Senior Director Talent Management

About Acadia Pharmaceuticals

Acadia is advancing breakthroughs in neuroscience to elevate life. Since our founding, we have been working at the forefront of healthcare to bring vital solutions to people who need them most. We developed and commercialized the first and only FDA-approved drug to treat hallucinations and delusions associated with Parkinson’s disease psychosis and the first and only approved drug in the United States and Canada for the treatment of Rett syndrome.

Our clinical-stage development efforts are focused on Prader-Willi syndrome, Alzheimer’s disease psychosis, and multiple other programs targeting neuro-psychiatric and neuro-rare diseases. For more information, visit us at  and follow us on Linked In and X.

Please note that this position is based in San Diego, CA. Acadia's hybrid model requires this role to work in our office three days per week on average.

Position Summary:

The Senior Director, Talent Development and Engagement will lead initiatives that enhance employee engagement, recognition, learning, talent management, and wellness. This strategic role drives People & Performance (P&P) efforts to foster a high-performance culture, support organizational change, and develop future leaders. The Sr. Director will collaborate with senior leadership, HR, and key stakeholders to implement impactful programs that elevate employee experience, strengthen company culture, and align talent strategies with business goals.

Additionally, this role oversees P&P communications to ensure clear, engaging messaging across the organization.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Manage talent development and engagement team
• Consult with senior management and function leaders regarding talent development and engagement needs
• Partner with People & Performance team (HR) and other key stakeholders in the organization to develop and promote organizational change and learning initiatives
• Manage vendor relationships to produce quality outcomes and ROI
• Leverage data driven decision making and research to identify trends and make recommendations for improvement in learning, talent, and engagement processes
• Support organizational transformation initiatives, helping teams navigate change and evolve in a fast-paced, growing environment

Learning and Development

• Define and develop a scalable, progressive strategy for learning and development tied to business objectives
• Oversee the design, development, delivery, and management of high impact Professional Development, Management Development, Career Development, and Leadership Development programs and offerings.
• Create and offer a variety of development solutions including instructor-led courses, e-learning modules, assessments, coaching, and mentorship, incorporating a blended approach to delivery
• Creatively develop and implement effective methods to enhance performance and provide growth opportunities to all Acadians
• Facilitate innovative and dynamic training sessions to individuals and groups of varying seniority
• Assess overall corporate and leadership learning needs to drive training initiatives
• Lead and execute development programs for high potential employees, including emerging leaders

Engagement, Wellness & Communications

• Lead the Employee Engagement efforts, including administration of all lifecycle surveys (onboarding, exit, pulse and annual employee experience)
• Analyze results from employee surveys and develops communications to share results within P&P, executives, and other stakeholders, as necessary
• Collaborate with the business and P&P leadership to design effective response programs to employee feedback
• Develop P&P communications and promotional strategies to raise awareness and educate Acadians on P&P initiatives
• Partner with the corporate communications team to further embed Acadia’s culture through ongoing employee communications
• Provide the strategy and execution of Acadia’s employee recognition programs administered by P&P, including peer-to-peer recognition and rewards program
• Establish the strategy and execute employee engagement events, across all Acadia locations
• Manage and plan the execution of all employee events, including the coordination with vendors,…