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Director of Learning & Development
Saadiyat Rotana Resort & Villas · Abu Dhabi
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Job description
Job Description We are seeking an exceptional Director of Learning & Development to redefine how people learn, grow and perform in a luxury hospitality environment.
This is not a traditional training role.
We are looking for a creative culture-builder, strategic thinker and experience designer who understands that learning is more than classrooms and compliance. You will be responsible for shaping a high-performance, people-centric culture while elevating service excellence to luxury standards.
The ideal candidate combines a passion for people development with a strong commercial mindset, using data, innovation and engaging learning experiences to drive measurable business outcomes.
If you are energetic, unconventional, fun, inspiring and capable of turning learning into a competitive advantage, we would love to hear from you.
Learning Strategy & Business Impact
- Develop and execute a comprehensive Learning & Development strategy aligned with business objectives, guest experience goals, and employer branding initiatives.
- Leverage learning analytics, operational KPIs, engagement metrics, guest satisfaction scores and brand standards to identify capability gaps and performance opportunities.
- Establish clear ROI measures for development initiatives and communicate business impact to senior leadership.
Culture & Engagement
- Act as a champion of organizational culture, values and colleague experience.
- Design innovative initiatives that strengthen engagement, inclusivity, belonging, recognition and wellbeing.
- Lead culture transformation programs that create meaningful and memorable colleague experiences.
- Foster a learning culture where curiosity, continuous improvement and innovation thrive.
Service Excellence & Luxury Standards
- Lead the property's journey toward Forbes Travel Guide excellence.
- Design, implement and continuously enhance luxury service training programs.
- Conduct service observations, coaching sessions, guest journey reviews and culture audits.
- Partner closely with operational leaders to elevate service delivery and emotional intelligence across all departments.
Leadership Development
- Create and deliver development pathways for leaders at all levels.
- Drive succession planning, talent acceleration, mentoring, coaching and career growth initiatives.
- Build internal talent pipelines and support future leadership readiness.
Innovation & Learning Experience Design
- Move beyond traditional classroom training by introducing-
- Micro-learning
- Gamification
- Interactive workshops
- Digital learning platforms
- Experiential learning
- Peer-to-peer learning
- AI-assisted learning solutions
- Continuously explore modern learning trends and innovative ways to engage colleagues.
Data & Performance Analytics
- Use workforce analytics and business intelligence to identify patterns and opportunities.
- Build dashboards measuring-
- Learning effectiveness
- Training completion
- Internal promotion rates
- Retention
- Engagement
- Guest satisfaction impact
- Forbes performance trends
- Present actionable insights to the leadership team.
Talent Development & Employer Brand
- Champion career development initiatives that position the hotel as an colleague of choice.
- Partner with operational teams to attract, develop and retain top talent.
- Support graduate programs, internships, management trainees and high-potential development initiatives.
Skills Preferred Background
- Minimum three years of Learning & Development leadership experience within luxury hospitality
- Experience in Forbes Five-Star, luxury resort, ultra-luxury hotel, or luxury lifestyle brands.
- Strong exposure to multicultural and diverse work environments.
- Experience leading culture enhancement, engagement and transformation projects.
- Experience managing learning technologies and digital learning platforms.
Success in This Role Looks Like
- Learning is viewed as a strategic business driver, not a training function.
- Colleagues feel engaged, inspired and continuously developed.
- Successful with Forbes Travel Guide 5-star certification.
- Internal talent pipelines strengthen.
- Leadership capability increases.
- Guest satisfaction and service excellence reach new levels.
- The hotel becomes recognized as a destination for outstanding talent and workplace culture.
Join Us
If you're ready to shape the future of learning, build an award-winning culture and create unforgettable experiences for both colleagues and guests, we invite you to be part of our journey.
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