Director of Learning & Development

Rotana Hotels; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 420,000 - 660,000; Full time

Job summary

Rotana Hotels seeks 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, but a culture and experience design mandate focused on business impact.

You will shape a high-performance, people-centric culture, elevate service excellence to luxury standards, and lead innovative learning initiatives—from data analytics to AI-assisted learning—and partner with operational leaders to

Qualifications

• Experience in learning & development leadership within luxury hospitality.
• Strong strategic thinking and business acumen.
• Proven ability to design innovative learning experiences with measurable impact.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a comprehensive L&D strategy aligned with business goals.
• Design innovative learning experiences and analytics to drive business impact.
• Lead culture transformation programs and leadership development initiatives.

Job description

We are seeking an exceptional Director of Learning & Developmentto 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.