Manager - L&D

Role Overview

Manager – Learning & Development at Apparel Group, a global fashion and lifestyle retail powerhouse headquartered in the GCC.

Company Overview

Apparel Group is a global fashion and lifestyle retail powerhouse headquartered in the GCC with over 26 years of industry leadership. The portfolio includes 85+ world-class brands and 2,400+ stores across 14+ countries, serving millions of customers annually. The organization is powered by a team of 20,000+ professionals united by core values of Passionate, Empowered, Ambitious, and Respectful. Apparel Group also operates a portfolio of global and homegrown F&B brands, redefining the dining experience through passion, innovation, and hospitality.

Role Purpose

The Manager – Learning & Development shapes 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.

Key Responsibilities

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Learning & Development, Business Administration, Psychology, or a related field.
• Minimum 7–10 years of professional experience, 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.
• 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.

Skills & Competencies

• Learning strategy and workforce capability planning.
• Retail learning excellence and customer experience focus.
• Academy governance and structured curriculum design.
• Capability frameworks and skills taxonomy development.
• Digital learning ecosystems, LMS/LXP platforms, and modern learning technologies.
• Executive stakeholder partnership.
• Data-driven performance measurement.
• Change leadership and transformation mindset.
• Vendor and program governance.
• Cultural intelligence in multi-national environments.
• Strong commercial and operational awareness.
• Stakeholder management, facilitation, and communication skills.
• Ability to translate business objectives into practical, engaging, and measurable learning solutions.
• Strategic, organized, and people-focused approach with passion for building talent, strengthening culture, and driving service excellence.

Additional Information

Experience working in the UAE or Middle East region is preferred, with cultural awareness and ability to operate in diverse, multi-national workplaces.