Manager, Talent Development & Learning

Brief Description

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.

Role Purpose

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.

Mission

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

Primary Areas Of Ownership

• Talent Ecosystem Strategy
• Learning Experience
• Learner Success & Community
• Workforce Intelligence
• Program Development

Talent Ecosystem Strategy

• 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.

Learning Experience

• 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.

Learner Success & Community

• 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.

Workforce Intelligence

• Maintain workforce readiness dashboards.
• 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.

Program Development

• 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.

Qualifications

• 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 improve learner engagement, program effectiveness, and workforce readiness.
• Experience in gaming, hobby retail, consumer products, events, or community-driven organizations.
• Familiarity with tabletop gaming, organized play, or publisher ecosystems is a plus.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to engage diverse audiences.
• Proven ability to build collaborative relationships across cross-functional teams and external partners.
• Strong organizational skills with exceptional attention to detail and follow-through.
• Self-starter who thrives in a fast-paced, evolving environment and can work independently with minimal supervision.

Year One Priorities

• Launch the Skill Tree learner ecosystem.
• Develop certification standards and governance.
• Build mentor and ambassador programs.
• Implement workforce analytics and readiness dashboards.
• Create the first global certification pipeline for publisher programs.