Assistant Manager - People & Culture

Americana Restaurants; Dubai; On-site; AED 180,000 - 360,000; Full time

Job summary

Americana Restaurants is seeking an HR Business Partner to partner with senior leaders across multiple markets, translating people priorities into practical actions. You will coach managers on goal setting, feedback, and performance discussions, and support talent and succession planning with data-driven insights.

The role emphasizes governance, fairness, and data quality while enabling AI-enabled tools to enhance decision-making and workforce planning.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in HR or Business Administration.
• 6–8 years of HR Business Partnering experience in multi-unit or frontline environments.
• Experience in retail, hospitality, or F&B is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Partner with business leaders to translate people priorities into practical actions.
• Enable managers with goal setting, feedback and performance conversations.
• Support real-time decision-making on people matters with governance and fairness.
• Drive talent and performance processes such as performance cycles and succession planning.
• Provide insights on capability gaps, trends, and leadership readiness.
• Drive data-driven insights and AI-enabled reporting across markets.
• Support workforce planning and internal mobility in partnership with TA.
• Ensure data accuracy in HR systems and streamline processes.

Skills

Business partnering

Stakeholder engagement

Data-driven thinking

Analytical capability

Problem-solving

Process improvement

AI-enabled tools

Planning & execution

Multi-priority management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources or Business Administration

Tools

Oracle HCM

Job description

Please note: The job location is AL Rayyan Tower, Dubai - Sharjah Border, Near Sahara Center Mall, Sharjah.

Job Purpose:

The P&C plays a key role in enabling a high-performing, agile, and future-ready workforce across Americana Restaurants.

Working closely with business leaders and P&C COEs, the role focuses on translating people priorities into practical, business-relevant actions, ensuring that talent, performance, and engagement initiatives drive measurable impact on leadership effectiveness and organizational outcomes.

The role combines strong execution discipline with a forward-looking approach, leveraging data, digital tools, and AI-enabled solutions to enhance decision-making, improve efficiency, and strengthen the overall people and manager experience.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Business Partnership & Manager Effectiveness

• Partner with business leaders to translate people priorities into practical, on-the-ground actions.
• Enable managers to effectively lead teams through goal setting, feedback, and performance conversations.
• Support real-time decision-making on people matters, balancing business needs with governance and fairness.
• Reinforce a culture of ownership, accountability, and performance excellence.

2. Talent & Performance Execution

• Drive execution of talent and performance processes including OPR, performance cycles, IDPs, and succession planning.
• Ensure quality of talent discussions and meaningful development planning, not just process completion.
• Support managers in embedding development actions within day-to-day work.
• Provide insights on capability gaps, performance trends, and leadership readiness.

3. Workforce Planning & Talent Flow

• Support workforce planning aligned to business priorities, organizational structure, and cost considerations.
• Enable effective hiring and internal mobility in partnership with Talent Acquisition.
• Monitor talent pipeline strength and movement across roles and markets.

4. People Experience & Engagement

• Support creation of a positive and high-performing work environment through strong manager practices.
• Ensure engagement initiatives translate into visible actions and measurable outcomes.
• Act as a point of contact for people relations matters, ensuring fair and timely resolution.
• Reinforce organizational values through consistent behaviors and decisions.

5. Operational Excellence & Process Improvement

• Ensure smooth execution of core people processes (onboarding, transfers, promotions, exits)
• Focus on simplifying processes and improving people and manager experience.
• Maintain accuracy and integrity of data within HR systems.
• Identify opportunities to streamline workflows and reduce friction points.

6. Data, Insights & AI Enablement

• Use people data to identify trends and provide actionable insights to business leaders.
• Leverage AI-enabled tools to enhance reporting, identify patterns, and improve speed of decision-making.
• Support a shift from reactive reporting to forward-looking insights (e.g., attrition risk, talent gaps)
• Ensure data quality and responsible use of analytics.
• Drive adoption of digital tools, automation, and AI solutions across P&C processes.
• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, reduce manual effort, and enhance turnaround time.
• Support implementation of scalable, tech-enabled people solutions across markets.
• Promote a mindset of continuous improvement and innovation.

8. Change & Adoption

• Support rollout of enterprise initiatives and transformation programs.
• Drive adoption through clear communication, manager alignment, and follow-through.
• Ensure initiatives are embedded into day-to-day ways of working.

Qualifications & Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration.
• 6–8 years of experience in HR Business Partnering.
• Experience working with multi-unit, frontline, or operational environments such as retail, hospitality, or restaurants is preferred .
• Familiarity with HR systems (preferably Oracle HCM) is desirable.
• Experience working in multi-market or large operational organizations is an advantage.

Key Skills:

• Business partnering and stakeholder engagement.
• Ability to translate strategy into practical execution.
• Data-driven thinking and analytical capability.
• Strong problem-solving and decision-making skills.
• Process improvement and operational excellence mindset.
• Ability to leverage digital tools and AI-enabled solutions.
• Strong planning, organization, and execution discipline.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.