Head of Learning Skills and Development

Genentech; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 233,000 - 434,000; Full time

Job summary

Genentech, a member of the Roche group, is seeking a strategic leader for Learning, Skills, and Development (L&SD) to govern the CMG learning strategy and operating model in South San Francisco. You will lead a large team, align learning with business goals, and drive readiness for next-generation launches across CMG, leveraging AI and digital learning frameworks.

You will collaborate with diverse leaders to deliver high-impact programs, measure outcomes, and continuously evolve capabilities to

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred in Education/Organizational Psychology or related field.
• 15+ years of progressive leadership experience in Learning & Development, Leadership Development, Talent Management, or related disciplines; life sciences experience is a plus.
• 5+ years in corporate learning or similar role at a senior level; experience building enterprise-wide leadership development strategies.

Responsibilities

• Define and govern CMG learning strategy and operating model to serve as a strategic partner to CMG.
• Lead readiness and agile execution for launches and field training.
• Design and implement impactful development programs.
• Collaborate with CMG leaders to use data-driven insights to drive learning and performance.
• Balance learning with broader organizational capability growth with People & Culture and other partners.
• Establish and monitor learning measures; adjust strategy based on trends.
• Oversee SWP translating workforce analytics into actionable commercial strategy.
• Lead an 80-person department delivering learning solutions for CMG.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Influencing skills

Cross-functional collaboration

Change management

Systems thinking

Problem solving

Coaching & development

Digital transformation

AI adoption in learning

Enterprise training integration

Education

Bachelor's degree in related field

Advanced degree preferred

15+ years leadership in L&D

5+ years senior corporate learning

Tools

Learning sciences

Instructional design

Modern learning tools

Data-driven analytics

Job description

The Position

Genentech, a member of the Roche group and founder of the biotechnology industry, is dedicated to pursuing groundbreaking science to discover and develop medicines for people with serious and life-threatening diseases.

Who We Are

Genentech's Learning, Skills, and Development (L&SD) organization functions as the strategic capability engine for the U.S. Commercial, Medical Affairs and Government Affairs (CMG). We ensure our people and teams possess the skills and confidence to deliver medicines to patients faster.

Our Approach

We operate with a "fewer things, better" philosophy, focusing on high-impact outcomes rather than volume. Our multi-pillared framework drives this mission:

• Strategic Roadmaps: Aligning field and functional learning with business goals.
• Innovation: Benchmarking externally and leveraging AI-powered development tools.
• Rigorous Measurement: Tracking proficiency against real-world business results.

Execution & Collaboration

We drive impact through a collaborative partnership between Therapeutic Area business partners, learning business partners, and instructional designers. This team prioritizes two critical areas:

Launch & Field Training: Driving readiness and execution.

Functional Training: Addressing perennial needs like leadership, therapeutic expertise, and transformation priorities (e.g., omnichannel, digital).

By embedding training into the daily flow of work, we enable our colleagues to achieve mastery and drive tangible business impact.

This role will report to the Head of U.S. Enterprise Strategy & Activation and Chief of Staff to Genentech CEO, and be a member of their Leadership team.

The Opportunity

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

As the strategic lead for the L&SD organization—you will be responsible for governing our operating model, defining the CMG learning strategy, and ensuring the department serves as a high-impact strategic partner to CMG.

You will lead the organization to an uninterrupted culture of readiness, agility, and skill mastery across CMG. Integrate and align learning strategy with business strategy. Anticipate future capabilities needed to execute on strategic priorities and lead cross-functional efforts to deliver business impact through strategically targeted learning initiatives that equip our people, optimize performance, and sustain desired behavior change.

• Integrate and align learning strategy with business strategy by sensing the current and future capability needs across CMG; identify and seize opportunities to build new skills including AI driven tools and digital learning frameworks-to proactively close performance gaps and accelerate workforce readiness.
• Oversee the design and execution of end-to-end launch readiness and field training strategies for Genentech’s most critical, next-generation therapeutic launches.
• Direct the design and implementation of impactful development programs.
• Collaborate and co‑own our business outcomes with CMG leaders leveraging data‑driven insights to identify opportunities for learning and performance to advance business goals.
• Collaborate with People & Culture, business leaders, and other key partners to balance and integrate learning with other approaches to organizational capability growth.
• Lead the establishment and ongoing monitoring of learning and performance measures and outcomes, analyzing data driven trends to adjust learning strategy and design as needed
• Oversee the Strategic Workforce Strategy (SWP) for CMG by translating workforce analytics into an actionable commercial strategy, ensuring skill-gap insights directly inform resource allocation and business priorities.
• Lead the 80 person department that delivers learning solutions to CMG team members to build new capabilities for success:

• Inspire and coach continuous evolution in mindset and approaches and actively invest in our people to develop their capabilities for the future.
• Attract, develop, and retain a multi-cultural team of capability professionals.
• Foster a high-performance team culture rooted in clear expectations, psychological safety, shared accountability, and continuous feedback.
• Provide day‑to‑day coaching, developmental conversations, robust succession planning, and professional growth pathways for all direct reports.
• Lead by example by role‑modeling Genentech's operating principles, fostering collaboration and ensuring their team's work is aligned with broader enterprise priorities.

Who You Are

Required Skills and Experience:

• Ability to define and champion a strategic vision for training excellence that aligns with Genentech's current and future product portfolio.
• Exceptional influencing skills by having a proven track record of helping stakeholders address strategic opportunities and solve problems
• Collective leadership across our full CMG network to set priorities, develop enterprise solutions, drive aligned execution, and ensure full ownership
• Ability to adapt department direction and approach as organizational needs shift
• Willing and able to challenge and catalyze the organization to continual evolution
• Applied understanding of Systems Thinking, Root Cause Analysis, and Problem‑Solving Methodologies to recommend learning solutions to complex business opportunities
• Strong coach and developer of people
• Digital-first mindset with a strong interest in emerging technologies, including AI and automation, and the ability to translate these innovations into practical learning programs that build organizational capability and accelerate business performance
• Serves as the enterprise integrator of training across Genentech/Roche, creating alignment, consistency, and connectivity across functional, leadership, compliance, onboarding, and workforce development programs.
• Demonstrates composure and strategic thinking in high‑pressure scenarios, while balancing ability to challenge and push the organizational boundaries and advocating for innovative changes
• Exemplifies the CMG Behaviors:
  • Go Fast To Win - Learn, decide, and execute quickly
  • Say It In The Room - Speak openly, resolve issues together and follow through
  • Celebrate Learning - Learn from failure, celebrate the journey and keep the patient at the center

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree required. Advanced degree in Education, Organizational Psychology, Human Capital Management, or related field preferred
• 15+ years of progressive leadership experience in Learning & Development, Leadership Development, Talent Management, Organizational Development, or related disciplines. Life sciences or pharmaceutical industry preferred
• 5+ years in corporate learning or similar role with experience in learning and development, field readiness, or organizational effectiveness at a senior level
• Experience building enterprise‑wide leadership development strategies in high‑growth and commercial stage organizations
• Highly adaptable, resilient with strong leadership presence, self‑awareness, and sound judgment
• Proven ability to design and curate high‑performance learning journeys by anticipating future of learning needs and channels.
• Proven ability to identify opportunities for learning and performance to yield measurable business outcomes
• Expert knowledge of Learning Sciences, Instructional Design, Modern Learning Experience Tools and Methodologies
• Proven ability to establish and monitor learning and performance measures, analyzing trends to adjust learning strategy and design as needed
• Partner with Customer Engagement, Marketing, Public Affairs and Access, and Medical to ensure training is tightly aligned to business strategy, customer needs, and field realities in complex markets.

Location: This position is based in South San Francisco and relocation benefits are available.

The expected salary range for this position based on the primary location of South San Francisco, CA is $233,450 - $433,550 USD Annual. Actual pay will be determined based on experience, qualifications, geographic location, and other job‑related factors permitted by law. A discretionary annual bonus may be available based on individual and Company performance. This position also qualifies for the benefits detailed at the link provided below.

Benefits

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Genentech is an equal opportunity employer. It is our policy and practice to employ, promote, and otherwise treat any and all employees and applicants on the basis of merit, qualifications, and competence. The company's policy prohibits unlawful discrimination, including but not limited to, discrimination on the basis of Protected Veteran status, individuals with disabilities status, and consistent with all federal, state, or local laws.

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