Muneera Al Taher, Vice President of HR Operations and Emiratisation at Jumeirah, discusses the value of empathy, creating opportunities for Emirati talent and helping the next generation build lasting careers in hospitality.

Muneera Al Taher, Vice President of HR Operations and Emiratisation at Jumeirah, has built a career around recognising potential in both herself and others. After beginning her professional life as a schoolteacher, she moved into human resources, bringing with her the same desire to help people develop and progress. Her journey with Jumeirah began in 2006 as an administrative coordinator, before she returned to the homegrown hospitality group in 2013 and steadily advanced through its ranks.

Today, as Vice President of HR Operations and Emiratisation, she helps shape the culture and careers of colleagues across a diverse international business. By creating opportunities for UAE Nationals, preparing emerging talent for positions of greater responsibility and making progression more visible, Al Taher is helping to strengthen the next generation of Emirati professionals. As the UAE prepares to celebrate Emirati Women’s Day this month, she reflects on building a career guided by empathy, the importance of giving people meaningful exposure and why developing Emirati talent is essential to the continued success of a brand born in the UAE.

What first attracted you to a career in human resources and the hospitality industry?

I spent years as a schoolteacher before I moved into HR, and what pulled me then is the same thing that drew me down my current career path. I like watching people grow into what they’re capable of. In a company, you can see individuals progress up their entire career ladder, and you get to shape the conditions that help them along. Hospitality runs on people.

You joined Jumeirah in 2013. How has your role evolved since then?

My history with Jumeirah in fact goes back further than 2013. My first job at the company was as an administrative coordinator back in 2006, well before HR was on my mind. I left to teach for six years, then came back in 2013, when my new career direction began as Learning & Development Manager. From there, I progressed to Director of HR, then Senior Director, and since 2023, VP of HR operations and Emiratisation across the business.

What are the most rewarding aspects of working across such a diverse organisation?

You’re never managing one workforce, which is both challenging and interesting. A team in Dubai, a team in Capri, a team in Bali – colleagues come with different expectations of what work should feel like, and the job is to hold a common culture across all of it while leaving room for what makes each place distinct. The most rewarding part for me is working with colleagues from all backgrounds and at very different points in their careers, and seeing how they grow and progress over time.

What makes Jumeirah an attractive place for Emiratis to begin and develop their careers?

Jumeirah is a homegrown brand with an international reach across 29 markets, so for an Emirati joining the business, there’s a lot of room to build a career here. You can work across functions, gain exposure to different markets and progress into senior leadership roles over time. We have colleagues who joined us early in their careers and are now leading parts of the business.

You have created programmes to prepare UAE Nationals for senior leadership positions. What skills and experiences do emerging Emirati leaders need most?

In my experience, two things matter most. The first is exposure – putting people in roles that challenge them, in different functions and also different markets where relevant, so they learn to work in unfamiliar conditions. The second is learning how to lead people. As you become more senior, technical ability alone is not enough. You need to listen, understand different perspectives, communicate clearly, and build trust. My role is to give emerging leaders the right level of responsibility and help them develop those skills over time.

How does investing in Emirati talent benefit Jumeirah both culturally and operationally?

As a homegrown brand, having Emirati talent represented across the business is important to who we are and how we continue to grow. Operationally, it means having people in the business who understand the local market first-hand and can bring that perspective into how we operate and make decisions.

As we celebrate Emirati Women’s Day this month, what does the occasion mean to you, and which women or experiences continue to inspire you?

H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak has always inspired me, and her decision this year to extend the Emirati Women’s Day celebration to a full month reflects her vision for the occasion: to build it into a wider platform for action and future opportunity. The theme she set for the year, “We Emerge Stronger and Better”, speaks to a spirit that has defined Emirati women for decades, in that we refuse to rest on our laurels – and what comes next will certainly be bolder for us, and we have no intention of slowing down.

What advice would you give to women looking to pursue a career in HR or hospitality?

You don’t need to have all the answers at once. Let your values guide you, not the pressure to prove yourself. Some of the most defining moments in your career will come from quiet decisions, not big milestones. The other thing I’d say is that as you progress and start taking on responsibility for others, lead with empathy. It sounds obvious, but it’s harder in practice than people think. The ability to understand those around you – what they need, what motivates them, what’s going on beneath the surface – is what separates someone who’s good at the job from someone who just manages to do it.