Director of Learning & Development

Saadiyat Rotana Resort & Villas; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 360,000 - 480,000; Full time

Job summary

Saadiyat Rotana Resort & Villas is hiring an exceptional Director of Learning & Development to redefine learning in a luxury hospitality setting. You will shape a high-performance, people-centric culture, elevate service excellence to luxury standards and drive measurable business outcomes through innovative learning experiences.

The role focuses on strategy, engagement, leadership development, and data-driven improvement, with a strong emphasis on Forbes Travel Guide excellence and guest

Qualifications

• 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.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a comprehensive L&D 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.
• Lead culture transformation programmes that create meaningful colleague experiences and foster learning culture.
• Design, implement and continuously enhance luxury service training programs and elevation to Forbes standards.
• Create and deliver development pathways for leaders at all levels and support succession planning.
• Move beyond traditional classroom training with micro-learning, gamification, interactive workshops, digital platforms and AI-assisted solutions.
• Build dashboards measuring learning effectiveness, training completion, promotions, retention, engagement and guest impact.

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.

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.

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.