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.
