Manager - L&D

Who we are:

Apparel Group is a global fashion and lifestyle retail powerhouse headquartered in the GCC, with over 26 years of industry leadership. Our portfolio includes 85+ world-class brands and 2,400+ stores across 14+ countries, serving millions of customers annually. Powered by a team of 20,000+ professionals, we are united by a commitment to our core values being - Passionate, Empowered, Ambitious, and Respectful. We proudly bring iconic international brands to the region, shaping lifestyle across multiple sectors.

At Apparel Group, we believe food is more than flavor, it’s about connection, creativity, and community. With a portfolio of global and homegrown F&B brands, we’re redefining the dining experience through passion, innovation, and hospitality.

We are seeking a Manager L&D to design and deliver impactful learning experiences that elevate people capability, leadership excellence, and service culture across the organization.

Job Purpose:

The Manager - Learning & Development is responsible for shaping a future-ready workforce by driving structured learning, leadership development, and capability-building initiatives. This role partners closely with business leaders to align learning strategies with organizational goals and brand standards. By embedding a culture of continuous learning, the role ensures talent growth, operational excellence, and a consistently premium customer experience.

How you will make an impact (Key responsibilities):

• Key Responsibilities

1. Learning Strategy & Academy Development

• Develop and execute an enterprise learning strategy aligned with organizational priorities, growth plans, and brand values.
• Design and establish structured learning academies to support frontline excellence, corporate capability, and leadership development.
• Create academy governance frameworks including curriculum architecture, certification pathways, faculty models, and quality standards.
• Build scalable learning ecosystems that integrate classroom, digital, and experiential learning.

2. Capability Framework & Skills Architecture

• Design and maintain enterprise-wide capability frameworks aligned to business-critical roles and future workforce needs.
• Develop and manage a skills taxonomy to support role clarity, workforce planning, and personalized learning pathways.
• Map skills and capabilities to career pathways, succession planning, and talent mobility initiatives.
• Partner with HR and business leaders to identify capability gaps and design targeted development interventions.

3. Learning Design, Delivery & Capability Building

• Oversee the delivery of blended learning programs across frontline, corporate, and leadership populations.
• Lead leadership and management development initiatives to strengthen people management and future leadership pipelines.
• Ensure all learning content reflects premium service behaviors, brand storytelling, and operational excellence standards.
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders and external vendors to deliver high-impact learning experiences.

4. Performance Measurement & Continuous Improvement

• Implement evaluation frameworks to measure learning effectiveness, capability uplift, and business impact.
• Use performance data, learner analytics, and feedback to continuously refine learning programs.
• Maintain governance over learning calendars, certification tracking, compliance records, and reporting.
• Benchmark learning practices against industry trends and best practices.

5. Culture, Talent Development & Workforce Capability

• Champion a culture of continuous learning, curiosity, and professional growth.
• Support talent development strategies including high-potential programs, succession planning, and career architecture.
• Act as a trusted advisor to leaders on capability gaps, behavioral development, and workforce readiness.
• Drive engagement initiatives that embed learning into everyday work.

Qualifications & Skills

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Learning & Development, Business Administration, Psychology, or a related field.
• Minimum experience: 7-10 years, with at least 7 years of relevant Learning & Development and/or Talent Development experience
• Mandatory experience within the retail sector, preferably in fashion, lifestyle, luxury, or customer-centric retail environments.
• Familiarity with digital learning ecosystems, LMS/LXP platforms, and modern learning technologies.
• Experience working in the UAE or Middle East region is preferred, with cultural awareness and ability to operate in diverse, multi-national workplaces.
• Proven experience in designing, delivering, and managing learning programs across frontline, corporate, and leadership populations.
• Prior exposure to multi-brand, multi-location, or regional organizations is strongly preferred.
• Strong understanding of adult learning principles, leadership development, and capability-building frameworks.
• Hands-on experience with training needs analysis, learning calendars, vendor management, and learning evaluation metrics.
• Ability to translate business objectives into practical, engaging, and measurable learning solutions. Excellent stakeholder management, facilitation, and communication skills, with the ability to partner effectively with senior leaders.
• Strategic, organized, and people-focused, with a passion for building talent, strengthening culture, and driving service excellence.

Key Competencies

• Learning strategy & workforce capability planning
• Retail learning excellence & customer experience focus
• Academy governance & structured curriculum design
• Capability frameworks & skills taxonomy development
• Executive stakeholder partnership
• Data-driven performance measurement
• Change leadership & transformation mindset
• Vendor and program governance
• Cultural intelligence in multi-national environments
• Strong commercial and operational awareness