Director of Learning and Organizational Development

Property Description

Davidson Hospitality Group is a dynamic and innovative hospitality management company that is constantly seeking top talent to join its team. With its headquarters located in the heart of the hospitality industry in Atlanta, Georgia, Davidson Hospitality Group is a leader in hotel and resort management, providing comprehensive and results-driven services to a diverse portfolio of properties across the United States. As a job applicant, you can expect to work in a collaborative and supportive environment that encourages creativity, growth, and professional development. With a strong commitment to excellence in guest service, employee engagement, and financial performance, Davidson Hospitality Group offers a rewarding and fulfilling career path for individuals who are passionate about the hospitality industry. Whether you are seeking a corporate role in operations, sales and marketing, revenue management, finance, human resources, or other areas, Davidson Hospitality Group offers a wide range of career opportunities for motivated and talented individuals. Join the team at Davidson Hospitality Group and be a part of a dynamic and growing organization that is dedicated to delivering exceptional hospitality experiences.

Overview

Shape the Future of Leadership at Davidson Hospitality Group

At Davidson Hospitality Group, developing exceptional leaders is central to how we build exceptional hotels, resorts, and experiences. We are seeking an on-site Director of Learning & Organizational Development to lead our enterprise learning, leadership development, organizational development, and Team Member Experience strategy across a diverse portfolio of full-service, lifestyle, resort, and luxury hotels and resorts.

 

This is an opportunity for an experienced Learning & Development and Organizational Development leader to make a meaningful impact across an organization where hospitality, culture, leadership, and people development come together.

 

This role is both strategic and highly hands-on. You’ll partner with senior executives and property leaders to shape enterprise talent and development strategies while also rolling up your sleeves to create learning content, facilitate leadership programs, analyze people and engagement data, strengthen performance management, and develop programs that help our Team Members grow throughout their careers with Davidson.

 

If you’re passionate about developing people, building strong leaders, and creating learning experiences that translate into real business impact, we’d love to hear from you!

 

*This role will be based at our corporate office in Dunwoody, GA

What You’ll Lead

As Director of Learning & Organizational Development, you will help shape how Davidson attracts, develops, engages, and prepares the next generation of hospitality leaders.

You’ll lead initiatives spanning:

• Enterprise Learning & Organizational Development strategy
• Leadership development and executive development
• High-potential talent development and succession planning
• Organizational effectiveness and change management
• Training design, instructional design, curriculum development and facilitation
• Leadership summits, conferences and major development events
• Team Member engagement and experience
• Enterprise performance management
• Workday Performance and People Analytics
• Talent development, career pathing and internal mobility
• Learning analytics, program measurement and ROI
• Department leadership, budget management and vendor partnerships

What You’ll Do

Learning & Organizational Development Strategy

• Develop and execute Davidson Hospitality Group’s enterprise Learning & Organizational Development strategy in alignment with company culture, business priorities and talent needs.
• Assess organizational, leadership and operational development needs across Davidson’s portfolio of full-service, lifestyle, resort and luxury properties.
• Partner with Operations, People & Culture, Commercial, Finance and other functional leaders to identify capability gaps and develop effective solutions.
• Build scalable learning and development frameworks that support Team Members throughout their careers with Davidson.
• Identify organizational trends, emerging leadership needs and opportunities to strengthen effectiveness, engagement and performance.
• Establish standards and best practices for learning design, facilitation, leadership development, organizational development and program effectiveness.

Training Design, Development & Facilitation

This is not a role where you simply oversee learning programs- you’ll be actively involved in creating and delivering them.

• Personally design, create, develop and facilitate training content for Team Members and leaders at all levels of the organization.
• Develop instructor-led, virtual, digital, blended and self-directed learning experiences.
• Create facilitator guides, participant materials, presentations, toolkits, job aids, videos, e-learning content and other learning resources.
• Facilitate engaging and impactful training sessions for audiences ranging from front-line Team Members and new leaders to General Managers and executives.
• Develop programs focused on leadership, communication, coaching, performance management, hospitality excellence, culture, business acumen and other organizational priorities.
• Ensure learning content reflects the unique needs of Davidson’s luxury, lifestyle, resort and full-service hospitality environments.
• Continuously refresh and evolve programs based on business needs, participant feedback, industry trends and organizational priorities.
• Develop internal facilitators and leaders to effectively deliver Davidson learning programs.

Leadership Summits & Executive Development

• Lead the content strategy, planning, development and coordination for Davidson leadership summits, conferences and major leadership development events.
• Partner with senior leaders and key stakeholders to establish themes, learning objectives, speaker content, breakout sessions, leadership experiences and supporting materials.
• Develop and/or oversee presentations, facilitator materials, leadership exercises, discussion guides and other summit content.
• Create cohesive, engaging and practical experiences aligned with Davidson’s strategic and cultural priorities.
• Leverage leadership summits as development opportunities to strengthen alignment, leadership capability, collaboration and organizational effectiveness.
• Support senior leader and executive development through targeted learning experiences, coaching resources and strategic development opportunities.

Leadership, High-Potential & Succession Development

• Lead Davidson’s strategy for identifying and developing high-potential Team Members and future leaders.
• Create structured development programs that prepare emerging leaders for expanded responsibilities.
• Develop leadership programs across multiple career levels, including new leaders, department leaders, executive committee members, General Managers and future executives.
• Partner with senior leadership and People & Culture leaders on succession planning and talent development strategies.
• Develop customized development plans, mentorship opportunities, exposure assignments and other tools for high-potential talent.
• Build programs that strengthen Davidson’s internal leadership pipeline and support career growth and internal mobility.
• Measure progression, retention, promotions and other outcomes associated with leadership development programs.

Organizational Development & Effectiveness

• Partner with leaders to assess organizational effectiveness and identify opportunities to strengthen leadership capability, team performance and organizational alignment.
• Support organizational change initiatives through communication, training and leader enablement resources.
• Develop tools and programs that strengthen team effectiveness, collaboration, accountability and performance.
• Support leadership transitions, restructuring, succession planning and other organizational changes.
• Develop resources for newly promoted leaders to accelerate their transition into expanded responsibilities.
• Serve as a trusted organizational development advisor to senior executives and property leadership.

Team Member Engagement & Experience

• Provide strategic oversight of Davidson’s Team Member Engagement Survey, administered twice annually.
• Lead communication, deployment, analysis and organizational follow-up related to engagement survey results.
• Identify enterprise-wide engagement trends and recommend strategies to strengthen the Team Member experience.
• Partner with property and corporate leaders to help teams understand results and develop meaningful action plans.
• Oversee initiatives that reinforce Davidson’s culture, recognition, belonging, engagement and retention.
• Partner with the Team Member Experience Manager on company-wide programs designed to create an exceptional Team Member experience.
• Use engagement data and Team Member feedback to identify organizational development priorities and opportunities for improvement.

Performance Management & People Analytics

• Own Davidson Hospitality Group’s enterprise performance management process from strategy and design through annual execution, administration, communication, training, calibration support, reporting and continuous improvement.
• Establish and maintain the performance management framework, including goal-setting, performance review cycles, leadership expectations, timelines, tools, resources and governance standards.
• Partner with People & Culture, Operations and senior leaders to drive consistent, meaningful performance conversations.
• Leverage Workday Performance and People Analytics capabilities to administer, optimize, measure and continuously improve performance and talent processes.
• Develop dashboards, reporting and insights using people, performance, engagement, talent and learning data to identify trends and inform leadership decisions.

Measurement, Team Leadership & Resources

• Establish measures to evaluate participation, learning effectiveness, behavior change, business impact and return on investment.
• Use engagement results, Team Member feedback, turnover trends, internal promotion data and learning participation to identify opportunities.
• Develop dashboards and reporting that demonstrate the impact of Learning & Organizational Development and Team Member Experience initiatives.
• Lead, develop and coach the Manager of Learning & Development and Team Member Experience Manager.
• Establish annual department priorities, goals and deliverables aligned with Davidson’s strategic objectives.
• Manage external consultants, facilitators, vendors, learning partners and technology providers.
• Develop and manage the annual Learning & Organizational Development and Team Member Experience department budget.
• Evaluate learning investments and scalable solutions that maximize organizational impact while maintaining fiscal responsibility.

Your Impact at Davidson

Success in this role isn’t measured simply by how many training programs are delivered. It’s measured by stronger leaders, growing internal talent, meaningful improvements in Team Member engagement and experience, greater organizational effectiveness, and a stronger pipeline of future hospitality leaders. You’ll have the opportunity to build strategy alongside senior executives, create a new training program from a blank page, develop content for major leadership summits, facilitate sessions with General Managers and executives, lead enterprise performance management, leverage Workday People Analytics, influence succession planning, and develop your own team.

 

If you’re energized by the opportunity to build leaders, strengthen culture and help shape the future of talent across a growing hospitality organization, we invite you to explore what’s possible at Davidson Hospitality Group.

Qualifications

What You’ll Bring

We’re looking for an accomplished Learning & Organizational Development leader who can think strategically, influence senior leaders and enjoy building something from the ground up.

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Organizational Development, Learning & Development, Hospitality Management, Business, Education or related field preferred.
• 7+ years of progressive Learning & Development, Organizational Development, Talent Development or related experience, including experience leading enterprise-level programs.
• Demonstrated experience personally designing, developing and facilitating learning content for multiple organizational levels.
• Strong instructional design experience with the ability to translate business needs into practical, engaging learning solutions.
• Experience developing leadership development and high-potential talent programs.
• Experience supporting succession planning, organizational effectiveness, leadership development or change initiatives.
• Experience planning and developing content for leadership conferences, summits or large-scale organizational development events preferred.
• Experience managing Team Member/employee engagement surveys and translating results into actionable organizational strategies.
• Leadership experience with responsibility for developing and managing other learning or talent professionals.
• Experience managing departmental budgets and external vendor relationships.
• Demonstrated experience owning or administering an enterprise performance management process, including process design, annual performance review cycles, goal-setting, communications, training, reporting and ongoing optimization.
• Strong preference for hands-on Workday experience, specifically Workday Performance and People Analytics capabilities, including configuration partnership, process administration, reporting, dashboards and data-driven talent insights.
• Hospitality experience strongly preferred, particularly within a multi-property hotel management organization, luxury hospitality company, resort organization or similarly complex service environment.
• Experience supporting geographically dispersed operations strongly preferred.

What Will Help You Thrive

• Exceptional presentation, facilitation and executive communication skills.
• Strong instructional design and curriculum development capabilities.
• Deep understanding of organizational development, leadership development and talent management principles.
• Passion for developing people and creating meaningful career development experiences.
• Ability to comfortably facilitate audiences ranging from front-line Team Members to senior executives.
• Strong understanding of adult learning principles and modern learning methodologies.
• Excellent writing, storytelling, presentation development and content creation skills.
• Ability to translate complex concepts into practical tools leaders can easily understand and apply.
• Strong project and program management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously.
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to interpret engagement, talent and learning data.
• Strong understanding of performance management, goal-setting, performance reviews, calibration, coaching and development planning.
• Ability to leverage Workday and people analytics to turn performance, engagement, talent and learning data into actionable insights.
• Ability to build strong partnerships and influence leaders across functions and organizational levels.
• Collaborative, innovative and solutions-oriented approach.
• Strong business and operational acumen.
• Understanding of the unique talent and leadership needs within hospitality.
• Ability to balance strategic leadership with hands-on execution.

 

Benefits

Davidson Hospitality Group is an award-winning, full-service hospitality management company overseeing hotels, restaurants, dining and entertainment venues across the US.   A trusted partner and preferred operator for Hilton, Hyatt, Kimpton, Marriott, and Margaritaville, Davidson offers a unique entrepreneurial management style and owners’ mentality that provides the individualized personal service of a small company, enhanced by the breadth and depth of skill and experience of a larger company. In keeping with the company’s heritage of delivering value, Davidson is comprised of four highly specialized operating verticals: Davidson Hotels, Pivot, Davidson Resorts and Davidson Restaurant Group.

In keeping with the company’s heritage of delivering value to its owners and team members, Davidson offers a rich benefit program with a variety of benefits designed to enrich the lives and well-being of our team members and their families.

• Multiple Tiers of Medical Coverage
• Dental & Vision Coverage
• 24/7 Teledoc service
• Free Maintenance Medications
• Pet Insurance
• Hotel Discounts
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Paid Time Off (vacation, sick, bereavement, and Holidays). 
• 401K Match

Working at Davidson is like nowhere else. It’s less of a job, more of a calling. It’s part career, part revolution. Because whatever you do here, you play a part in helping redefine the way quality hospitality is delivered to our guests, our clients, our partners, and each other.EOE AA- Minorities/Females/Vet/Disability/Gender Identity/Sexual OrientationDavidson Hospitality is a drug free workplace.  Pre-employment drug test and background check required.  We participate in E-Verify.