What Organizational Learning & Development does at WorldwideThe Organizational Learning Advisor, Commercial, is a business-facing role within the Global Organizational Learning & Development team, reporting into the People Strategy & Culture function. This role drives the learning and development strategy for the commercial organization, including business development, proposals and contracts, marketing, feasibility, and commercial operations. The Advisor consults with commercial leaders and partners with the People Partner team to identify capability gaps, skills needed, and opportunities for growth that support revenue growth, win rates, and the client experience. This position acts as an engagement and change agent supporting behavioral transformation and communication across client-facing teams. This is a build role. The commercial learning portfolio is being developed from the ground up, and the Advisor is responsible for establishing the strategy, structure, and curriculum.
What you will do- Lead the learning and enablement strategy for the commercial function, aligned to growth targets, win rates, and client satisfaction priorities.
- Build the foundational commercial learning framework from the ground up, including competency models, role profiles, role-based learning paths, content standards, and intake and governance processes, and author content hands-on where dedicated design support is not available.
- Design and deliver onboarding and ramp-up learning journeys for new commercial hires to shorten time to productivity.
- Build role-based curricula and performance support covering selling skills, service line and therapeutic knowledge, RFI and RFP development, bid defense preparation, pricing and budgeting fundamentals, and client communication.
- Facilitate training sessions and workshops, delivering content in an engaging and impactful manner.
- Develop and maintain strong relationships with commercial leaders, subject matter experts, and key stakeholders across the organization to foster a culture of continuous learning and development.
- Coordinate change management communications and technology onboarding programs for commercial systems, processes, and go-to-market initiatives, and develop engaging content including tutorials, workshops, and e-learning modules.
- Conduct comprehensive needs analysis, consulting with commercial stakeholders to develop effective, targeted learning solutions, and applying methods to measure learning impact and return on investment (ROI) against commercial metrics such as ramp time, win rate, and proposal quality. Continuously gather user feedback and improve subsequent learning and development strategies.
- The Advisor will collaborate closely with the instructional design team and the LMS team to create, communicate, brand, launch, and measure compliance and training effectiveness for the commercial organization. This position requires excellent customer service skills and a strong background in learning and development.
- Perform other duties as assigned. The duties and responsibilities listed above are representative of the nature and level of work assigned and are not necessarily all-inclusive.
What you will bring to the role- Proven ability to design and implement training programs aligned with adult learning principles for experienced, client-facing professionals.
- Strong business acumen, with an understanding of the CRO commercial model, the drug development lifecycle, and how clients evaluate and select partners.
- Strong analytical skills, with the ability to measure and analyze training effectiveness, drive adoption and compliance, and connect learning outcomes to commercial performance.
- Ability to influence and build credibility with senior commercial stakeholders in a matrixed, global environment.
- Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, dynamic environment, managing multiple projects and priorities.
Travel requirementsWillingness and ability to travel up to 50% of the time, including domestic and international travel, to support client-facing teams, facilitate in-person training and workshops, and attend commercial meetings and events.Your experience- Degree in Business, Marketing, Human Resources Management, Education, Life Sciences, or related discipline.
- 5+ years' experience in learning and development, sales enablement, or commercial training, preferably within a CRO, pharmaceutical, or other client-facing services environment.
- Proven experience consulting and partnering with commercial client groups, such as business development, proposals and contracts, marketing, and feasibility, to identify and address learning and development needs.
- Demonstrated experience building a learning program or function from the ground up, including establishing structure, standards, and processes in the absence of existing infrastructure.
- Working knowledge of the commercial lifecycle, including lead generation, RFI and RFP response, bid defense, contract award, and ongoing client relationship management.
- Strong background in instructional design and LMS management.
- Experience supporting commercial systems and tools, such as CRM platforms, proposal and pricing systems, and content repositories, is preferred.
- Excellent customer service skills, with the ability to build and maintain strong relationships with commercial leaders and internal stakeholders.
- Exceptional communication and facilitation skills, with the ability to deliver engaging and impactful training sessions to client-facing audiences.
