Commercial Learning Program Manager

Dahlia TalentEQ; Virginia; On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Dahlia TalentEQ is seeking an experienced Senior Program Manager to lead complex commercial learning, sales training, and field-development programs for enterprise pharma and life sciences clients.

The role is client-facing and requires coordinating cross-functional teams to translate client goals into executable programs, with emphasis on measurable outcomes and compliance in a regulated environment.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of program-management experience across multiple workstreams.
• Direct pharma or life sciences industry experience.
• Experience leading commercial learning, sales training, or field-force development.
• Experience coordinating cross-functional teams including learning strategists and SMEs.

Responsibilities

• Lead complex commercial learning and sales-enablement programs from discovery to evaluation.
• Coordinate manager and field-coaching programs for newly promoted leaders.
• Manage multiple interdependent workstreams (content, tech, change management).
• Partner with executives and stakeholders to align program strategy with business goals.
• Define success metrics and drive continuous improvement based on data.

Skills

Executive communication

Client-facing

Stakeholder influence

Cross-functional coordination

Regulated environment knowledge

Program management

Agile/PM tools familiarity

Tools

Jira

Smartsheet

Microsoft Project

Agile methodologies

Job description

Location: U.S.-based; East Coast candidates strongly preferred

The Opportunity

We are partnering with a growing organization seeking an experienced Senior Program Manager to lead complex commercial learning, sales training, and field-development programs for enterprise pharmaceutical and life sciences clients.

This is a client-facing program leadership role for someone who understands how pharmaceutical sales organizations develop representatives and frontline managers. The Senior Program Manager will oversee multiple interconnected workstreams, which may include sales training, New Manager School programs, field coaching tools, content development, technology implementation, change management, and measurement.

The ideal candidate knows how to translate a client’s business and performance goals into an organized, executable program. They can coordinate diverse teams, manage competing priorities, anticipate risks, guide senior stakeholders, and ensure that every workstream contributes to measurable learning and business outcomes.

This is not solely an instructional-design or training-delivery role. It is a strategic program-management position requiring a strong understanding of commercial learning and development within the pharmaceutical or life sciences industry.

What You’ll Do

Lead Commercial Learning and Sales-Enablement Programs

• Lead complex training and sales-enablement programs from discovery and planning through development, launch, and ongoing evaluation.
• Manage initiatives supporting pharmaceutical field sales representatives, frontline managers, sales leaders, and other commercial audiences.
• Translate client objectives and performance needs into clear program plans, milestones, deliverables, and success measures.
• Ensure that learning initiatives support broader commercial priorities and drive meaningful behavior change in the field.

Manage Manager and Field-Coaching Programs

• Lead the development and implementation of New Manager School or New Manager Series programs for newly promoted field leaders.
• Coordinate programs focused on coaching skills, performance management, leadership development, communication, and the transition from individual contributor to manager.
• Oversee the development or enhancement of Field Coaching Reports and related tools used by managers to observe, assess, and coach field sales representatives.
• Support the creation of consistent coaching models, competency frameworks, rating criteria, feedback prompts, development plans, and follow-up processes.
• Help ensure that manager coaching becomes an ongoing performance-development practice rather than a one-time training event.

Coordinate Multiple Workstreams

• Coordinate interconnected workstreams that may include strategic consulting, learning strategy, content development, facilitator preparation, technology implementation, AI-enabled learning experiences, LMS deployment, integrations, and change management.
• Manage timelines, budgets, resources, dependencies, approvals, and quality standards across internal teams and external partners.
• Establish clear roles, responsibilities, decision-making processes, and escalation paths.
• Prevent siloed decision-making by keeping teams aligned around the overall program strategy and desired outcomes.

Navigate Pharma Stakeholders and Review Processes

• Partner with commercial leadership, sales training, learning and development, medical, legal, regulatory, compliance, operations, and technology stakeholders.
• Manage structured content-development and review cycles within a regulated environment.
• Facilitate working sessions, steering committees, status meetings, and executive discussions.
• Surface risks early and guide stakeholders toward timely decisions when priorities, requirements, or timelines conflict.

Drive Program Governance and Execution

• Establish and maintain program governance, reporting standards, risk registers, dependency maps, and decision logs.
• Identify and mitigate issues affecting scope, quality, timing, budget, or strategic alignment.
• Develop multi-phase or multi-quarter roadmaps that connect immediate deliverables with longer-term commercial objectives.
• Provide clear reporting on progress, risks, decisions, resource needs, and program value.
• Tailor communication appropriately for delivery teams, subject-matter experts, client partners, and executive stakeholders.

Measure Program Effectiveness

• Define success measures for training, coaching, and sales-development initiatives.
• Track metrics such as learner engagement, knowledge and skill development, manager adoption, coaching activity, time to competency, behavior change, and relevant business outcomes.
• Use program data, stakeholder feedback, and lessons learned to recommend improvements.
• Continuously strengthen program processes, tools, templates, and delivery approaches.

Required Qualifications

• 7+ years of project or program-management experience, including at least 3 years overseeing complex programs with multiple related workstreams.
• Direct experience working within the pharmaceutical or life sciences industry.
• Demonstrated experience managing commercial learning, sales training, sales enablement, or field-force development programs.
• Experience leading programs related to one or more of the following:
• New Manager School or New Manager Series programs
• Field Coaching Report development or implementation
• Sales-manager coaching
• Field-sales capability development
• Commercial training and performance improvement
• Experience managing programs from discovery and strategy through development, launch, and measurement.
• Strong understanding of how training content is developed, reviewed, approved, delivered, and evaluated in a regulated environment.
• Experience coordinating cross-functional teams that may include learning strategists, instructional designers, subject-matter experts, facilitators, technology teams, vendors, and client stakeholders.
• Strong executive and client-facing communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to influence stakeholders and drive accountability without direct authority.
• Ability to bring structure to ambiguity and make sound recommendations with incomplete information.
• Experience with program-management methodologies and tools such as Agile, PMI, Jira, Smartsheet, or Microsoft Project.
• Ability to consistently support Eastern time-zone business hours.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting enterprise pharmaceutical clients in a consulting, agency, professional-services, or learning-solutions environment.
• Familiarity with learning management systems, digital learning platforms, AI-enabled practice or coaching tools, and integrated learning ecosystems.
• Experience with competency modeling, field-coaching frameworks, change management, or organizational adoption.
• PMP, PgMP, Agile, SAFe, or comparable certification.
• Experience working in a growing organization where priorities are fluid and individual impact is highly visible.

What Success Looks Like

The successful candidate will understand both the strategic and operational sides of commercial learning. They will be able to discuss the business need behind a training initiative while also managing the detailed work required to deliver it successfully.

They will bring credibility with pharmaceutical stakeholders, fluency in sales-training and field-coaching programs, and the ability to turn complex, multi-team initiatives into clear and executable plans. Most importantly, they will ensure that each program moves beyond completing deliverables and creates measurable value for the client, its managers, and its field sales teams.