Talent Development Lead

We’re the world’s largest seller of pre‑loved books — a certified B Corp with over 1,000 people, operations across the UK, US and Hungary, and a mission to become the Planet’s Bookstore. We’ve rehomed over 100 million books since 2002, and we’re growing fast.

Reporting directly to the Chief People Officer, you’ll own how people are onboarded, assessed and developed across World of Books—from warehouse operatives taking their first steps into team leadership, through to senior leaders building succession depth. This is a genuinely broad remit. You’ll build performance and talent frameworks, run a learning management system, manage our apprenticeship programme, design learning pathways, and work shoulder‑to‑shoulder with senior stakeholders to close capability gaps that actually matter to the business. You’ll also roll your sleeves up when needed — designing materials, running sessions, and fixing things that aren’t working.

Your first year has a clear shape: a refreshed performance framework in use across the business, a stronger onboarding experience, a better‑configured LMS, and clear development pathways for frontline operational roles. Real deliverables, real impact.

What you’ll be doing:

• Owning and evolving the performance framework — making it a practical, trusted tool for setting expectations, assessing performance and supporting development
• Leading talent calibration: giving the business a clear, consistent view of top talent, critical roles and succession risks
• Identifying capability gaps and designing or sourcing the right learning to close them — internal programmes, coaching, external providers
• Owning the LMS (Dayforce) and developing it into a platform people actually use
• Managing the apprenticeship programme, levy funding, and provider partnerships
• Building clear learning pathways for both Head Office and operational (warehouse) colleagues
• Owning onboarding and induction end‑to‑end, so every new starter hits the ground running
• Supporting managers to meet a clear, consistent standard — helping them have better conversations about performance, development and progression
• Managing the L&D budget and tracking the impact of every initiative

What we’re looking for:

• Experience building and running L&D in a fast‑growing or transforming business — ideally in retail, ecommerce, logistics, or a similarly operational environment
• Comfortable supporting both corporate Head Office teams and large frontline or warehouse populations — this role spans both
• A strong grasp of how performance, potential and succession fit together, and how to turn that into practical decisions
• Confident using data, judgement and business context to decide where to invest L&D effort and budget
• Able to build strong relationships at every level — from the CPO to a first‑time team leader in a warehouse
• Happy to own things end‑to‑end and get hands‑on when needed — this isn’t a role for someone who only designs strategy
• Based in London, able to spend at least 2 days a week in our Victoria office, with occasional travel to Coventry

Why World of Books?

• A mission that genuinely matters — B Corp certified, sustainability at the core, 100 million books given a second life
• A visible, senior‑partnered role with real scope to shape how a growing business develops its people
• A business that moves fast and gives you the autonomy to build things properly
• London‑based (Victoria, ~2 days per week), with a collaborative, values‑driven People team
• Backed by Livingbridge private equity and generating £200m+ revenue — the investment in people is real

World of Books is a certified B Corporation. We are committed to building an inclusive team and welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds.