Head of Learning and Development

Today, the family-owned group has 21 unique luxury country houses and coastal retreats, each hand picked for their individuality. Architecturally distinctive and quintessentially British, every hotel boasts an extraordinary location from Scotland to the Channel Islands, offering breathtaking views from vast countryside to expansive beaches, to lush woodlands.

Dedicated to creating unique and enchanting stays, curated personalised service runs through the heart of every hotel. Whilst each hotel is individual, each property fulfils the company values of family, individuality, community and care, with a team commitment to aiming higher and delight their guests with magical experiences that offer a true escape from the every day.

We are currently recruiting Head of Learning and Development for Hand Picked Hotels, this a senior leadership role, reporting to the Chief People Officer.

With a strong focus on people and service, we’re committed to building a culture of excellence, growth, and innovation.

As we continue to evolve, we are seeking a strategic, experienced, and people-centric Head of Learning and Development to lead our learning agenda and support our teams in unlocking their full potential.

This position will require travel to our hotels within the collection, with a base location in the South or Midlands.

About the role:

• The Head of Learning & Development is responsible for designing, implementing and driving a comprehensive L&D strategy across the hotel group, to drive high performance, develop potential and deliver an exceptional colleague experience, and ultimately, guest experience.
• This role ensures that all colleagues —from the front-line to senior leaders—are equipped with the skills, knowledge, and behaviours necessary to deliver exceptional guest experiences and achieve strategic business goals.
• As Head of Learning and Development you will evaluate group wide learning needs and design programs, create career pathways and curate learning content to meet the needs and deliver the overall business strategy.
• Be the role model for all leaders through the business in their role as both a people and functional leader coaching and developing managers where necessary to ensure they have the appropriate people leadership skills.
• Champion the development of people at every stage of their career journey and cascade that energy through all touch points in the organisation.
• Establish a culture where the HPH brand defines the employee experience throughout each of the hotels.
• Assess competitive training offerings ensuring that HPH’s offering is and continues to be market leading with respect to internal and externally recognised qualifications.
• Attend events, training fairs and other activities to identify and source potential opportunities for new training and development.

About you:

• Proven experience in a senior L&D role, ideally within hospitality, leisure, or service-led industries.
• Strong understanding of learning theory, adult education principles, and digital learning tools.
• Experience of managing a team.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and coaching skills.
• Ability to managing budgets and L&D teams.
• Strong stakeholder management with the ability to influence at all levels.
• In-depth knowledge of UK employment and compliance training requirements.
• CIPD qualification (L&D or HR) or equivalent
• Experience working across multiple hotel sites or within a multi-brand hospitality group.
• Experience with apprenticeship programmes and government-funded training initiatives.
• Familiarity with HRIS and LMS platforms (e.g., Flow Hospitality,
• Ability to travel as required.

Our benefits package:

• An excellent salary package, discussed at interview stage.
• Company pension scheme with a generous employer contribution.
• Life assurance and private medical insurance.
• Employee Assistance Program to support you with whatever life throws at you.
• Company Sickness Scheme Benefit.
• 33 days including bank holidays.
• Discounted colleague stays in our hotels and on food & drink.
• Annual loyalty awards (e.g. afternoon teas and overnight stays)
• Online retail discount platform offering thousands of savings with high street retailers and restaurants as well as a health and well-being platform.
• Opportunity to make lifelong friendships and be part of team that celebrates Diversity and Inclusion.