Job Description
The Learning Creation Lead leads a global, multidisciplinary team responsible for end-to-end learning experience creation in support of an assigned Therapeutic Area (TA) and/or Commercial Capability portfolio, including product and disease and commercial function learning experiences aligned to business strategy, required learning outcomes, and business outcomes. Requires fluency in commercial acumen to conduct learning analysis, develop learning blueprints, and oversee creation of learning assets at global scale, including oversight of BPO and vendor partners. Reporting to a Learning Experience Lead, this role translates business and capability needs into innovative, scalable, and compliant learning solutions that drive performance, accelerate talent development, and support strategic priorities.
With strong business acumen and deep instructional design expertise, the Learning Creation Lead ensures every initiative is grounded in a clear understanding of the business challenge, defined performance outcomes, and GLD’s Learning Model and brand promise. This leader delivers learner‑centric, science‑based, inclusive learning experiences that meet our company's quality standards and produce measurable business impact.
Responsibilities
Learning Strategy & Needs Analysis: Partner with business stakeholders and GLD colleagues to analyze performance needs, identify skill gaps, and define clear learning and success outcomes. Use data, learner insights, and design thinking to ensure solutions address real business challenges.
Commercial Review Process: Ensure adherence to formal legal and medical review processes for compliant delivery of learning to commercial learner audiences.
High‑Level Learning Design: Create and maintain high‑level designs and learning journeys for assigned portfolios. Facilitate design sessions with SMEs and learners to define objectives, sequencing, and modalities aligned to GLD standards, enterprise experience maps, and audience context.
Team Leadership & Delivery: Lead and coach a global team of designers, developers, and vendors in a matrixed environment. Set priorities, manage multiple projects, and ensure agile, efficient execution from design through deployment while building team capability and performance.
Design & Development Oversight: Provide creative and quality oversight across all learning formats. Review and approve designs, prototypes, and final deliverables to ensure instructional rigor, engagement, visual consistency, and alignment to approved designs and GLD standards.
Stakeholder Partnership & Project Management: Serve as a trusted partner to business and GLD stakeholders throughout delivery. Manage scope, risks, timelines, and expectations while influencing stakeholders toward solutions that achieve performance outcomes and align with learning principles.
Quality, Efficiency & Continuous Improvement: Own quality, speed, and cost across the portfolio. Identify opportunities to streamline processes, improve agility, and reduce cycle time. Contribute to GLD continuous improvement initiatives and share best practices.
Measurement & Impact: Define KPIs and measurement strategies to evaluate learning effectiveness and business impact. Use data and feedback to iterate designs, improve outcomes, and promote a data‑driven learning culture.
Content Lifecycle & Portfolio Health: Partner with Catalog and Product Managers to ensure learning assets remain current, effective, and aligned to business priorities. Oversee content reviews, updates, and retirement in line with lifecycle governance.
Cross‑Functional Collaboration: Collaborate closely with Learning Experience Leads, portfolio peers, and the Learning Production Hub to drive integration, reuse, and consistency. Operate as “One GLD” to deliver cohesive learning journeys at scale.
Core Capabilities
Therapeutic, Scientific, and Commercial Business Acumen
Leadership & Team Development
Stakeholder & Vendor Management
Learning Strategy & Design Thinking
Instructional & Experience Design
Project, Risk, and Cost Management
Quality & Continuous Improvement
Data‑Driven Measurement & Impact
Digital Learning & LMS Expertise
Collaboration, Agility, and Change Leadership
Risk, Cost and Quality Management
Required:
Education: Minimum of a Bachelor's Degree or currently in pursuit of degree completion, or equivalent relevant work experience in HR or related discipline.
Learning & Development Experience: 10+ years of experience (or 8+ years with a Master’s or Ph.D.) in Learning & Development, instructional design, or training, with a proven record of delivering end‑to‑end learning programs. 3+ years leading teams or complex learning initiatives in a matrixed environment.
Instructional Design & Learning Science: Deep expertise in adult learning theory, instructional design, and learning science. Proven ability to design effective learning across modalities (e‑learning, virtual, instructor‑led, blended, performance support). Strong command of ADDIE and agile approaches, design thinking, curriculum design, learner personas, and measurable learning outcomes.
Project & Delivery Management: Demonstrated ability to lead complex, multi‑workstream learning projects from discovery through deployment. Strong planning, prioritization, risk management, and problem‑solving skills in fast‑paced, iterative environments.
People Leadership & Collaboration: Experience leading and developing multidisciplinary design and development teams, including vendors and contractors. Strong coaching, delegation, and feedback skills; able to foster high performance, inclusion, and continuous learning.
Business Partnership & Communication: Exceptional stakeholder management and consulting skills. Ability to translate business needs into compelling learning strategies and influence stakeholders toward learner‑centric, outcome‑focused solutions. Clear, executive‑ready communication of design decisions and learning value.
Measurement & Analytics: Data‑driven mindset with experience defining KPIs and evaluating learning effectiveness and impact. Ability to analyze learning data and insights to drive continuous improvement and business alignment.
Learning Technology Proficiency: Hands‑on experience with learning design and development tools (e.g., Articulate) and multimedia content creation. Working knowledge of LMS platforms, virtual delivery tools, and emerging learning technologies; able to quickly adopt new tools.
Industry & Compliance Awareness: Experience designing learning in regulated or complex environments. Understanding of training quality, documentation, and compliance expectations (e.g., GxP) and ability to balance effectiveness with regulatory rigor.
Preferred:
Advanced Education: Master’s or Ph.D. in Instructional Design, Learning & Development, Education, Organizational Psychology, Business, or related field.
Professional Certifications: Relevant certifications such as CPTD/ATD, PMP, Prosci Change Management, or agile certifications (e.g., Scrum Master).
Life Sciences Experience: Experience in pharmaceutical, biotech, or healthcare learning environments. Familiarity with function‑specific learning needs and regulatory expectations (e.g., FDA/EMA training requirements).
Advanced Learning Design Expertise: Experience with learning experience design (LXD), UX‑informed learning, large‑scale curriculum design, or learning technology implementations. Ability to use data visualization or analytics to communicate learning impact.
Change Leadership & Consulting: Demonstrated success using learning as a lever for organizational change. Experience leading L&D continuous improvement, innovation, or transformation initiatives.
Required Skills:
Adult Learning Principles, Adult Learning Principles, Blended Learning, Business Performance Management, Business Translations, Change Management, Communication, Communication Tools, Compliance Training, Curriculum Development, Delivery Management, Design Thinking, Digital Learning, Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Instructional Design, Leadership, Learning Design, People Leadership, Performance Support, Process Improvements, Project Management, Stakeholder Engagement, Stakeholder Management, Strategic Planning, Systems Management {+ 4 more}Preferred Skills:
Current Employees apply HERE
Current Contingent Workers apply HERE
US and Puerto Rico Residents Only:
Our company is committed to inclusion, ensuring that candidates can engage in a hiring process that exhibits their true capabilities. Please click here if you need an accommodation during the application or hiring process.
As an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer, we provide equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. As a federal contractor, we comply with all affirmative action requirements for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities. For more information about personal rights under the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment laws, visit:
We are proud to be a company that embraces the value of bringing together, talented, and committed people with diverse experiences, perspectives, skills and backgrounds. The fastest way to breakthrough innovation is when people with diverse ideas, broad experiences, backgrounds, and skills come together in an inclusive environment. We encourage our colleagues to respectfully challenge one another’s thinking and approach problems collectively.
Learn more about your rights, including under California, Colorado and other US State Acts
U.S. Hybrid Work Model
Effective September 5, 2023, employees in office-based positions in the U.S. will be working a Hybrid work consisting of three total days on-site per week, Monday - Thursday, although the specific days may vary by site or organization, with Friday designated as a remote-working day, unless business critical tasks require an on-site presence.This Hybrid work model does not apply to, and daily in-person attendance is required for, field-based positions; facility-based, manufacturing-based, or research-based positions where the work to be performed is located at a Company site; positions covered by a collective-bargaining agreement (unless the agreement provides for hybrid work); or any other position for which the Company has determined the job requirements cannot be reasonably met working remotely. Please note, this Hybrid work model guidance also does not apply to roles that have been designated as “remote”.
The salary range for this role is
$129,000.00 - $203,100.00This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. An employee’s position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, government requirements, and business or organizational needs.
The successful candidate will be eligible for annual bonus and long-term incentive, if applicable.
We offer a comprehensive package of benefits. Available benefits include medical, dental, vision healthcare and other insurance benefits (for employee and family), retirement benefits, including 401(k), paid holidays, vacation, and compassionate and sick days. More information about benefits is available at https://jobs.merck.com/us/en/compensation-and-benefits.
You can apply for this role through https://jobs.merck.com/us/en (or via the Workday Jobs Hub if you are a current employee). The application deadline for this position is stated on this posting.
San Francisco Residents Only: We will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment in compliance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance
Los Angeles Residents Only: We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance
Search Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully
Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company. No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails.
Employee Status:
RegularRelocation:
No relocationVISA Sponsorship:
NoTravel Requirements:
10%Flexible Work Arrangements:
HybridShift:
Not IndicatedValid Driving License:
NoHazardous Material(s):
N/AJob Posting End Date:
03/24/2026*A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFORE the listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date.