Director, Commercial Training & Development: Job ID- 1389

Ascendis Pharma is a dynamic, fast-growing global biopharmaceutical company with locations in Denmark, Europe, and the United States. Today, we're advancing programs in Endocrinology Rare Disease and Oncology.

Here at Ascendis, we pride ourselves on exceptional science, visionary leadership, and skilled and passionate colleagues.

Guided by our core values of Patients, Science, and Passion, we use our TransCon® drug development platform to fulfill our mission of developing new and potentially best-in-class therapies to address unmet medical needs.

Our culture fosters a place where skilled, adaptable, and highly resourceful professionals can truly make their mark. We offer a dynamic workplace for employees to grow and develop their skills.

 We are looking for a Director, Commercial Training & Development who will lead the development and execution of a formalized training curriculum supporting the anticipated launch of an investigational treatment for hypoparathyroidism currently under review by the FDA. This role requires the ability to be both strategic and tactical, demonstrating strong leadership, project management, and communication skills.

 The leader in this role will be tasked with the development and delivery of disease, product and skill-based training across the entire Commercial organization, while partnering with Human Resources to implement employee development programs. Identifying, building, and executing development solutions that enhance customer engagement, improve knowledge and skills for field-based representation and aid to develop talent through either emerging manager programs or advanced professional development resources. Playing a key role working in collaboration with Marketing & Sales leadership in the planning and project management of National Field Meetings and Plan of Action Meetings to ensure consistency of training methodology and processes.

The position will be based in Princeton and will report directly to the Head of Sales.

• Architect and develop the learning strategy of the Commercial organization, building the skills necessary to execute on our objectives for the Endocrinology Rare Disease portfolio. The training will focus heavily on pre-launch and launch programs
• Provide strategic direction for the planning, design, development and implementation of modules and materials, as well as the technology tools (LMS) required for implementation
• Collaborate with leadership to establish training initiatives that help translate Commercial strategy down to actionable behaviors, through both core and advanced programs
• Serve as a leader within the Commercial Operations team, providing input on how other functions can be successfully integrated into the training plan
• Assist in the design of curricula, or training programs, using adult learning principles
• Proactively uncover and assess gaps in the knowledge of the Commercial organization, and work with the Commercial team and other departments to address them
• Collaborate with internal customers including Compliance/Legal and Marketing to ensure training deliverables are current, effective, and compliant with regulatory guidelines
• Develop and execute training on product knowledge, new promotional campaigns, communication skills, new hire training, commercial workshops & other ad hoc needs
• Partners closely with Medical Affairs on development of scientific content
• Establishes “standards of excellence” in the Ascendis Pharma training process
• Collaborate with and support relevant internal departments including; Marketing, Field Leadership and Sales Teams, Commercial Operations, Medical Information, and Business Conduct to develop appropriate training
• Effectively prepare for instruction by conducting needs assessments, identifying targeted participant characteristics, and soliciting cross-functional feedback before finalizing design and strategy
• Help ensure readiness of the organization for training deployment including identifying key stakeholders and determining their needs in advance in order to deliver high quality and effective programming
• Analyze the characteristics of existing technologies and their use in instructional design
• Offer solutions for bridging gaps between current organizational capabilities and needs
• Partner with departments, subject matter experts and key stakeholders to identify training needs, improve training solutions and lead change initiative implementation
• Monitor and maintain alignment with Commercial group’s strategic training plan while balancing short-term and long-term business goals
• Provides leadership and coaching to direct reports; creates a culture of high performance, learning and development

Requirements

• 10 years of Biotech/Pharma commercial training experience in the biotech industry; Prior Biotech/Pharma Field Sales experience, a plus
• Endocrinology experience required, growth hormone experience preferred
• BS or BA degree required
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications including Word and PowerPoint, particularly as used in the development of instructional content
• Highly self-motivated and self-managed; ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Prior experience with managing employees, teams, consultants, and vendors
• Ability to organize and work under strict time and production deadlines, while producing quality deliverables
• Proficient organizational skills and the ability to juggle multiple tasks at one time
• Excellent facilitation and communication skills
• Use performance metrics and analysis to improve and customize training
• Comfortable working with people at all levels of the organization as well as with suppliers, vendors and customers
• Experience effectively managing a project from its initiation to delivery, as well as budget
• Ability to effectively manage, either as live training or as a deliverable
• Strong interpersonal communication, facilitation, problem solving, decision making and analytical skills
• Demonstrated knowledge and capability in the build and execution of a biotechnology product launch
• Ability to travel up to 25% of the time domestically and internationally

A note to recruiters:

We do not allow external search party solicitation.  Presentation of candidates without written permission from the Ascendis Pharma Inc Human Resources team (specifically from: Talent Acquisition Partner or Human Resources Director) is not allowed.  If this occurs your ownership of these candidates will not be acknowledged.

Benefits

• Medical insurance
• Vision insurance
• Dental insurance
• 401(k)
• Paid maternity leave
• Paid paternity leave
• Commuter benefits
• Disability insurance