communities and better lives for all people. The Associate Director, Training will lead the Training organization across the Group Vice President (GVP) area to drive compliance and performance improvements within a regulatory environment. The incumbent will set a clear vision for training across the GVP area that aligns with business strategy, drive engagement, foster a culture of continuous improvements, and ensure capabilities required to deliver on current and future business priorities.

The incumbent will lead Training Managers and Training Partners across the GVP area, drive alignment, capability development, operational excellence, and consistent implementation of training standards and best practices. They will lead and collaborate across organizational boundaries, building strong partnerships with business leaders, coaching training leaders, and creating a connected training community across the GVP area, enabling knowledge sharing, collaboration, and impactful business outcomes.

Responsibilities include leading timely capability building to close gaps identified as part of strategic workforce planning, driving talent management, workforce planning and agility, organizational effectiveness, fast "Time-to-Perform," and maturity assessments and improvements across the GVP area. The role is also responsible for training compliance and inspection readiness, ensuring strong leadership of process managers of Job Specific Training at each site, and adequate responses to compliance signals as defined by Novo Nordisk's Corporate Process Group.

The incumbent will build synergies and standardizations across the GVP area, as relevant, and contribute to strategic enterprise improvements as a member of the Global Manufacturing Supply (GMS) Training Leadership Team.

Relationships

The incumbent reports directly to the Head of People & Organization (P&O) of Drug Product Manufacturing (DPM) US with a matrixed reporting relationship to the P&O Site Leads of the assigned sites. They interact with all levels of the business and work in alignment with P&O Site Leads at DPM US Sites, who are overall accountable for training and capability development at the respective sites. Key stakeholders include GMS P&O Training & Execution, line of business leaders, HR Business Partners within the assigned sites, and other internal/external stakeholders as relevant.

Responsibilities

• Lead, train, and engage Training personnel across the GVP area, ensuring clarity of purpose, roles, and responsibility while motivating, inspiring, coaching, and providing timely feedback.
• Ensure strong performance and continuous competence development of employees in the department.
• Continually develop and evolve organization, manning, and competencies to meet performance and business needs.
• Consistently practice cLEAN Leadership – in tools, thinking way, and culture.
• Support systematic problem solving, cGxP compliance within training, relevant QMR activities, and adequate progress of Quality Improvement Plans.
• Responsible for the budget of the department.
• Build synergies and scale best practice training solutions based on business needs and priorities across NN/GMS.
• Drive aligned implementation and use of GMS training standards, tools, and technologies.
• Oversee the performance of training systems and solutions.
• Establish, lead, and facilitate a network of training team leaders across the GVP area.
• Keep the direction clear, simple, and continuously aligned with management and Process Owners.
• Ensure training compliance and inspection readiness within Job Specific Training (GxP Training).
• Provide ongoing sparring to GVP, VPs, and Managers of Training Professionals.
• Drive yearly and quarterly implementation plans and systematically follow up.
• Ensure GVP area is represented in relevant GMS projects and initiatives.
• Drive progress, improvements, and impact of training operations across the SVP area.
• Ensure a strong link between daily operations, projects, and the business area's strategic targets.
• Manage upskilling and development of core competencies in the GVP area – close strategic capability gaps.
• Support development and impact of the training organization across the GVP area.
• Lead continuous maturity assessments and improvements of GMS’s training system.
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement in the training organization.
• Lead and coach Systematic Problem Solving (SPS) when facing issues that block value/impact.
• Role model and ambassador of the company values (the Novo Nordisk Way).
• Communicate the direction and projects/services to the department, teams, and stakeholders in a compelling manner.
• Manage senior stakeholders and external expectations using relevant change management techniques.
• Effective change management communication and gaining buy-in from internal and external stakeholders around new concepts, practices, and approaches.
• High level of independence and full accountability for managing daily operations, performance, workload distribution, and stakeholder interactions.
• Administrative tasks (e.g., IT request approvals, absence/vacation approvals, expense approvals, purchase orders).
• Annual wheel activities (e.g., budget, annual compensation cycle).
• Follow all safety & environmental requirements in the performance of duties.
• Other accountabilities, as assigned.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to work in an open office environment and shopfloor with the possibility of frequent distraction.
• Ability to travel up to 10% of the time.

Development of People

• Supervisory responsibilities include ensuring that reporting personnel have individual development plans (IDP) with annual goals and measurements consistent with business priorities.
• Ensure interim reviews are held so that work is focused on priorities and personnel understand their level of accountability.
• Ensure IDP forms include completed learning and aspiration plans for all reporting personnel to enable goal achievement and capability to assume increased responsibility.
• Manage the application and communication of all Novo Nordisk policies, procedures, and the Novo Nordisk Way.

Qualifications

• Master's Degree in a related field of study from an accredited university required and a minimum of seven (7) years of relevant experience.
• In lieu of a Master's Degree with seven (7) years of experience, may consider:
  • (A) Bachelor’s degree in a related field of study from an accredited college or university with a minimum of nine (9) years of relevant experience,
  • (B) an Associate's Degree in a related field of study from an accredited college or university with a minimum of eleven (11) years of relevant experience, or
  • (C) High School Diploma or equivalent with a minimum of thirteen (13) years of relevant experience.
• Excellent working knowledge of training and training systems in a regulated environment is required, preferably within the pharmaceutical industry.
• People leadership experience required; experience leading leaders preferred.
• Strong Lean (or Lean Six Sigma) training competencies in manufacturing required.