Associate Director, Training

Novo Nordisk A/S; Clayton (NC); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Novo Nordisk US seeks an Associate Director, Training to lead the Training organization across the GVP area, driving compliance and performance improvements in a regulated environment. You will align training with business strategy and develop capability across sites.

You will lead Training Managers and Partners, collaborate across functions, manage budgets, and ensure inspection readiness while building a connected, high-impact training community within Global Manufacturing Supply.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in a related field and a minimum of seven years of relevant experience.
• In lieu of Master’s Degree with seven years, a Bachelor’s degree with 9+ years or a HS diploma with 13+ years may be considered.
• Excellent knowledge of training systems in a regulated environment, preferably within pharmaceutical industry.
• People leadership experience required; leading leaders preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead Training personnel across the GVP area and set direction for training partners.
• Drive alignment, capability development, and implementation of training standards.
• Ensure training compliance and inspection readiness within GxP Training.
• Develop annual and quarterly training plans and manage budget.
• Collaborate with site leaders and stakeholders to deliver training strategy.

Skills

People leadership

Lean Six Sigma

Training systems

Regulated environment experience

Stakeholder management

Education

Master's Degree in related field

Bachelor's degree in related field

Associate's Degree in related field

High School Diploma or equivalent

Job description

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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. And, that’s what you’ll gain by joining Novo Nordisk’s People & Organization team. Our P&O team is passionate about their purpose – enabling business success the Novo Nordisk Way by turning the Company’s business strategy into an actionable workforce strategy. A strategy which captures the entire employee life-cycle. At Novo Nordisk, you will join an inclusive team of diverse talent and benefit from a range of possibilities for professional and personal development. Are you ready?

The Position

The Associate Director, Training will lead the Training organization across the Group Vice President (GVP) area to drive compliance and performance improvements within regulatory environment. The incumbent will set a clear vision for training across the GVP area that aligned 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. Lead and collaborate across organisational 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. Lead timely capability building to close gaps identified as a part of strategic workforce planning. Drive talent management, workforce planning and agility, organizational effectiveness, fast \"Time-to-Perform\", and maturity assessments and improvements across the GVP area.

Responsible for training compliance and inspection readiness across the GVP area. Ensure strong leadership of process managers of Job Specific Training at each site in the GVP area and adequate responses to compliance signals as defined by Novo Nordisk's Corporate Process Group within Job Specific Training. The incumbent is seeking to build synergies and standardizations across GVP area, as relevant. As member of Global Manufacturing Supply (GMS) Training Leadership Team, contributing to strategic enterprise improvements, collaboration and knowledge sharing around problems, solutions, and strategic impact.

Relationships

The incumbent reports directly to the Head of People & Organization (P&O) of Drug Product Manufacturing (DPM) US with a matrixed reporting relations ship to the P&O Site Leads of the assigned sites. Interacts with all levels of the business. The incumbent works in alignment with and close partnership and collaboration with P&O Site Leads at DPM US Sites, who are overall accountable for training and capability development at the respective Sites, while the incumbent will be responsible for the execution and delivery of the training strategy, priorities and initiatives. Other 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.

Essential Functions

• Lead, train, and engage Training personnel across the GVP area
  • Set clear direction for training partners. Ensure clarity of purpose, roles, and responsibility while motivating, inspiring, coaching, and providing timely feedback, resulting in high level of engagement and well-being in the team
  • Ensure strong performance and continuous competence development of employees in own 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 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
• Strategic Training Partnering and Area Process Management
  • 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 on-going sparring to GVP, VPs & 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 strong link between daily operations, projects and the business areas strategic targets
  • Manage upskilling and development of core competences in 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 organisation
  • Lead and coach Systematic Problem Solving (SPS) when facing issues that blocks value/impact
  • Role model and ambassador of the company values (the Novo Nordisk Way)
  • Communication and Stakeholder Interaction
  • 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 stakeholder around new concepts, practices, and approaches
• Other areas of responsibility
  • High level of independence and full accountable for managing daily operations, performance and workload distribution, stakeholder interactions and more
  • 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. Ensure that reporting personnel have individual development plans (IDP), with annual goals and measurements that are consistent with the priorities of the business, and that interim reviews are held so that their work is focused on those priorities, and they understand their level of accountability for results and the measurement process. Ensure that the IDP forms include completed learning and aspiration plans and are in place for all reporting personnel to enable the achievement of goals and capability to assume increased levels of responsibility. Manage the application and communication of all Novo Nordisk policies, procedures, and Novo Nordisk Way.

Qualifications

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

We commit to an inclusive recruitment process and equality of opportunity for all our job applicants.

At Novo Nordisk, we're not chasing quick fixes – we're creating lasting change for long-term health. For over 100 years, we've been driven by a single purpose: to defeat serious chronic diseases and help millions of people live healthier lives. This dedication fuels our constant curiosity and inspires us to push the boundaries of what's possible in healthcare. We embrace diverse perspectives, seek out bold ideas, and build partnerships rooted in shared purpose. Together, we're making healthcare more accessible, treating and defeating diseases, and pioneering solutions that create change spanning generations. When you join us, you become part of something bigger – a legacy of impact that reaches far beyond today.

Novo Nordisk is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by local, state or federal laws, rules or regulations.

If you are interested in applying to Novo Nordisk and need special assistance or an accommodation to apply, please call us at 1-855-411-5290. This contact is for accommodation requests only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.