Senior Director, Leadership Development for Leading Others

Gilead Sciences • Foster City, CA

6d • Onsite

About The Position

At Gilead our pursuit of a healthier world for all people has yielded a cure for hepatitis C, revolutionary improvements in HIV treatment and prevention as well as advancements in therapies for viral and inflammatory diseases and certain cancers. We set and achieve bold ambitions in our fight against the world’s most devastating diseases, united in our commitment to confronting the largest public health challenges of our day and improving the lives of patients for generations to come. About the role: The Senior Director, Leadership Development for Leading Others leads the design and delivery of an enterprise-wide people leadership development strategy for leaders below the senior executive level. This role supports leaders with direct reports, team leaders without formal people management responsibility, and emerging leaders preparing for future leadership roles. The scope spans first-time people leaders through highly experienced leaders of leaders, including new-to-company leader onboarding, succession development, and progression from frontline leadership to senior leadership roles. The role plays a critical part in building a strong, future-ready leadership pipeline and strengthening people leadership capability across the organization. This position reports to the Global Head of Talent & Growth and operates through influence, partnership, and a broad ecosystem of internal stakeholders and external partners. The role has no direct reports. This role reports to the Global Head of Talent & Growth and is located in Foster City, CA.

Requirements

• 12+ years with MS/MA, MBA, or PhD or 14+ years relevant experience with a bachelor's degree.
• Progressive experience in people leader development within large, complex organizations.
• Strong foundation in adult learning, leadership development, and behavior change across multiple leadership levels, from first‑time leaders to senior leaders of leaders.
• Proven ability to design and scale practical, business‑aligned leadership development approaches.
• Experience supporting leadership pipelines, succession, and readiness for expanded leadership roles.
• Fluency in applying AI‑enabled tools and innovative learning methods to improve leader effectiveness and development outcomes.
• Demonstrated ability to influence without authority and operate through partnerships, including managing external vendors and delivery ecosystems.
• Demonstrates personal growth through reflection, feedback seeking, and challenging assumptions.
• Builds trust and influence across a global, matrixed organization and operates effectively amid change and ambiguity.
• Applies enterprise and systems thinking to connect leadership development to strategy, culture, and long-term business outcomes.
• Uses data and insight to diagnose leadership needs and focus effort where it delivers the greatest impact.
• Takes a long-term, proactive view in designing development approaches that strengthen leadership capability and organizational health.
• Seeks diverse perspectives and fosters openness, psychological safety, and shared ownership.
• Communicates with clarity and impact, simplifying complexity and aligning stakeholders around a common direction.

Responsibilities

• People Leadership Strategy and Architecture
• Own and evolve a multi-year enterprise strategy for people leadership development below the senior executive level.
• Design a cohesive leadership development architecture that supports leaders from first-time people managers through senior leaders of leaders.
• Translate leadership priorities into clear roadmaps that build foundational capability, reinforce growth-oriented leadership, and scale impact over time.
• Ensure leadership development operates as an integrated journey across programs, experiences, tools, and in-the-flow-of-work learning aligned to business priorities and culture.
• Growth-Oriented People Leadership (2026 Priority)
• Establish the foundational capabilities and mindsets required for people leaders to act as growth enablers, supporting growth in role and growth in career.
• Embed growth-oriented leadership practices across all people leader experiences, including coaching, feedback, development planning, and team enablement.
• Partner with HR and business leaders to reinforce consistent expectations for people leaders as enablers of talent growth and readiness.
• Leader Development Across Career Stages
• Build and deliver foundational development for first-time people leaders, including people management, performance leadership, and inclusive leadership skills.
• Design development pathways for team leaders and informal leaders who lead through influence without formal people management responsibility.
• Lead onboarding for new-to-company people leaders to accelerate integration into leadership expectations, culture, and ways of working.
• Create differentiated development for experienced leaders and leaders of leaders, emphasizing enterprise thinking, talent development, and leading at scale.
• Support progression from frontline leadership to leaders of leaders and senior leaders, addressing increasing complexity, scope, and impact.
• Succession and Emerging Leader Development
• Partner with Talent and HR leaders to strengthen leadership pipelines and succession for critical roles below the executive level.
• Design development experiences for emerging leaders preparing for larger and more complex leadership roles, including future executive readiness.
• Provide insight into leadership capability gaps, readiness, and development priorities to inform enterprise talent decisions.
• Innovation, AI, Measurement, and Partnerships
• Apply innovative and AI-enabled approaches to personalize learning, scale development, and improve leader effectiveness.
• Establish metrics and feedback mechanisms to assess capability growth, behavior change, and business impact.
• Continuously refine leadership development strategies using data, qualitative insight, and systems thinking.
• Build and manage a strong ecosystem of external partners and act as a trusted advisor to HR and business leaders.

Benefits

• This position may also be eligible for a discretionary annual bonus, discretionary stock-based long-term incentives (eligibility may vary based on role), paid time off, and a benefits package.
• Benefits include company-sponsored medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans.
• For additional benefits information, visit: https://www.gilead.com/careers/compensation-benefits-and-wellbeing
• Eligible employees may participate in benefit plans, subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable plans.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director