Senior Director, Head of US Training, Rare Diseases

This is what you will do:

The Head of US Training, Rare Disease Unit (RDU) is the senior leader responsible for shaping and executing the training strategy that supports US Rare Disease commercial, access, clinical, and patient facing teams. You will define the vision for how training elevates capability, drives competitive performance, and enhances the overall rare disease customer and patient experience.
You will oversee training across three core pillars:
1.    Clinical Training (Disease Awareness & Pathophysiology)
2.    Healthcare System / Market Access / Soft Skills
3.    Patient Services Training
As a Senior Director, you will lead a ~15 person team, collaborate across US Commercial and Medical, and work in close partnership with Global Training to ensure alignment, leverage global assets, and shape next generation capability frameworks.

You will be responsible for:
Strategic Training Leadership
•    Develop and execute a unified US RDU training strategy aligned to brand, medical, global, and field priorities.
•    Elevate training as a strategic differentiator — building the clinical fluency, marketplace understanding, and behavioral excellence necessary to succeed in rare disease.
•    Partner deeply with Global Training to harmonize training frameworks, adapt global content for US needs, and contribute US insights into global learning strategy.
•    Champion the adoption of digital capabilities and AI enabled learning tools to design next generation, bespoke training solutions that elevate engagement, personalize learning pathways, and drive measurable performance impact.
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People Leadership
•    Lead, inspire, and develop a team of ~15 across clinical, access/soft skills, and patient services training verticals.
•    Foster a culture of innovation, continuous improvement, and excellence in adult learning.
•    Manage internal resources and external vendors to ensure agile, high quality delivery.
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Clinical Training (Disease Awareness & Pathophysiology)
•    Oversee creation and delivery of clinical training covering disease awareness, diagnostic pathways, burden of disease, and competitive landscapes.
•    Ensure all training is medically aligned, compliant, and designed for real world application.
•    Partner with Medical Affairs, Compliance, and Legal to ensure rigor and appropriate review.
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Healthcare System / Market Access / Soft Skills Training
•    Lead training that strengthens understanding of US healthcare system dynamics, reimbursement pathways, policy environment, and access drivers.
•    Develop and evolve soft skills capabilities, including: 
o    Competitive selling
o    Situational leadership
o    Communication excellence
o    Effective customer engagement
o    Objection handling
•    Partner with Market Access, Field Leadership, and L&D to ensure consistent capability expectations across the organization.
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Patient Services Training
•    Lead the training strategy for Patient Services teams, ensuring strong alignment to service model, systems, workflows, and compliance/privacy expectations.
•    Support onboarding, change management, systems adoption, and continuous learning.
•    Work closely with Patient Services leadership to ensure teams are fully prepared to deliver exceptional support across the patient journey.
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Operational Excellence
•    Oversee the end to end training calendar including onboarding, POA, skill building programs, and continuous capability development.
•    Standardize training processes, documentation, and curriculum frameworks in alignment with Alexion RDU standards.
•    Establish KPIs to measure training effectiveness and leverage insights to optimize learning pathways.
•    Integrate digital platforms and AI driven learning design to personalize content, streamline development, and scale high impact training.

You will need to have:
•    Bachelor’s degree in scientific, healthcare, business, education, or related field. 
•    10+ years of experience in biopharma training, commercial operations, medical education, or field leadership; rare disease experience strongly preferred. 
•    Demonstrated success leading multi disciplinary teams and managing large scale training programs. 
•    Strong understanding of clinical concepts, healthcare system dynamics, and patient support operations. 
•    Exceptional communication, facilitation, and change leadership skills. 
•    Proven ability to design training that integrates clinical, system, and behavioral capability-building.

We would prefer for you to have:
•    Advanced degree (MBA, MS, PharmD, MPH, etc.). 
•    Experience partnering with Global Training/Global Commercial functions. 
•    Hands on experience with AI enabled learning technologies, digital L&D platforms, and adaptive learning models. 
•    Experience supporting product launches or capability transformation in rare disease.

Annual base salary for this position ranges from $206,308.80 - 309,463.20 USD AnnualAstraZeneca is committed to providing fair and equitable compensation opportunities to all colleagues. Our compensation policies and practices have been designed to allow colleagues to progress through the salary range over time as they progress in their role. The range provided in this posting represents an offer pay range used in a majority of situations. The base pay offered will vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including the candidate's skills and experience, job-related knowledge, and other specific business and organizational needs.  In some cases, offers outside the range may also be considered to address unique circumstances.

In addition, our permanent positions offer an annual Variable Pay Bonus/Short Term Incentive opportunity as well as eligibility to participate in our equity-based long-term incentive program (if applicable to role).  Benefits offered for permanent roles include a competitive Flex Benefits & Retirement Savings Program, 4 weeks’ paid vacation, and annual Personal Days. Fixed Term Contract/Temporary positions (excluding students) are offered a Contract Benefits Program.

At AstraZeneca's Alexion division, you'll find an environment where innovation thrives alongside a commitment to making a difference for patients with rare diseases. Our culture is rooted in diversity and inclusion, fostering new ideas that profoundly impact lives. Here you'll be part of a team that values kindness as much as ambition, ensuring that every day is an opportunity to change lives for the better. With tailored development programs designed to enhance your skills while deepening your understanding of patients' journeys, you'll be empowered to make a real impact.

Ready to take on this exciting challenge? Apply now to join us on this journey

Why Join Us?

At Alexion, you will find a collaborative culture that encourages innovation and a diverse environment where your contributions are valued. You will have the opportunity to be at the forefront of rare disease research and make a meaningful difference in patients' lives.

Ready to lead and inspire?

Apply now and take the first step towards a fulfilling career at Alexion, AstraZeneca Rare Disease.

When we put unexpected teams in the same room, we unleash bold thinking with the power to inspire life-changing medicines. In-person working gives us the platform to connect, work at pace and challenge perceptions. That’s why we work, on average, a minimum of three days per week from the office. But that doesn’t mean we’re not flexible. We balance the expectation of being in the office while respecting individual flexibility. Join us in our unique and ambitious world.

AstraZeneca embraces diversity and equality of opportunity. We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse team representing all backgrounds, with as wide a range of perspectives as possible, and harnessing industry-leading skills. We believe that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be. We welcome and consider applications to join our team from all qualified candidates, regardless of their characteristics. We align with all applicable laws and regulations on non-discrimination in employment (and recruitment), as well as work authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements.

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Our mission is to build an inclusive environment where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and employees. In furtherance of that mission, we welcome and consider applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of their protected characteristics. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please complete the corresponding section in the application form.