Manager, Talent Development & Learning

Welcome to Merchant Guild, where passion meets purpose!

We are a consulting and support agency dedicated to empowering the trading card game (TCG) and tabletop gaming industry.

Our mission is not just to grow sales but to ignite the spirit of adventure within the hobby ecosystem, helping local game stores thrive.

Through tailored strategies, market insights, and hands‑on support, we equip retailers, distributors, and publishers to embrace the exciting future of gaming.

Join us in shaping an industry where collaboration, creativity, and opportunity drive lasting success.

Location: UK-Remote or Germany-Remote

Lead the development of Merchant Guild's global talent ecosystem by designing, growing, and optimizing the Skill Tree platform, learner experience, and workforce strategy. This role is responsible for ensuring Merchant Guild has a sustainable pipeline of qualified talent capable of supporting future publisher programs, events, and ecosystem growth.

Create the tabletop gaming industry's premier talent development ecosystem by attracting and retaining a global community of qualified professionals.

• Develop long‑term talent acquisition strategies for Skill Trees.
• Build scalable pathways into Merchant Guild careers and certifications.
• Forecast future workforce needs alongside Operations and publisher partners.
• Identify emerging skill gaps and recommend new learning programs.

• Serve as the voice of the learner and community, representing their needs and experience to the educational designer.
• Surface learner feedback, pain points, and engagement patterns to inform Skill Tree development and improvements.
• Partner with subject matter experts and the educational designer to ensure content design reflects real learner needs.
• Monitor learner satisfaction, progression, and completion trends, flagging where the experience could improve.
• Champion continuous improvement from enrollment through certification as the voice of the learner.

• Increase learner engagement, retention, and completion.
• Build mentor, ambassador, and volunteer programs.
• Foster a healthy global learning community.
• Develop communication strategies that increase participation and long‑term involvement.
• Analyze talent supply by certification, geography, language, and specialization.
• Produce workforce forecasts to support future operational demand.
• Ensure the integrity of talent data and certification records.

• Establish KPIs for learner acquisition, certification, retention, and deployment readiness.
• Recommend new programs, certifications, and partnerships that expand Merchant Guild's talent ecosystem.
• Partner with Product, Operations, and Publisher Success to align workforce capabilities with business strategy.

• Growth of certified learners
• Increased certification completion rates
• Higher learner retention and engagement
• Expansion of the global mentor network
• Workforce supply exceeds forecasted demand
• High quality and accuracy of workforce intelligence
• New learning pathways launched annually

• Builds Merchant Guild's long‑term competitive advantage through talent development.
• Creates the industry's largest certified workforce.
• Reduces dependence on external recruiting by developing talent internally.
• Enables Operations to access deployment‑ready professionals through a scalable workforce ecosystem.
• Supports publisher growth through a sustainable pipeline of certified talent.

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Learning & Development, Organizational Development, Education, Business, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
• 5+ years of experience in talent development, learning & development, workforce planning, program management, community management, or a related field.
• Experience managing learning programs, certification programs, or talent development initiatives.
• Experience working with Learning Management Systems (LMS) and learner engagement platforms.
• Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple initiatives and priorities simultaneously.
• Experience analyzing data and developing insights to…