Vice President Talent & Development – Commercial International & US

Job Description Summary

#LI-Hybrid
Locations: Basel, Switzerland or East Hanover, USA
Relocation Support: Yes
Step into a pivotal leadership role where your strategic vision will shape the future of talent, leadership, and capability across Novartis’ Commercial International and US organizations. As Vice President Talent & Development, you’ll partner directly with senior executives to drive transformation, elevate leadership effectiveness, and build a future-ready workforce. With a global scope and high business impact, this role offers the opportunity to influence over 30,000 employees and help grow a $50B business to $60B by 2030. If you’re passionate about unlocking human potential and driving enterprise-wide change, this is your moment to lead with purpose.
Please note this role will require approximately 30% travel.

 

Job Description

Key Responsibilities

Talent Management and Scouting:

• Drive Strategic Talent & Leadership Development: Implement comprehensive Talent & Development plans, establish strong succession processes, and accelerate the growth of high-potential leaders to ensure both International and US businesses have the leadership and capabilities needed for current and future success.

• Proactively Address Talent Gaps: Lead targeted talent scouting and build robust external pipelines for critical roles, ensuring future talent needs are anticipated and addressed ahead of time.

Leadership Development and Coaching:

• Provide comprehensive leadership development by coaching teams, championing growth programs for senior and high-potential leaders and using assessment tools to accelerate next-generation leadership effectiveness.

Learning and Capability Development:

• Drive continuous skill development by identifying and addressing current and future gaps through targeted learning initiatives, partnering with business leaders to deliver tailored programs, and fostering a culture of ongoing learning using innovative tools and technologies.

Organizational Development and Workforce Planning (ex-US only)

• Design and Evolve Organizational Structures: Collaborate with business and P&O leaders to create fit-for-purpose organizational structures and lead effective change management, ensuring alignment with strategic priorities.

• Strategic Workforce Planning and Performance Enablement: Drive workforce planning and integrated strategies using analytics and external trends to address both immediate and future talent needs, while delivering data-driven organizational health checks and enhancing team effectiveness for the future of work.

Engagement, Collaboration and Thought Leadership

• Promote a positive, high-performing work environment by embedding leadership values into daily practices and supporting initiatives that drive engagement, inclusion, and well-being.

• Be a steward of the company culture, embedding leadership expectations and behaviors in action into daily practices and processes through activation and storytelling.

• Act as a strategic advisor by translating workforce trends into actionable insights and contributing to cross-regional initiatives for consistent business alignment.

Essential Requirements

• Degree in business administration, communications, human resources, or marketing.

• Extensive years of HR leadership experience in global organizations.

• Proven success implementing end-to-end talent strategies and succession planning.

• Strong expertise in Talent Management and Organizational Development.

• Experience working across diverse cultures and geographies, including US and International.

• Ability to apply data and analytics in talent decision-making, storytelling engaging leaders on a journey from concept to impact.

• Skilled in strategic thinking, transformation, change management, execution and culture evolution.

• Evidence of balancing competing priorities without losing momentum behind execution.

Desirable Requirements

• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with AI tools and technologies, leveraging digital solutions to enhance HR processes and drive organizational outcomes.

• Fluent in Spanish or Portuguese.

Benefits & Rewards

Novartis offers a comprehensive benefits package in Switzerland, including competitive compensation, pension contributions, health insurance support, and access to learning and development programs. Please note that Switzerland does not offer a car benefit, and financial support for schooling has limitations based on age and level. Healthcare insurance is paid out-of-pocket based on the plan chosen by the individual.

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion / EEO paragraph

Novartis is committed to building an outstanding, inclusive work environment and diverse teams representative of the patients and communities we serve.

Accessibility and Accommodation

Novartis is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to all individuals. If, because of a medical condition or disability, you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the recruitment process, or in order to receive more detailed information about the essential functions of a position, please send an e-mail to [email protected] and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information. Please include the job requisition number in your message.

 

Skills Desired

Business Partnering, Change Management, Communication Skills, Human Resources (HR), Leadership, Leadership Development, Operational Excellence, Organizational Development (OD), Performance Management, Relationship Building, Resilience, Talent Management, Waterfall Model