Associate Director - Learning Design & Engagement Architect

At Lilly, we unite caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We are a global healthcare leader headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Our employees around the world work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to our communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. We give our best effort to our work, and we put people first. We’re looking for people who are determined to make life better for people around the world.

Role Purpose:
The Learning Design & Engagement Architect leads the strategic design, delivery, and continuous improvement of premier leadership development experiences across the enterprise. This role ensures that all content, learning experiences, communications, and engagement strategies are innovative, data-driven, and aligned with business needs, supporting the growth and performance of leaders at all levels and across all geographies.

Key Responsibilities

Curriculum, Content, & Experience Design

• Lead the GLD curriculum, content library, and learning strategy, continually curating for business alignment, effectiveness, and efficiency.
• Architect and be responsible for the design of leadership development programs, ensuring content is relevant, scalable, accessible, and tailored to diverse global audiences (including 70/20/10 principles).
• Partner with internal (GLCS) and external experts to develop engaging, high-impact learning experiences, employing digital platforms, micro-learning, and in-the-flow-of-work solutions.
• Partner with CLP Business Partners to ensure resources meet business area needs, and Employee Development team to ensure consistency in content and share/replicate methods as appropriate.
• Set and uphold design standards and heuristics for efficiency, effectiveness, and business relevance.
• Stay current on leadership trends, learning science, and industry/business needs.
• Supply to thought leadership and internal knowledge sharing.

Evaluation & Effectiveness

• Develop and implement robust evaluation methodologies to measure program impact, learning transfer, and business outcomes in partnership with the Executive Director, Executive Development and other team colleagues.
• Use real-time data, analytics, and feedback loops to advise continuous improvement and precision learning, including personalized assessments and dashboards for leaders in partnership with the Executive Director, Executive Development.
• Lead design sprints and regular collaborator touchpoints to assess and enhance program effectiveness.

Vendor & Procurement Management

• Identify, contract, and lead a global slate of vendors, universities, and external partners to deliver high-quality, scalable programming.
• Oversee procurement, budgeting, and contracting processes, ensuring seamless integration of external resources and alignment with organizational standards in partnership with the Senior Associate for Operations and Engagement.
• Scan the marketplace for innovative solutions and maintain strong relationships with key partners.

Digital Engagement

• Drive progressive digital strategy for leadership development, including the adoption of agentic learning and performance support, AI-enabled coaching, virtual facilitation, and technology-enabled assessments.
• Ensure all leaders have access to a modern, user-friendly library of resources, tools, and communications, with true global reach and language localization.
• In partnership with Tech@Lilly and Global Learning Solutions, champion digital-first but human-centric approaches to learning and engagement through design and integration with Lilly’s enterprise learning platforms.

Oversight of Communications, Marketing, & Materials

• Lead the development and execution of communication and marketing strategies to promote leadership development offerings and sustain a credible, inspiring brand presence.
• Be responsible for the creation and maintenance of branded materials, messaging, and toolkits for program participants and their supervisors, ensuring consistency and impact before, during, and after program participation.
• Collaborate with Employee Communications, the CLP Senior Associate for Operations and Engagement, Employee Development, and other stakeholders to maximize visibility and engagement.

Success Measures

• High engagement and satisfaction scores from leaders and collaborators, cross-functionally and globally.
• Demonstrated business impact of leadership development programs.
• Consistent, branded, and globally accessible learning experiences.
• Strong vendor performance and effective partnership management.
• Continuous improvement in program design, delivery, and outcomes.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree
• 10+ years in leadership development, learning design, or talent management, ideally in a global, matrixed organization.
• 5 years plus proven expertise in analysis, instructional design/development, digital learning, vendor management, and program evaluation.
• 3 years plus experience leading digital platforms, AI-enabled learning, and global program delivery.

• Qualified applicants must be authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. Lilly will not provide support for or sponsor work authorization or visas for this role, including but not limited to

  F-1 CPT, F-1 OPT, F-1 STEM OPT, J-1, H-1B, TN, O-1, E-3, H-1B1, or L-1.

Additional Preferences

• Strong project management, collaborator engagement, and influence skills.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Proficiency with AI tools and methods, as well as data analysis and data-driven decision-making.
• Experience with inclusive design methodologies and meeting WCAG standards for accessibility.
• Experience in pharmaceutical or highly supervised industry.
• Master’s degree in Organizational Development, HR, Business, or related field preferred.

Additional Information

• US working hours required, with flexibility to meet with global colleagues as needed outside of those hours
• Up to 20% business travel

Lilly is dedicated to helping individuals with disabilities to actively engage in the workforce, ensuring equal opportunities when vying for positions. If you require accommodation to submit a resume for a position at Lilly, please complete the accommodation request form (https://careers.lilly.com/us/en/workplace-accommodation) for further assistance. Please note this is for individuals to request an accommodation as part of the application process and any other correspondence will not receive a response.

Lilly is proud to be an EEO Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender identity, sex, gender expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, ancestry, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status.

Our employee resource groups (ERGs) offer strong support networks for their members and are open to all employees. Our current groups include: Africa, Middle East, Central Asia Network, Black Employees at Lilly, Chinese Culture Network, Japanese International Leadership Network (JILN), Lilly India Network, Organization of Latinx at Lilly (OLA), PRIDE (LGBTQ+ Allies), Veterans Leadership Network (VLN), Women’s Initiative for Leading at Lilly (WILL), enAble (for people with disabilities). Learn more about all of our groups.

Actual compensation will depend on a candidate’s education, experience, skills, and geographic location.  The anticipated wage for this position is

$127,500 - $187,000

Full-time equivalent employees also will be eligible for a company bonus (depending, in part, on company and individual performance). In addition, Lilly offers a comprehensive benefit program to eligible employees, including eligibility to participate in a company-sponsored 401(k); pension; vacation benefits; eligibility for medical, dental, vision and prescription drug benefits; flexible benefits (e.g., healthcare and/or dependent day care flexible spending accounts); life insurance and death benefits; certain time off and leave of absence benefits; and well-being benefits (e.g., employee assistance program, fitness benefits, and employee clubs and activities).Lilly reserves the right to amend, modify, or terminate its compensation and benefit programs in its sole discretion and Lilly’s compensation practices and guidelines will apply regarding the details of any promotion or transfer of Lilly employees.

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