Talent & Development Lead

Location: Based out of one of our hotels in Manchester, London, Edinburgh, Oxford, or Glasgow (Hybrid working) with regular UK travel.

Reports to: HR Director, UK & Ireland

Are you ready to shape the future of hospitality talent? IHG Hotels & Resorts are searching for an inspiring Talent and Development Lead to design and deliver strategies that grow skills, strengthen capability, and develop future leaders across our UK Leased and Managed Hotels. This is more than a talent leadership role – it’s an opportunity to shape how we attract, develop, and retain the people who bring True Hospitality to life every day. You’ll connect people to meaningful learning, career pathways, and growth opportunities, ensuring every colleague can thrive and our hotels remain future‑ready. You’ll also play a pivotal role in supporting to embed a culture of Continuous Improvement and harnessing technology and AI as key enablers of future skills, helping our people and our business evolve together.

Your day to day:

• Set the direction for talent development, capability building, and workforce planning across our current 13 Managed & Leased Hotels, with more to come as our portfolio grows.
• Establish and embed strong foundations – ensuring all hotels deliver a consistent, high‑quality onboarding experience for every new colleague and that manager and leader development programmes are in place, sustained, and continuously monitored for impact.
• Design and deliver a forward‑looking Talent, Development, and Workforce Plan aligned with our future growth strategy.
• Partner with General Managers, hotel leadership teams, HR and operational leaders to translate business needs into workforce and development priorities that strengthen performance and drive operational excellence.
• Champion Continuous Improvement, supporting leaders and teams to embed best practice that deliver higher standards, smarter processes, and stronger business outcomes.
• Lead our Talent Acquisition and Early Careers agenda, positioning hospitality as an industry of choice and building strong internal talent pipelines for the future.
• Embed a culture of continuous learning and performance, maximising the impact of IHG’s global learning platforms and regional partnerships.
• Harness data, digital tools, and AI‑driven insights to identify capability gaps, predict future skill needs, and deliver targeted development solutions.
• Implement and leverage new technology solutions to modernise learning, simplify processes, and enhance workforce planning and analytics.
• Maximise the value of the Apprenticeship Levy, ensuring our Managed & Leased estate fully utilises funds to create meaningful career and skills pathways.
• Collaborate across the HR and Operations community to align talent and development strategies with business performance, culture, and engagement goals.

What we’re looking for:

• Expertise, creativity, and commercial focus with a proven track record of leading talent and development agendas within fast‑paced, customer‑focused industries such as hospitality, retail, or travel.
• Deep understanding of learning, talent, and leadership development, and how these drive organisational performance.
• Proven experience in developing and delivering workforce plans in collaboration with operational and senior business leaders.
• Hands‑on experience implementing new technology or digital learning solutions, ideally including AI‑enabled tools that enhance workforce planning, learning, or capability building.
• Strong collaboration and influencing skills, with the ability to partner effectively across diverse stakeholder groups.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and relationship‑building abilities that inspire trust, credibility, and engagement at every level.
• Curiosity and a passion for innovation, using data, digital tools, and AI to make learning more accessible, agile, and impactful.
• A recognised HR or L&D qualification (CIPD Level 5 or 7 preferred).

Who we are:

At IHG Hotels & Resorts, we work together to deliver True Hospitality for Good on a global scale. With corporate offices and over 6,000 hotel destinations worldwide, a career at IHG is the perfect way to broaden your horizons. You’ll experience our unique culture and brilliant colleagues who will support and inspire you. We provide a wide range of benefits designed to help you live your best work life, including impressive room discounts, recharge days, and volunteering days throughout the year. Through our myWellbeing framework, we are committed to supporting wellbeing in your health, lifestyle, and workplace. We offer a unique and inclusive culture, where there is always Room for You to belong, grow and make a difference. Our mission is to welcome everyone and create inclusive teams where we celebrate difference and encourage colleagues to bring their whole selves to work. IHG Hotels & Resorts provides equal employment opportunities to applicants and employees without regards to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other category protected by applicable laws. We promote a culture of trust, support, and acceptance.

Don’t quite meet every single requirement, but still believe you’d be a great fit for the job? We’ll never know unless you hit the 'Apply' button. Start your journey with us today.