Position Purpose

This is not a traditional Human Resources position.

Hotel Excelsior Venice is one of Europe’s most iconic luxury hotels and is part of London & Regional and Iconic Luxury Hotels, organizations that operate with an entrepreneurial mindset, continuously evolving their business, challenging the status quo and driving change.

We are looking for a Director of People & Culture who embraces this environment.

This role requires a business-minded leader who thrives in change, enjoys building rather than maintaining, and is comfortable creating solutions where no established process exists. Success will come from influencing people, developing leaders, strengthening culture and continuously improving the organization, not simply administering policies.

Working closely with the General Manager, the Hotel Executive Committee and the Group Director of People &Culture;, the Director of People & Culture is a strategic business partner responsible for shaping the hotel’s people strategy, organizational culture, leadership capability and employee experience while ensuring operational excellence throughout the entire employee lifecycle.

The Director of People & Culture directly leads the Recruiting Manager, Learning & Development Manager and Human Resources Administration team.

Who Will Succeed in This Role

The successful candidate is much more than an HR professional. They are an entrepreneurial business leader who understands that exceptional hotels are built through exceptional people.

They enjoy working in an environment where priorities evolve, projects accelerate, decisions are made quickly and every season presents new opportunities. They do not wait for perfect conditions or detailed manuals before acting.

Instead, they create structure where none exists, simplify complexity, influence leaders and continuously challenge the organization to improve.

Key Leadership Responsibilities

Culture & Employee Experience

- Champion the Excelsior employee culture across every department.
- Create an exceptional employee experience from recruitment through departure.
- Build an employee value proposition that attracts and retains top talent.
- Foster a culture of accountability, recognition, collaboration and inclusion.
- Maintain strong visibility throughout the operation.
- Lead employee engagement initiatives, listening sessions and communication forums.




- Build trust across all levels of the organization.

Strategic Business Partnership

- Act as a trusted advisor to the General Manager and Executive Committee.
- Provide commercially sound people solutions supporting operational objectives.
- Partner with department heads on workforce planning, organizational design and succession.
- Influence business decisions through data, insight and strong judgement.
- Support ownership and corporate initiatives while adapting them to the operational realities of the hotel.

Leadership Development

- Build future leaders throughout the organization.
- Develop onboarding programs for managers and seasonal employees.
- Design leadership development pathways.
- Coach department heads and supervisors.
- Lead talent reviews and succession planning.
- Drive accountability for employee development across every department.

Organizational Development & Transformation

- Continuously review the effectiveness of the organization.
- Challenge existing structures and ways of working.
- Build new processes where required.
- Simplify unnecessary complexity.
- Lead change management initiatives.
- Drive continuous improvement across all People & Culture functions.
- Support the hotel’s ongoing transformation journey.

Employee Relations

- Lead all employee relations matters with professionalism and integrity.
- Manage disciplinary procedures, investigations and grievances.
- Partner with external legal counsel on labour matters.
- Coach leaders on performance management and difficult conversations.
- Ensure compliance with Italian labour legislation and collective bargaining agreements.
- Reduce legal exposure through proactive leadership.

Workforce Strategy

- Lead annual workforce planning.
- Develop staffing strategies for seasonal operations.
- Review labour productivity and organizational effectiveness.
- Challenge staffing models where appropriate.
- Partner with Finance and Operations to optimise labour costs without compromising service.





Talent Acquisition

- Define and lead the hotel’s recruitment strategy.
- Build long-term talent pipelines.
- Maintain strong relationships with hospitality schools and recruitment partners.
- Personally recruit leadership and critical positions.
- Continuously improve quality of hire and employee retention.

Employee Housing & Welfare

- Oversee employee accommodation.
- Ensure seasonal colleagues relocate successfully to Venice.
- Drive wellbeing initiatives.
- Improve employee quality of life.
- Monitor housing standards and employee welfare.

Seasonal Leadership Responsibilities

The hotel operates in a highly seasonal environment. The Director of People & Culture plays a critical leadership role in ensuring that every reopening is stronger than the previous one.

During the winter period, responsibilities include:

- Building the workforce strategy for reopening.
- Leading annual recruitment planning.
- Reviewing organizational structures.
- Developing succession plans.
- Strengthening recruitment partnerships.
- Designing onboarding programs.
- Building leadership development initiatives.
- Reviewing salary structures and workforce budgets.
- Preparing employee accommodation.
- Maintaining communication with returning seasonal employees.
- Leading retention and rehire initiatives.
- Analysing turnover, engagement, productivity and labour cost metrics.
- Identifying opportunities for continuous improvement before the next operating season.

Qualifications & Experience

- Previous experience as Director of People & Culture or Director of Human Resources within luxury hospitality.
- Demonstrated success leading organizational change and transformation.
- Strong commercial understanding of hotel operations.
- Experience working in fast-paced, entrepreneurial environments.
- Excellent knowledge of Italian labour legislation and employee relations.
- Strong coaching and leadership development skills.
- Outstanding communication and influencing abilities.
- Fluent in English and Italian.
- High emotional intelligence, resilience and adaptability.

Most importantly, we are looking for a leader who enjoys creating, building and improving. Someone who is energized by change, embraces challenges and wants to leave a lasting impact on one of the world’s most iconic hotels.

📌 Director of People & Culture (Venezia)
🏢 Hotel Excelsior Venice Lido Resort
📍 Venezia