Cabin Crew Talent Planning Manager

Etihad; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 400,000 - 560,000; Full time

Job summary

Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi is seeking a Cabin Crew Talent Planning Manager to shape the future of our Cabin Crew workforce by partnering with Talent Acquisition to define requirements and ensure hiring and progression align with operational needs.

You will provide workforce insights, lead assessment and planning activities across recruitment and internal progression, collaborating with Inflight Service Delivery, HR and Resource Planning to drive capability and readiness.

Qualifications

• Minimum 2 years Cabin Crew experience with at least 5 years in a leadership role.
• Strong understanding of Cabin Crew operations and workforce planning.
• Experience participating in assessment, promotion or talent review activities.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills.
• Experience working cross-functionally with HR and Talent Acquisition functions.

Responsibilities

• Support the development of short and long-term Cabin Crew workforce plans, forecasting talent demand and identifying workforce risks.
• Provide Talent Acquisition with workforce forecasts, role requirements and success profiles.
• Act as the primary operational partner to Talent Acquisition for recruitment activities and hiring decisions.
• Represent the business as a trained assessor during recruitment assessments and calibration discussions.
• Lead the enhancement of assessment frameworks and capability requirements with operational insights.
• Lead operational aspects of Cabin Crew upgrade and promotion programmes and define readiness criteria.
• Partner with TA, HR and Learning & Development to support internal promotions and upgrades.
• Monitor recruitment, upgrade and promotion outcomes to assess quality of hire and progression.
• Utilise workforce insights and performance trends to identify opportunities for improvement.
• Build partnerships across Inflight Service Delivery, Talent Acquisition, HR and Resource Planning.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Analytical skills

Communication skills

Cross-functional collaboration

HR collaboration

Job description

At Etihad, our people are at the heart of delivering extraordinary experiences for our guests. As Cabin Crew Talent Planning Manager, you will play a key role in shaping the future of our Cabin Crew workforce by partnering closely with Talent Acquisition to define workforce requirements, support talent planning activities and ensure hiring and progression outcomes align with operational needs and future growth plans.

Acting as the operational expert and partner to Talent Acquisition, you will provide workforce insights, assessment support and talent planning expertise across recruitment and internal progression programmes. Through strong collaboration with Inflight Service Delivery, HR and Resource Planning.

Accountabilities

• Support the development of short and long-term Cabin Crew workforce plans, partnering with Resource Planning, HR Business Partners and Talent Acquisition to forecast talent demand, identify workforce risks and capability gaps, and ensure workforce readiness supports operational and business growth requirements.
• Provide Talent Acquisition with workforce forecasts, hiring priorities, role requirements and success profiles, ensuring recruitment plans align with operational needs, future capability requirements and business objectives.
• Act as the primary operational partner to Talent Acquisition for Cabin Crew recruitment activities, providing subject matter expertise throughout recruitment campaigns, selection activities and hiring decisions.
• Represent the business as a trained assessor during recruitment assessments, supporting candidate evaluations, calibration discussions and selection decisions to ensure consistency, fairness and alignment with operational requirements.
• Drive alongside TA continuous enhancement of assessment frameworks, selection criteria and capability requirements by incorporating operational insights, workforce trends and business needs.
• Lead the operational aspects of Cabin Crew upgrade and promotion programmes, defining capability, performance and readiness criteria while ensuring internal progression pathways support future operational and leadership requirements.
• Partner with Talent Acquisition, HR and Learning & Development to support assessment and selection activities for internal promotions and upgrades, while maintaining oversight of succession pipelines and internal talent readiness.
• Monitor the effectiveness of recruitment, upgrade and promotion outcomes, evaluating performance, retention and operational success to assess quality of hire and progression effectiveness.
• Utilise workforce insights, operational data and performance trends to identify opportunities for continuous improvement and provide recommendations that strengthen future talent planning, hiring requirements and capability frameworks.
• Build strong partnerships across Inflight Service Delivery, Talent Acquisition, HR Business Partners and Resource Planning, acting as the key operational point of contact for workforce planning and internaltalent discussions.
• Ensure alignment between workforce requirements and recruitment delivery plans, supporting the resolution of workforce challenges through collaborative partnership and informed decision-making.

Qualifications

• Minimum 2 years Cabin Crew experience with at least 5 years in a leadership role.
• Strong understanding of Cabin Crew operations, workforce planning and talent requirements.
• Experience participating in assessment, promotion or talent review activities.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills.
• Experience working cross-functionally with HR and Talent Acquisition functions.
• Strong analytical, planning and problem-solving capability.
• Excellent communication and relationship management skills.
• Demonstrated ability to influence outcomes through collaboration and partnership.

Preferred Attributes

• Proven ability to operate effectively across multiple stakeholder groups within a complex operational environment.
• Experience using workforce insights and performance data to inform talent and workforce planning decisions.
• Ability to balance immediate operational requirements with long-term talent and capability planning.

Additional Information

Etihad Airways is more than the UAE’s national airline - we’re shaping the future of global aviation. From our hub in Abu Dhabi, we connect people across continents and cultures, while driving our “Journey 2030” ambition to double our fleet, expand our network and grow our people for a new era of excellence. Join us and become part of a vision where the world is your workplace and extraordinary experiences take flight.