Director of Human Resources – (in English)

Surrounded by Cabrits National Park, the unobtrusive design of this peaceful, hidden away five-star luxury resort in Dominica preserves the natural beauty and ecosystem of this stunning, unexplored volcanic island.

The 151-room resort, with its breathtaking panoramic view of the Caribbean Sea, invites guests to indulge in luxury with amenities such as a full-service Kempinski The Spa, international cuisine at 4 restaurants and bars, and a state-of-the-art fitness facility. It also has two floodlit tennis courts, 4 sparkling swimming pools, and meeting space for executive retreats and intimate weddings.

The resort is on the doorstep to the island’s matchless natural attractions, and is committed to protecting the authenticity of this pristine eco-tourism paradise while offering an enriching guest experience that strikes a natural balance between land and sea.

Director of Human Resources

The Director of HR supports the Hotel Manager in all decisions relating to strategic, organisational, and operational people matters for the property. The role helps to drive organisational performance on the objectives of Quality (through effective recruitment, development, and engagement of capable and motivated team members), Performance (through robust performance management, reward and recognition), and Compliance (through compliant and efficient HR Operations, policies & procedures).  

Key Responsibilities: 

• As a Business Partner to the hotel’s Hotel Manager and trusted advisor to the management team, support the delivery of the ambitious business objectives of the hotel by creating and delivering a strategic HR agenda focused on attracting, developing, engaging, and retaining talent, ensuring effective performance management, supporting organizational design and workforce planning, and ensuring efficient and compliant HR operations;
• Support and coach the leadership teams in any organizational and people topics, to help them achieve their guest service and business objectives;
• Maintain and develop a strong employer brand in the local market and beyond, implement effective and innovative search and selection for senior as well as volume recruitment in multiple geographies and through a variety of sources, as well as an effective on boarding process;
• Drive strong colleague engagement through employee communication and creative activities and events and ensure proactive follow up on engagement survey results and ongoing feedback, handle staff grievance issues proactively;
• Understand the competitive positioning of the hotel as an employer in the market and create appropriate compensation & benefits structures based on market and internal benchmarking;
• Ensure an efficient and compliant HR administration according to Kempinski standards and local requirements, including supervision of internal and external payroll services.
• Ensure compliance with local labour and immigration law and handle any legal issues including staff disciplinary actions;
• Effectively lead a large HR team including recruiting, HR administration, and staff accommodation functions;
• Project manage the roll-out of new global initiatives at the hotel and contribute to the design and implementation of new tools, e.g. HR information systems;
• Ensure that corporate and local Human Resources policies & procedures are communicated through proper channels, depending on audience, and implemented accordingly;
• Plan and implement an annual budget and manning guide, following up closely on personnel costs, and preparing local management reporting as well as corporate reports.
• Constantly control payroll expenses and keep them in line with the hotel’s business performance;
• Select and recruit suitable employees for the hotel using the prescribed set of policies and procedures, in conjunction with the Department Heads;
• Implement global performance management and talent management and succession planning processes, and follow up on the development and mobility of internal talent, including effective management of promotions, transfers, cross-trainings and task force assignments;
• Support and implement new Talent Development initiatives;
• Prepare in conjunction with Department Heads a hotel succession plan to guarantee a seamless, efficient handover for all key departmental positions; 
• Monitor and constantly improve quality and guest satisfaction with the given tools (Leading Quality Assurance, Customer Satisfaction Survey);
• Have in place departmental standards of performance for every task or process and ensure they are communicated to the team members, as applicable to each of them;
• Communicate to the Human Resources team other requirements, specifications or guidelines that can be used to ensure that products, processes and services are delivered with consistency;
• Conduct daily walk through to ensure quality maintenance standards in all employee related areas (i.e. locker rooms, cafeteria etc.);
• Direct quality control programs for the Human Resources Department designed to ensure continuous delivery of consistent services and products (i.e. departmental audits, spot-checks);
• Ensure that all hotel team members are certified and qualified to work in their respective positions as per the compulsory governmental guidelines in place;
• Ensure all departments are conforming to compulsory standards, as required by local laws or company policy.