Talent & Development Specialist - Japanese speaker

Marcus Evans is a global leader in business intelligence, helping our clients grow by making connections, sharing knowledge, inspiring people, building relationships, and creating new opportunities. With over four decades of experience and teams of highly experienced professionals across more than 50 office locations worldwide, we deliver impactful strategic insight and business development guidance across all sectors through high-level summits, conferences, online platforms, performance management coaching, and corporate event programmes.

Based in over 30 countries, we create services that connect decision-makers, spark innovation, and drive real business growth. We bring people together to inspire them—not only through what they learn, but also through who they meet. Our success is achieved through specialist teams working as one global network, each bringing deep expertise and unique market access.

Our overriding approach is collaboration to maximise opportunities, guided by our belief that:

"We'll be our most successful when we work together."

We recognize excellence and actively develop top performers into future leaders. Our culture promotes teamwork, continuous learning, and global career growth.

Marcus Evans is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment where all employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit, and business need.

Job Summary

We are seeking a Talent & Development Specialist to join our Tokyo office. This role combines Talent Acquisition, Learning & Quality, and Capability Development responsibilities to support the growth and performance of our Japan business.

As the local Talent & Development specialist, you will manage end-to-end recruitment, drive learning and capability initiatives, develop performance and quality frameworks, and provide insights that support employee growth and business success. You will work closely with the CEO and Managing Director of our Japan business while reporting functionally to the Managing Director, Global Talent Acquisition & Development, ensuring alignment between local business priorities and global people strategies.

This is an in-office role based in our Tokyo office.

Key Responsibilities

Talent Acquisition

• Manage the full recruitment lifecycle for Japan-based positions, from sourcing through onboarding.

• Partner with hiring managers to understand hiring needs, define recruitment strategies, and deliver high-quality talent pipelines.

• Conduct candidate screening interviews in Japanese and English and manage the candidate experience throughout the recruitment process.

• Develop sourcing strategies and maintain relationships with recruitment vendors, job boards, and external talent networks.

• Monitor recruitment metrics and provide hiring insights, market intelligence, and recommendations to stakeholders.

• Support employer branding initiatives and continuously improve recruitment processes and candidate experience.

Learning, Quality & Capability Development

• Design, coordinate, and track onboarding, functional, leadership, and development programmes across the employee lifecycle.

• Partner with business leaders to identify capability requirements, training needs, and development priorities across functions and role levels.

• Develop, maintain, and govern Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), best practices, and learning resources.

• Create and manage role-specific capability frameworks, KPI scorecards, and performance measurement systems.

• Collect, analyse, and report capability and performance data, providing actionable recommendations to improve business outcomes.

• Support leadership review processes through performance dashboards, capability assessments, and development planning.

• Monitor training participation, SOP compliance, and capability development progress across the business.

• Drive continuous improvement initiatives that enhance quality, operational consistency, employee development, and business performance.

• Collaborate with global Learning & Development initiatives to ensure alignment, scalability, and best-practice sharing across regions.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business, Education, Organizational Development, Psychology, or a related field.

• Minimum 3 years of experience in Talent Acquisition, Learning & Development, HR Development, Talent Management, or a related field.

• Experience independently managing full-cycle recruitment activities.

• Experience designing, coordinating, or delivering employee training and development programmes.

• Strong understanding of the Japanese talent market, recruitment practices, and candidate expectations.

• Hands-on experience using Japanese recruitment platforms such as DODA, マイナビ転職, en転職, or similar channels.

• Strong analytical skills with experience using data to measure performance, capability development, or recruitment outcomes.

• Excellent stakeholder management skills and the ability to influence and collaborate across multiple business functions.

• Near-native Japanese language proficiency and business-level English.

• Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple projects and priorities simultaneously.

• Proficiency with ATS platforms, LMS platforms, Microsoft Office, and digital learning tools.

Preferred

• Experience within a multinational or international organisation.

• Experience supporting sales, business development, marketing, or commercial functions.

• Experience developing KPI frameworks, scorecards, SOPs, or performance measurement systems.

• Experience with instructional design, e-learning development, or learning technologies.

• Professional HR, Talent Management, or Learning & Development certifications.

• Experience working with cross-functional stakeholders across multiple countries or regions.

What You'll Gain

• Opportunity to own Talent Acquisition and Talent Development activities for the Japan business.

• Direct exposure to senior leadership and strategic business decision-making.

• A highly autonomous role with significant influence on organisational capability and performance.

• Strong partnership with the global Talent Acquisition & Development function and access to specialist support from our Hyderabad People Centre of Excellence across Talent Acquisition, Learning & Development, Talent Management, and People Operations.

• Experience working within a global organisation with stakeholders across Japan, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and North America.

• Opportunities to shape recruitment, learning, quality, and capability frameworks that directly impact business growth.

Career Development Opportunities

• Access to Marcus Evans' global Learning Management System (LMS).

• Participation in mentorship and leadership development programmes.

• Ongoing professional development and training opportunities.

• Exposure to global projects and cross-functional business initiatives.

• Career progression opportunities within a growing international organisation.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit and business need.

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