Head of Commercial Learning, US Biopharmaceutical

AstraZeneca•Wilmington, DE

6d•Hybrid

About The Position

This role is responsible for setting the vision, strategy, and execution for commercial learning and capability development across the US Biopharmaceutical portfolio (Cardiovascular, Renal, Metabolic, Respiratory, Immunology & Vaccines). The objective is to shape how customer-facing teams compete and win by ensuring representatives understand the science, clinical evidence, customer and competitive context, navigate access barriers, and utilize cross-functional capabilities effectively. The position owns an end-to-end performance strategy including standards, practice environments, certification, manager coaching, field reinforcement, and measurement to drive observable changes in field behavior and improve business performance. This includes creating a common capability foundation for new hires, differentiated sales pathways, and function-specific depth, enabling ethical and effective use of CRM, data, analytics, and AI.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree required - Advanced education in life sciences, business, or a related discipline is valued but does not substitute for relevant commercial leadership experience.
Significant pharmaceutical commercial and field experience - 10+ years of relevant experience, including direct sales, sales leadership, or equivalent accountability for customer-facing execution and business performance.
Demonstrated competitive-selling leadership - Proven success building or leading selling systems that improve differentiation, objection handling, customer influence, and field execution in competitive markets.
Evidence of behavior and performance impact - A demonstrated record of translating strategy, science, customer insight, and competitive context into changed field behavior and measurable commercial impact.
Strong US healthcare-system and access understanding - Working knowledge of provider and payer dynamics, reimbursement and prior-authorization pathways, patient-support resources, and the compliant role of sales in addressing access barriers.
Scientific and clinical credibility - Ability to understand complex evidence and ensure it is translated into accurate, differentiated, practical, and compliant customer engagement.
Manager coaching and reinforcement experience - Proven ability to equip first-line managers to observe, coach, reinforce, and hold teams accountable for sustained application.
Enterprise and cross-functional leadership - Demonstrated ability to lead across Sales, Marketing, Medical, Market Access, Compliance, Customer Engagement, Data and Analytics, Human Resources, and senior leadership in a complex matrix.
Digital, data, and AI fluency - Ability to integrate CRM, analytics, and approved AI capabilities into practical field workflows and performance expectations.
Portfolio and launch leadership - Experience prioritizing enterprise capability investments and leading field readiness across multiple brands, therapy areas, or significant launches.
People and resource leadership - Experience building high-performing teams and managing budgets, vendors, technology partners, and enterprise-scale programs.
Ethical leadership - Strong knowledge of commercial compliance requirements and a demonstrated commitment to appropriate, patient-centered, and ethical customer engagement.
Field presence - Willingness to travel frequently for field visits, customer-facing observation, leadership meetings, and business reviews.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree - MBA, MS, PharmD, PhD, EdD, or another relevant graduate degree.
Breadth of commercial experience - Leadership across multiple therapy areas, primary and specialty care, complex accounts, and cross-functional customer models.
Enterprise capability transformation - Experience creating or materially evolving a commercial capability, selling-excellence, or manager-coaching operating model at scale.
Modern practice and assessment - Experience using simulation, analytics, digital learning, and technology-enabled practice to assess proficiency and accelerate performance.

Responsibilities

Define and own a multi-year commercial capability strategy linked to US priorities, with clear governance, standards, investment choices, success measures, and continuous improvement.
Set an integrated capability model for representatives spanning scientific and clinical acumen, business acumen, competitive selling, customer engagement, account planning, healthcare-system understanding, access navigation, data fluency, CRM, AI-enabled execution, and cross-functional orchestration.
Establish and evolve a differentiated, compliant approach to competitive selling that converts brand strategy, clinical evidence, market-access realities, customer insight, and competitive intelligence into sharp customer conversations and clear asks.
Prepare representatives to integrate account insight, patient needs, clinical opportunities, access realities, and enterprise resources; engage specialist teams appropriately; and maintain compliant role boundaries.
Build working knowledge of payer and provider dynamics, reimbursement and prior-authorization processes, access barriers, support resources, and appropriate escalation—equipping reps to recognize and sell through barriers compliantly.
Create a common foundation for new hires followed by differentiated role-based pathways, partnering with specialist functions to own their depth and certification.
Partner with Sales, Brand, Medical, Market Access, Compliance, Customer Engagement, Data and Analytics, and Global Learning to translate strategy and science into a small number of clear field behaviors, messages, tools, and coaching priorities.
Own capability and field readiness for launches end to end—from gap assessment to scientific and competitive readiness, practice, certification, manager coaching, and post-launch reinforcement—grounded in real customer, account, access, and patient-identification dynamics.
Make first-line managers the reinforcement engine through a common coaching model, expectations, observation tools, cadence, and accountability.
Embed approved tools into customer preparation, prioritization, personalization, engagement, and follow-through—building sound judgment to use data and AI effectively, ethically, and compliantly.
Establish measures beyond knowledge and completion to assess proficiency in realistic conversations, adoption of priority behaviors, coaching quality, consistency of execution, time to effectiveness, and contribution to customer and business outcomes.
Challenge demand, stop or simplify low-value activity, and focus resources on the few capabilities with the greatest impact—preventing order-taking and training without a clear performance need.
Recruit, develop, and inspire a high-performing team of therapy-area and capability leaders known for improving performance, not just delivering programs.
Ensure scientific accuracy; medical, legal, regulatory, and commercial compliance; and optimal use of vendors, platforms, budget, and learning modalities to achieve outcomes.