Director of Learning & Development

The Talent Lever | Dubai, UAE (Hybrid)

About The Role

We're representing a premium luxury and retail business with a strong and growing presence across the Middle East — a brand where the in-store experience is the product, and the people who deliver it are everything. They need a Director of L&D who understands that in luxury, capability isn't just a HR metric — it's what separates an exceptional client experience from a forgettable one. This is for the leader who takes frontline excellence as seriously as leadership development, and knows how to build both.

What You'd Own

Lead the L&D strategy across the business — from frontline retail teams to senior leadership
Build and own a client experience excellence programme: the behaviours, standards, and skills that make the brand feel premium at every touchpoint
Design leadership development pathways for store managers, area managers, and senior commercial leaders
Partner with the business on onboarding that actually prepares people to perform — not just tick compliance boxes
Identify capability gaps across functions and design targeted interventions: workshops, coaching, on-the-job learning, and digital tools
Manage external facilitators, training partners, and content providers — and know when to build in-house instead
Measure what matters: mystery shop scores, NPS, retention, and promotion rates — not training hours
Own the L&D budget and allocate it where it drives the most impact

What You'll Bring

10+ years in L&D, with senior leadership experience in luxury, retail, or hospitality
Deep understanding of what exceptional client experience looks like — and how to train it
Proven track record of designing and delivering programmes that change behaviour on the floor, not just in the classroom
Strong facilitator and coach — comfortable working with both frontline teams and the C-suite
Experience across the Middle East market; knowledge of the cultural nuances that shape how learning lands here
Commercially literate — you can connect L&D investment to business performance
Based in Dubai, with flexibility to travel across the region as required

You'll Thrive Here If

You believe the quality of the in-store team IS the luxury brand — and you build L&D accordingly
You're as comfortable on a shop floor as you are in a boardroom
You build programmes that people actually want to attend — not ones they're mandated to
You want to make a visible difference in a business where the stakes of great (and poor) performance are high

Compensation: Senior leadership package, commensurate with scope and experience. Hybrid working in Dubai.

Don't tick every box? Apply anyway. Most people won't put themselves forward unless they meet every line — we'd rather you did. We know our clients well. If you're close, we'll champion you and advise them accordingly.

The Talent Lever

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Director of Learning and Development