Graduate Development Programme - People & Recruitment Coordinator

Dakota Hotel based in LEEDS CITY CENTRE are launching a Graduate Development program for a recent graduate to join our award-winning HR team.

We are looking for an ambitious, outgoing individual with a passion for the hospitality sector.  This 12-18 month graduate programme with a start date of JANUARY 2026 is designed to fast-track your development into a confident HR generalist, with a clear pathway to becoming the Assistant People Manager of your hotel upon completion.

CONTRACT AND PAY RATE 

The role carries a permanent contract of 37.5 hours per week. The gross annual salary is £28,000, and a bonus of £2,000 paid upon successful completion of your programme.

The Company is dedicated to your development and will provide financial study support for CIPD or other relevant qualifications based on the applicant’s training needs as well as CIPD membership fees.

For the first six months of your program, you will be based in any of our operational roles two days a week to embed you fully into our business. Therefore, you will be required to work Tuesday-Saturday during this time, including the potential of later shifts up to two days a week. Typical shifts in your HR role thereafter will be 09:30-17:30 or 10:00-18:00, generally working Monday-Friday.

PRIMARY ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES 

During the graduate program, your job title will be People & Recruitment Coordinator. During this time, you’ll report directly to the Head of People and play a vital role in shaping the employee experience for our 110+ team members in Leeds.

This is a hands-on role where you’ll be immersed in all aspects of the employee lifecycle, gaining real-world experience and building the skills to become a confident HR generalist.  Throughout your programme, you’ll be involved in:

• Supporting end-to-end recruitment and selection processes
• Delivering engaging training sessions through our Dakota Academy
• Managing essential HR administration, including payroll data and compliance records
• Coordinating performance reviews, internal promotions, and annual appraisals
• Driving employee engagement and wellbeing initiatives
• Using HR systems to support data-driven decision-making
• Being a visible and approachable presence in the operation, building strong relationships and delivering impactful training

Our HR roles are designed to guide team members through their journey at Dakota in a supportive, consistent, and legally compliant way. You’ll play a key part in ensuring our people feel valued, developed, and empowered.

From day one, you’ll follow a structured development plan, tailored to your growth through quarterly reviews with our Head of People. You’ll gain exposure to recruitment, onboarding, learning and development, employee relations, and engagement, giving you a well-rounded foundation for a successful HR career.                                  

BENEFITS  

In addition to being part of a culture infused with positivity and opportunity for ongoing development, tangible benefits you could enjoy when you join our team include:

• Special discounts on stays and dining at any Dakota
• Access to our Employee Assistance Program which includes free private mental health support and counselling sessions, video GP consultations and private prescription services, as well as access to daily rewards to be cashed out for shopping vouchers
• Support from our inhouse Mental Health Champions
• Additional holiday day on the first anniversary of your employment
• Family-friendly flexible working options
• Meals on duty and uniforming
• Bonuses to recommend a friend to join our team and every time you are mentioned on Trip Advisor
• Accredited, certified compliance training given on employment
• Access to a suite of external, certified resources via our Learning Management System
• Supportive continuous professional development culture with an annual appraisal and objectives, or a Personal Development Plan
• Opportunities to undertake both internal and external training courses, including potential for in-house Apprenticeships

Full terms on our benefits can be found in our Handbook. 

ABOUT DAKOTA HOTELS 

Dakota is a growing UK-based lifestyle brand, known for our stylish hotels, bustling brasserie Grills and upscale cocktail Bars. Dakota’s story started with two boutique hotels on the outskirts of Edinburgh, in South Queensferry, and Glasgow, in Eurocentral. We have now expanded into prime city centre locations in Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester and Newcastle with Manchester Airport coming soon and more in our pipeline.

Dakota is synonymous for delivering attentive and genuine guest service. We attract hard-working individuals who are passionate about working to the highest standards and have been voted within The Caterer’s Top 15 Best Employers in Hospitality for the last six years in a row. We were also featured within the Top 10 employers in the Sunday Times Best Places to Work in the UK for the last two years, where our inclusive culture was spotlighted. 

 As recent winners of The Cateys ‘People Team of the Year’, we have award-winning internal training programmes within Dakota Academy fostering continuous development and ongoing training. As a result, over 75% of our leaders have been promoted internally and, for five consecutive years, a member of our team has won a prestigious Acorn Award awarded by The Caterer to the ‘Top 30 under 30’ in the industry, demonstrating our success in developing talent. 

 Eurocentral | Edinburgh | Glasgow | Leeds | Manchester | Newcastle| Manchester Airport (coming soon)

APPLICANT REQUIREMENTS 

The successful applicant will have/be: 

• Hold a minimum of an undergraduate degree, achieved within the past three years, in any of the following subjects: Human Resources, Business / Management, Hospitality and/or Events Management.
• Hospitality experience is preferred, but not essential as you will be given exposure to our operations in your first six months of the program.
• Be a bubbly people person who is outgoing and confident in the delivery of presentations which will include hosting training sessions and inductions.
• Be an organised individual with strong computer and administrative skills.
• Ability to prioritise well and juggle different tasks simultaneously.
• Willingness to develop themselves and have a genuine to desire to create a career in HR.
• Be task oriented with a great pride for the work they do and attention to detail.
• Flexible with shift patterns and available around the needs of our team and business.
• Successful candidates must demonstrate a genuine enthusiasm for the role as well as their ability to show a long-term commitment to the brand as a real team player.

APPLY 

Please send us your up to date CV.  

For more information on our luxury hotel, visit our Careers page to learn about current opportunities and find your #DreamRolesAtDakota – we’d love to hear from you!