Associate Director - Site MQ Learning & Development (L&D) Leader

Eli Lilly and Company; Richmond (VA); On-site; USD 128,000 - 187,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) plan

Pension benefits

Medical, dental, vision coverage

Vacation and well-being programs

Job summary

Lilly is constructing an advanced manufacturing site for monoclonal antibodies and aseptic drug product manufacturing in Goochland County, Virginia. The Site Learning & Development leader will drive learning strategy, governance, and capability-building across the site to enable GMP startup and ongoing quality.

Travel is ~15% and the role partners with Quality, Operations and HR. The leader will manage a team, drive digital learning adoption, and ensure inspection readiness while aligning with

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree required.
• Master’s degree preferred in instructional systems technology, performance technology, adult learning, HR, or related field.

Responsibilities

• Lead site L&D strategy and governance to align with global policies and ensure audit readiness.
• Build and develop the site L&D team with a focus on digital, AI-driven analytics and immersive training methods.
• Design site-specific L&D initiatives that support compliance, manufacturing excellence, and employee development.

Education

Bachelor’s Degree

Master’s degree

Job description

At Lilly, we unite caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We are a global healthcare leader headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Our employees around the world work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to our communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. We give our best effort to our work, and we put people first. We’re looking for people who are determined to make life better for people around the world.

We are a global healthcare leader headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Our 35,000 employees around the world work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to our communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. We give our best effort to our work, and we put people first. We’re looking for people who are determined to make life better for people around the world.

Lilly is currently constructing an advanced manufacturing facility for monoclonal antibodies, bioconjugates, and aseptic drug product manufacturing in Goochland County, Virginia. This facility is intended to provide capacity for current and future products.

The successful candidate will help to build the organization, the facility and the culture to enable a successful startup into GMP manufacturing operations. The Global Manufacturing and Quality Learning and Development (GMQLD) team is dedicated to delivering learning solutions that empower Lilly’s Manufacturing and Quality organizations to achieve our mission: making medicine with safety first and quality always.

The Site Learning & Development (L&D) leader will drive excellence in learning and capability-building at our sites. This role will lead a team of L&D professionals and is responsible for aligning site L&D strategies with global policies and procedures, while ensuring compliance, operational effectiveness, and workforce development.

This leader will be a key connector between the sites, network L&D team and global Center of Excellence (CoE), ensuring standard methodologies, governance, and innovation in learning are effectively delivered at the local level. The role requires a strategic problem solver and hands-on leader who can balance global strategies with site-specific needs while ensuring a high level of audit and inspection readiness.

Key Objectives/Deliverables:

• Strategic Leadership & Governance
  Serve as the primary L&D Leader at the site, ensuring alignment with global L&D strategies, policies, and procedures while meeting local operational needs. Report to and partner with the Network L&D lead and global CoE to implement future-facing learning solutions that drive performance, compliance, and operational excellence. Ensure governance frameworks are driven at the site level, maintaining inspection and audit readiness in real time. Act as a champion for a modern learning culture, shifting away from traditional document-based training toward interactive, digital, and experiential learning solutions.
• Team Leadership & Development
  Lead, develop, and inspire site L&D team, ensuring they are equipped to complete high-quality learning initiatives that support business objectives
  Foster a culture of continuous learning and innovation, demonstrating sophisticated learning technologies, AI-driven learning analytics, and immersive training methods. Ensure strong capability-building within the L&D team, upskilling them in learning sciences, digital learning tools, and manufacturing-specific training methodologies. Create initial project scope documents, appropriately demonstrating learning services suppliers for outsourced work to achieve business objectives.
• Learning Strategy & Execution
  Design and implement site-specific L&D initiatives that support compliance, manufacturing excellence, and employee development. Drive learning effectiveness measurement using real-time data and analytics to ensure programs deliver measurable business impact. Partner cross-functionally with Quality, Operations, HR, and Technical Training teams/SMEs to embed a learning attitude across the site. Ensure audit and inspection readiness, proactively addressing training gaps and regulatory expectations. Advocate for technology-enabled learning, including AI, immersive simulations, digital academies and just-in-time learning solutions.

Basic Requirements:

• Bachelor’s Degree 5+ years of experience in Learning & Development, Talent Development, and/or Manufacturing Training with a focus on regulated environments
• 5+ years of experience with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), regulatory requirements, or compliance training
• 2+ years of experience managing and developing L&D teams
• Qualified applicants must be authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. Lilly will not provide support for or sponsor work authorization or visas for this role, including but not limited to F-1 CPT, F-1 OPT, F-1 STEM OPT, J-1, H-1B, TN, O-1, E-3, H-1B1, or L-1.

Additional Preferences:

• Master’s degree preferred, in Instructional Systems Technology, Performance Technology, Adult Learning, Human Resources, or related experience/education
• Experience in governance, audit readiness, and inspection preparedness related to training programs. Expertise in modern learning methodologies (e.g., competency-based training, AI-driven learning platforms, immersive technologies). Ability to balance global strategy with local execution ensuring both alignment and agility.
• Strong collaborator management skills, with experience partnering across Operations, Quality, HR, Global L&D functions.
• Experience leading learning transformation initiatives in a manufacturing environment.
• Familiarity with learning technologies, LMS, digital learning tools and AI-driven analytics.
• Certification in learning and development (CPTD, ATD or similar) is a plus. Experience implementing skills-based training and workforce upskilling initiatives.
• Ability to lead and influence others at all levels, with and without authority, particularly on broad and complex issues Ability to work cross-functionally, cross-culturally, and with individuals at all levels across a matrixed organization Ability to think strategically, successfully navigate ambiguity and complexity, solve problems, and complete
• Ability to effectively partner globally Change management experience Excellent communication and project management skills
• Strong business acumen A
• bility to perform data analysis and construct relevant insights that drive decisions and strategic plans Human Performance Improvement (HPI) Certification

Additional Information

Travel %: ~15% Position Location: Site Based

Lilly is dedicated to helping individuals with disabilities to actively engage in the workforce, ensuring equal opportunities when vying for positions. If you require accommodation to submit a resume for a position at Lilly, please complete the accommodation request form (https://careers.lilly.com/us/en/workplace-accommodation) for further assistance. Please note this is for individuals to request an accommodation as part of the application process and any other correspondence will not receive a response.

Lilly is proud to be an EEO Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender identity, sex, gender expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, ancestry, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status.

Our employee resource groups (ERGs) offer strong support networks for their members and are open to all employees. Our current groups include: Africa, Middle East, Central Asia Network, Black Employees at Lilly, Chinese Culture Network, Japanese International Leadership Network (JILN), Lilly India Network, Organization of Latinx at Lilly (OLA), PRIDE (LGBTQ+ Allies), Veterans Leadership Network (VLN), Women’s Initiative for Leading at Lilly (WILL), enAble (for people with disabilities). Learn more about all of our groups.

Actual compensation will depend on a candidate’s education, experience, skills, and geographic location. The anticipated wage for this position is

$127,500 - $187,000

Full-time equivalent employees also will be eligible for a company bonus (depending, in part, on company and individual performance). In addition, Lilly offers a comprehensive benefit program to eligible employees, including eligibility to participate in a company-sponsored 401(k); pension; vacation benefits; eligibility for medical, dental, vision and prescription drug benefits; flexible benefits (e.g., healthcare and/or dependent day care flexible spending accounts); life insurance and death benefits; certain time off and leave of absence benefits; and well-being benefits (e.g., employee assistance program, fitness benefits, and employee clubs and activities). Lilly reserves the right to amend, modify, or terminate its compensation and benefit programs in its sole discretion and Lilly’s compensation practices and guidelines will apply regarding the details of any promotion or transfer of Lilly employees.

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