Baccarat Hotel Rome is set to open at the end of 2026—bringing a modern, high-end luxury hospitality experience to Europe for the first time under the Baccarat name. We're looking for a Director of People Operations to join our pre-opening leadership team and build a people function that is both strategic and deeply operational: thoughtful in approach, crisp in execution, and genuinely human in how it shows up every day. This is a rare opportunity to shape not only a hotel team, but a workplace culture that becomes part of the city's hospitality fabric—one that team members are proud to belong to, and both the local /international community feels. The Role You'll lead the full employee lifecycle—from attraction to retention—while building the systems, processes, and leadership behaviours that make great culture real (not just written on a wall). You'll be equally comfortable setting a people strategy and rolling up your sleeves to deliver it, with strong expertise in Rome/Italian labour law and local employment practices. What You'll Do Build and deliver the pre-opening people strategy and timeline: workforce planning, critical roles, readiness milestones, and culture foundations. Own full-cycle recruitment: sourcing, selection, interviewing, offers, contracts, and pre-employment checks—ensuring a candidate experience that feels professional, warm, and clear. Establish and embed people systems and operating rhythms: HRIS/records, reporting, policies, SOPs, templates, and day-to-day workflows. Partner with leaders to shape the onboarding and training framework, ensuring new hires feel confident, connected, and set up for success. Lead employee relations with confidence and care—performance coaching frameworks, case management, investigations, disciplinary processes, and conflict resolution when required. Ensure full compliance with Italian labour legislation (contracts, working time, leave, collective agreements, statutory obligations), partnering closely with payroll and external advisors as needed. Drive engagement and retention: communication cadence, recognition, wellbeing, development pathways, and a culture of feedback. Coach leaders to build high-performing teams and deliver a colleague experience worthy of a progressive luxury brand. What You Bring 3+ years in a lead People/HR role with end-to-end accountability (Director/Head of People, HR Manager leading the function), in hospitality. Demonstrated hotel pre-opening experience—you've helped build teams, structure, and culture in a new hotel environment. Strong working knowledge of Rome/Italy labour laws and local employment practices, with practical experience applying them. Clear strength in recruitment: building pipelines, hiring for service mindset, and moving at pace without sacrificing quality. Strong capability in employee relations: balanced judgement, discretion, consistency, and fairness. Able to operate at both levels: strategic planning and hands-on operational delivery. Experience in luxury lifestyle hotels strongly preferred. A leadership style that's calm, modern, and people-first—with high standards and zero ego.