Director, Global Learning & Development

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf®; Kuala Lumpur; On-site; MYR 260,000 - 380,000; Full time

Job summary

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® in Malaysia is seeking a Head of Learning & Development to design and lead the global learning agenda, establish standards, and drive the COE for corporate, café, and franchise teams. You will translate strategy into practical programmes that scale across markets.

You will partner with market L&D and cross-functional partners to develop and test learning initiatives for global use, ensuring training is practical, consistent, and scalable, including train-the-trainer,

Qualifications

• Degree in Instructional Design, Education, HR, Organisational Development or a related field.
• Experience leading L&D across multiple markets and geographies, ideally in a franchise or multi-unit retail/F&B environment.
• Track record of building learning frameworks and content that scale, not just delivering training.

Responsibilities

• Own the global learning framework and COE agenda for corporate and café operations across all company owned and franchise markets.
• Define the enterprise strategy for learning technology, including LMS and content approach.
• Own onboarding and new-hire journey for café roles across company and franchise environments.
• Own certification governance and partner with Legal and Quality Management to maintain compliance.
• Establish evaluation and measurement to track L&D impact, with reporting to leadership.

Skills

Learning strategy

Stakeholder management

LMS / CMS

Global program delivery

Data-driven decision making

Franchise experience

Education

Degree in Instructional Design or related field

Tools

LMS/CMS

Job description

Since opening our first store in 1963, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® has grown into a global specialty coffee and tea brand with more than 1,000 cafés worldwide, supported by our Global Headquarters in Singapore.

Our purpose is to help people Find Their Flavor through uplifting experiences that make their day better. Guided by our vision to deliver "Simply the Best" coffee and tea experience in every community we serve, we're committed to creating meaningful experiences for our customers, partners, and one another.

As part of our Global Brew Crew, you’ll find an environment where you can be your best, belong and grow.

This is where you Find Your Flavor.

You will be the Head of Learning & Development and lead CBTL’s global learning agenda, setting the standards and developing the training needed to build capable corporate team, café teams and franchise partners. You will own the overarching learning framework and COE agenda for the business, translating it into practical learning programmes for corporate and café operations training that works at franchise scale.

Based in Malaysia, where CBTL’s international franchise training centre is located, you will work closely with market L&D teams and cross‑functional partners to develop and test learning initiatives for global use. You will ensure training is practical, consistent and scalable across markets, including train‑the‑trainer, certification and recertification programmes. Reporting to the VP, Global Head of HR, you will also be the senior L&D contact for franchise partners.

Key Responsibilities

Learning strategy and framework

• Own the global learning framework and COE agenda for corporate and café operations across all company owned and franchise markets, aligned to CBTL's goals, brand standards and franchise growth agenda.
• Set the operational training standards that country L&D leads deliver against, ensuring consistency across markets.
• Define the enterprise strategy for learning technology, including the LMS and content approach, to serve learners at franchise scale in a resource‑constrained environment.
• Own the global standards and framework for café ops training: barista and café skills, drink prep standards, equipment and service.
• Own the onboarding and new‑hire journey for café roles across company and franchise environments.
• Own the global content build (video, modules, guides) to a consistent brand and quality standard, designed for franchise scale.

Franchise and market enablement

• Own the franchise training engine at a framework level: train‑the‑trainer, certification and recertification standards, with delivery run through the franchise L&D team.
• Support new store and new market openings across company and franchise markets.
• Act as the senior L&D point of contact for international franchisees.

Capability and development

• Design the District Manager (DM) -and-above competency framework and development programme (café manager through district manager).
• Build role‑based onboarding and ongoing upskilling, reskilling and career pathways in partnership with functional and market leaders.

Governance and measurement

• Own certification governance and partner with Legal and Quality Management to maintain compliance.
• Establish evaluation and measurement to track L&D impact, with reporting to leadership.

Qualifications

• Degree in Instructional Design, Education, HR, Organisational Development or a related field.
• Experience leading L&D across multiple markets and geographies, ideally in a franchise or multi‑unit retail/F&B environment.
• Track record of building learning frameworks and content that scale, not just delivering training.
• Experience introducing or scaling learning technology (LMS/CMS).
• Experience with global org design and complex global project delivery.
• Strong stakeholder influence across senior leadership, operations and franchise partners.
• Comfortable operating with autonomy in an ambiguous, resource‑constrained, multi‑time‑zone environment.
• Uses data to shape decisions and demonstrate impact.

Performance & Rewards

At The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, we embrace a high‑performance culture that rewards and encourages our values of teamwork, ownership, and respect for one another.

We believe in the fundamental truths that guide us through our daily lives:

• FRIENDLINESS- We go above and beyond in everything we do. Friendliness and customer‑centricity is embedded in our culture.
• RESPECT - We are inclusive and honour each other’s values, opinions and diversity.
• OWNERSHIP - We take ownership and accountability for our individual, team and business results, every day.
• TEAMWORK - As a team, we collaborate, innovate, and leverage our diverse strengths to grow the business.
• HONESTY - We live up to the highest levels of integrity by being truthful and transparent with each other, the business and ourselves.

At The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, we are a global company committed to representing the neighbourhoods we serve. We welcome all to apply to our Brew Crew and we value the impact of diversity on our culture and in our work.