Summary
Kerzner International is seeking a Director of Marketing, Special Projects for One&Only The Palm in Dubai. This is a four-month temporary assignment, ideally starting in October 2026, focused on marketing plans for resort openings and culinary launches. The role leads launch campaigns, events, communications, content and coordination across internal teams and external agencies. Applicants should bring director-level experience in luxury hospitality, lifestyle, food and beverage or luxury brands, along with strong project management and commercial marketing skills.
The posting
As published on kerzner.com. Pulled from the employer's site and shown as they wrote it.
Director, Marketing - Special Projects | Temporary Assignment (4 Months) | Starting October 2026
(21120)
At One&Only, we exist to create joy for our guests through anticipation, creativity, precision, empathy and warmth. We tailor every aspect of our guests’ stay to bring their dreams and desires to life. With an atmosphere that’s chic but wonderfully unstuffy™, and a team who are meticulous but warm, we seek to exceed our guests’ expectations at every possible turn.
Glistening on a private apex of Palm Island, One&Only The Palm is an intimate beach-front retreat where the wonders of modern Dubai meet the charms of old Arabia. With abundant knowledge and generosity, we anticipate our guest’s every need and surpass expectations. Whether we are designing the perfect family day out or arranging a romantic private dinner, we approach everything with imagination to spark a sense of playfulness, discovery and adventure. This is not simply our job, it’s our passion.
THE OPPORTUNITY
One&Only The Palm is entering an exciting new era, marked by a series of significant new openings and elevated guest experiences that will further strengthen the resort’s position within Dubai’s ultra-luxury landscape.
We are seeking an experienced, highly agile Director, Marketing – Special Projects to join the resort on a four-month assignment and support the strategic planning and execution of this important chapter.
Working closely with the Director of Sales & Marketing and resort leadership, the role will provide senior-level marketing support across the new openings, ensuring multiple workstreams are delivered smoothly, at pace and to the standards of the One&Only brand.
This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who can move confidently between strategy and execution, bring structure to complex projects and ensure every guest-facing touchpoint contributes to a compelling and cohesive launch story.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
New Openings & Launch Strategy
Lead and coordinate marketing workstreams surrounding the resort’s upcoming openings, translating the overall positioning into clear launch plans, timelines and deliverables.
Support the development of the overarching “New Era of One&Only The Palm” narrative, ensuring the individual openings come together as one powerful resort story.
Develop detailed pre-opening, launch and post-launch marketing plans designed to build anticipation, generate awareness and sustain momentum beyond opening.
Culinary Launches
Support the positioning and launch of the resort’s new culinary experiences in partnership with Michelin-star chef Yannick Alléno, ensuring each concept has a distinctive identity while contributing to the wider culinary positioning of One&Only The Palm.
Coordinate campaign development, launch events, content, partnerships, media opportunities, influencer engagement and other marketing activity surrounding the openings.
Work closely with Culinary, F&B and operational teams to translate the restaurant concepts and experiences into compelling consumer-facing stories.
Events & Activations
Oversee the marketing planning surrounding key opening events and activations, working alongside appointed agencies and internal stakeholders.
Ensure event concepts, guest journeys, invitations, communications, content capture and post-event amplification are aligned and delivered to an exceptional standard.
Identify opportunities to engage tastemakers, industry leaders, media, creators and key opinion leaders to build credibility and conversation around the openings.
PR, Content & Communications
Work closely with PR, social, digital and creative partners to develop an integrated communications approach across earned, owned and paid channels.
Identify strong editorial stories and cultural moments around the resort’s evolution, culinary credentials, personalities and experiences.
Oversee content requirements and production timelines, ensuring the resort has a strong bank of launch assets across photography, video, social and digital.
Ensure messaging and storytelling remain consistent across all channels and touchpoints.
Commercial Marketing
Ensure launch activity is commercially focused, with clear objectives around restaurant awareness, reservations, covers, guest acquisition and resort positioning.
Work with the Marketing and F&B teams to identify strategic partnerships, CRM opportunities, database activations and targeted campaigns.
Support paid media planning and ensure investment is directed towards activity that delivers meaningful awareness and conversion.
Project Leadership
Act as a central marketing project lead across the openings, maintaining clear timelines, responsibilities, dependencies and deliverables.
Coordinate multiple internal stakeholders, agencies and external partners to ensure projects remain on track.
Anticipate potential gaps or delays and proactively drive solutions.
Provide concise updates to the Director of Sales & Marketing and senior leadership on progress, priorities, risks and next steps.
THE PROFILE
We are looking for an accomplished senior marketing professional with experience in luxury hospitality, lifestyle, F&B or luxury brands, ideally with direct experience of high-profile openings or launches.
The successful candidate will bring:
Director-level marketing experience within luxury hospitality, lifestyle, F&B or a related luxury sector.
Strong experience delivering openings, launches, major campaigns or complex special projects.
A sophisticated understanding of luxury positioning, storytelling and consumer behaviour.
Strong knowledge of integrated marketing across PR, social, digital, content, partnerships, CRM and paid media.
Experience working with creative, PR, social and event agencies.
Excellent project management skills and the ability to manage multiple high-priority workstreams simultaneously.
Strong commercial awareness and an understanding of how marketing activity translates into demand and revenue.
Confidence working with senior leadership, chefs, creative talent, agencies and external partners.
A highly collaborative but decisive working style.
The ability to operate at both strategic and executional level in a fast-moving environment.
ASSIGNMENT
Duration: Four months (October ideally)
Location: One&Only The Palm, Dubai
Reporting to: Director of Sales & Marketing & Communications
Focus: New openings and the next chapter of One&Only The Palm
This is an intensive special assignment during a defining period for the resort. The successful candidate will play a pivotal role in bringing together the many elements of the openings and helping translate them into a distinctive, culturally relevant and commercially impactful new chapter for One&Only The Palm.
Our brand is expanding faster than ever before. We are investing in the growth of our company, and that means we are committed to investing in you. Join a team that is open-hearted, intuitive, generous, and spontaneous in spirit. We believe in making our guests happy beyond anything they have ever imagined. We wow them at every turn and create memories that will last a lifetime. You will be at the heart of this vision, to constantly innovate to deliver Amazing Experiences and Everlasting Memories.