Senior Manager, Capability Development (Talent, Learning & Development)

Real Chemistry; Boston (MA); Hybrid; USD 100,000 - 115,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Private medical

Dental & vision plans

LinkedIn Learning access

Generous holidays

Job summary

Real Chemistry is seeking a Senior Manager, Capability Development to partner with leaders and drive performance through practical, scalable learning solutions. This strategic role blends consulting mindset, business acumen, and AI-enabled learning to shape capabilities that matter for client impact.

Reporting to the Senior Director, Talent Development & Employee Engagement, you will diagnose challenges, design programs, and measure outcomes while collaborating with PBPs, SMEs, and global teams

Qualifications

• 6 to 8 years of experience in learning and development, capability building, or organizational development.
• Strong consulting and stakeholder influence skills, with experience partnering with senior leaders.
• Demonstrated ability to diagnose root causes and design targeted, practical solutions.
• Deep knowledge of adult learning principles and modern learning approaches.

Responsibilities

• Act as a trusted advisor to business and capability leaders, identifying root causes behind performance challenges and shaping solutions that align with commercial priorities.
• Design and deliver targeted capability initiatives that support both immediate business needs and longer‑term skill building.
• Enable teams to build skills while delivering work, minimizing disruption to billable time.
• Apply creative thinking to develop engaging, non‑traditional learning approaches.
• Define clear success metrics tied to behavior change and business performance.
• Partner closely with People Business Partners (PBPs), SMEs, and global and local stakeholders to align on priorities, scale solutions, and drive consistency across teams.
• Explore and implement AI‑powered learning tools and technologies to accelerate capability development.

Skills

Consulting & Stakeholder Influence

Root Cause Analysis

Business Acumen

Learning in Flow of Work

Adult Learning

Facilitation & Collaboration

Prioritization

Agency/Consulting Experience

Customer-Facing Experience

Job description

At Real Chemistry, making the world a healthier place isn’t just an aspiration—it’s our everyday reality. Our drive to transform healthcare is informed by our blend of deep scientific expertise, human‑centred creativity, and AI‑driven insights, fostering a unique environment where innovation thrives and our people are impact‑obsessed. As a global agency, we provide a full suite of services across healthcare communications and marketing to our clients, including top players in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.

Our #LifeatRealChem culture is rooted in our people—we believe we are best together and are committed to excellence for both our clients and colleagues. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just starting your career, if you share our passion for healthcare and connection, we invite you to explore our opportunities.

Discover your purpose. Embrace innovation. Experience #LifeatRealChem.

Job Summary

The Senior Manager, Capability Development is a strategic capability consultant and trusted business partner who helps leaders build the skills, behaviors, and capabilities needed to drive performance and achieve business goals. Reporting to the Senior Director, Talent Development & Employee Engagement, this role partners closely with business leaders, people leaders, and People Business Partners to diagnose performance challenges, uncover root causes, and design practical, scalable solutions that improve individual, team, and organizational effectiveness.

This role views learning as one of many tools to accelerate capability and performance. Success is measured not by training delivered, but by the impact created—whether that is stronger leadership, improved team effectiveness, increased client impact, accelerated adoption of new ways of working, or measurable business outcomes. The ideal candidate brings a consulting mindset, strong business acumen, and the ability to influence stakeholders while building capability in a fast‑paced, client‑centric environment where innovation, commercial thinking, and measurable results matter.

What you’ll do

• Business Partnership & Consulting: Act as a trusted advisor to business and capability leaders, identifying root causes behind performance challenges and shaping solutions that align with commercial priorities. Build strong partnerships that ensure shared ownership of capability outcomes.
• Capability Strategy & Program Design: Design and deliver targeted capability initiatives that support both immediate business needs and longer‑term skill building. Co‑create practical, scalable experiences that connect directly to how teams work.
• Learning in the Flow of Work: Enable teams to build skills while delivering work, minimizing disruption to billable time.
• Problem Solving & Creativity: Apply creative thinking to develop engaging, non‑traditional learning approaches. Move beyond standard training to design solutions that address real business challenges.
• Measurement & Impact: Define clear success metrics tied to behavior change and business performance. Track progress and continuously refine approaches based on data and feedback.
• Cross‑Functional Collaboration: Partner closely with People Business Partners (PBPs), SMEs, and global and local stakeholders to align on priorities, scale solutions, and drive consistency across teams.
• Leverage AI‑Enabled Learning Solutions: Explore and implement AI‑powered tools, learning technologies, and performance support resources to accelerate capability development.

You’ll love this job if:

• You are a consultant at heart and enjoy diagnosing problems and shaping solutions with business leaders
• You are a doer who can move from strategy to execution without losing momentum
• You are commercially minded and understand how capability drives performance and results
• You are creative and enjoy designing solutions that go beyond traditional learning
• You are a strong partner who builds trust and aligns stakeholders across teams
• You are comfortable in fast‑paced, billable environments and can balance quality with speed
• You care about impact, not just activity, and focus on observable behavior change
• You are immensely practical and understand how to meet the business where they are

What you should have:

• 6 to 8 years of experience in learning and development, capability building, or organizational development
• Strong consulting and stakeholder influence skills, with experience partnering with senior leaders
• Demonstrated ability to diagnose root causes and design targeted, practical solutions
• Strong business acumen and understanding of commercial drivers
• Experience designing and embedding learning into the flow of work
• Deep knowledge of adult learning principles and modern learning approaches
• Exceptional facilitation, communication, and collaboration skills
• Proven ability to manage multiple priorities in a matrixed environment

• Experience in an agency, consulting, or other billable environment is strongly preferred
• Experience supporting customer‑facing or commercial teams is strongly preferred

Pay Range:

$100,000 – $115,000
This is the pay range the Company believes it will pay for this position at the time of this posting. Consistent with applicable law, compensation will be determined based on job‑related, non‑discriminatory factors including but not limited to work experience, skills, certifications, and geographical location. The Company reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time.

Real Chemistry is proud to be Great Place to Work®certified; check out what our people shared about our culture and workplace on our Great Places to Work Profile here.

We believe we can do our best when feeling our best, which is why we’ve put together a benefits program designed to give you the support you and your family need at every stage of life. Real Chemistry offers a comprehensive benefit program and perks, tailored to your region. Globally, this includes offices in our key markets with free snacks to keep you running all day long, generous holiday and paid time off, options for private medical, dental, and vison plans, and support in saving for the future. Other perks include mental wellness coaching and supportandaccess to more than 13,000 online classes with LinkedIn Learning. Learn more about our great benefits and perks and search specific offerings in your region at www.realchemistrybenefits.com.

At Real Chemistry, we believe we're at our best when we're connected. Our Real Hybrid and Regional Teams (Real HART) approach is designed to foster collaboration, learning, innovation, and meaningful relationships while providing flexibility where appropriate. Because our workforce spans multiple countries, regions, and client needs, work arrangements may vary by role and location. Some positions offer hybrid or remote flexibility, while others require regular in‑office presence. For example, certain teams and regions, including some of our UK operations, have office‑based requirements. Your recruiter will discuss the specific expectations for the role you're pursuing during the interview process and keep you informed throughout the hiring journey. For employees located within a one‑hour commute of a Real Chemistry office, we require in‑person attendance two days per week, either from a Real Chemistry office or when working onsite with clients. Employees in regions without a nearby office may work remotely and come together throughout the year for collaboration, culture‑building, learning, and team connection opportunities. While these guidelines reflect our current workplace model, we understand that everyone’s circumstances are unique. If you require additional flexibility, we welcome an open conversation with your recruiter and our HR team to discuss your needs and determine what may be possible.

Real Chemistry is an Equal Opportunity employer. We continually strive to build and sustain an inclusive and equitable work environment where our employees feel empowered to leverage all they bring from their personal lived experience and professional expertise, to make our team the best in the industry. We encourage motivated and qualified applicants to apply without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, ethnic or national origin, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information, marital information, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local employment discrimination laws where Real Chemistry operates. Should you require accommodations throughout the interview process please let your recruiter know.