Jumeirah JUMP Graduate Management Programme: how it works and what two Jumeirah general managers say about starting out

JUMP, Jumeirah’s Ultimate Management Programme, is the Dubai based luxury group’s structured way in for a university graduate: three rotations in hotel operations or a specialist field, a first year of classroom training, on the job learning and quarterly reviews, and a path that Jumeirah ties to its expansion into new regions. This page describes the programme as Jumeirah presents it on its own careers page, flags the one thing that page leaves unclear, and then turns to what a careers page cannot tell you, which is what two Jumeirah general managers in my books say about their own first jobs, their first leadership roles and the way Jumeirah brings new colleagues in.

The programme, as Jumeirah describes it

Jumeirah presents JUMP in a careers article titled Graduate Management Programme on its own site. The programme “aims to develop university graduates into future leaders in hospitality,” and is described as a scheme “covering three rotations in either hotel operations or a specialist field.” The rotations are the spine of the programme; Jumeirah does not list the departments or specialist fields on the page, which suggests they are set with each cohort.

The first year is described in some detail. Participants attend “classroom training sessions introducing you to hotels and hospitality,” receive “on the job training to improve your core skills,” attend “a number of formal classroom training sessions to elevate your soft skills,” and sit “quarterly performance review meetings to ensure you are on track.” Before any of that, every new colleague goes through the company orientation within the first month, followed by what Jumeirah calls a “2-4 day induction programme in the workplace/hotel/division.” The company frames the whole thing around growth: “Jumeirah’s expansion into different geographical regions,” it says, creates “a number of potential exciting and challenging global career paths.”

One fact on the page does not add up, and I want to say so plainly rather than pick a side. The introduction calls JUMP an “18-month scheme.” The body text calls it “This 12-month programme.” Both figures appear on the English version of the page and nothing on it reconciles them. The programme may have changed length between revisions of the page, or the two sentences may describe two different things; I do not know, so I have not stated a length, and you should ask the company before you apply.

The page does not name an exit role, does not carry intake dates and does not say how to apply, so the way in is the Jumeirah careers site, where graduate programme vacancies appear when a cohort opens. A separate National Graduate Management Program for UAE citizens has been described on a preview copy of the company’s site; I could not confirm it is live, so treat it as unverified. Pay, benefits and dates are on the listings when they open and change from year to year, so I have left them out.

What two Jumeirah general managers say about starting out

Two people in my books were running Jumeirah hotels when I interviewed them. Neither came through JUMP, but both started at the bottom of the industry and both describe how Jumeirah brings new people in, which is the part of the programme the careers page is quietest about.

Pinar Kartal Timer, then general manager of Pera Palace Hotel Jumeirah in Istanbul, began as a reservation clerk at the Hilton International Istanbul in the days of telex and fax, and her first lesson came from a filing error.

“I was filing all such correspondence and by accident I labeled a guest arrival date 11/05 instead of 05/11. When the guest arrived, we couldn’t find their reservation. They also claimed that they had booked an upgraded room for the same rate. We couldn’t verify this but ended up accepting their word. We looked unprofessional, lost the opportunity to upsell, and my shift leader was extremely upset. I learned that even in my very junior position, a small mistake could lead to a major issue.” Pinar Kartal Timer, in A Wealth of Insight (2017)

Her first leadership job was as a group sales manager with one person reporting to her, and the lesson she took from it is the one every JUMP rotation is quietly testing. A block of sea view rooms had been keyed to garden rooms by mistake, with an hour before the group arrived. “I immediately went to help housekeeping clean up and re-arrange all the sea view rooms. In rolling up my sleeves to get the job done, I earned the respect and trust of my team. However, I also realized that while you can delegate duties, you cannot delegate ultimate responsibility.”

Amit Majumder, then general manager of Jumeirah Vittaveli in the Maldives and now one of the founders of Atoll Estates in Dubai, started as a food and beverage associate at Oberoi Rajvilas, “which is a fancier name for a waiter, barman, and butler combined.” His first leadership position was at a Jumeirah resort in Dubai.

“My first leadership position was at Jumeirah Dar Al Masyaf in Dubai, which was a sprawling resort, and was similar to managing a number of small hotels simultaneously. It quickly became clear that with such a large and complicated operation, we had to constantly train and mentor our staff, otherwise we would fail. The best way to do this was through MBWA, or Management by Walking Around.” Amit Majumder, in A Wealth of Insight (2017)

Walking around and being available to listen, learn and support is, he says, “one of the most important lessons I ever learned.” For a graduate on rotation it is also the cheapest habit to form early.

Jumeirah as a training ground

The induction and quarterly reviews on the JUMP page are the formal version of something both general managers describe doing at property level. Majumder sets out how Jumeirah received new recruits at Vittaveli.

“At Jumeirah, we have company orientations and more resort-specific training for all of our new recruits during their first three months. Not only do we regularly check in on the new colleagues’ job satisfaction, but we also check in on their personal satisfaction. Are they happy with their accommodations? Do they feel welcome and appreciated as a new member of the team? Are they aware of all the facilities available to them on-site?” Amit Majumder, in A Wealth of Insight (2017)

Kartal Timer ran a full day of training for every new recruit at Pera Palace, with each department head explaining their work and how it connects to the others, and she had new department heads spend a week rotating as guests of other units. Her reasoning is the case for the rotations themselves: “If you don’t have the full picture, you can’t make the most effective decisions.” She also hired the way the programme’s classroom sessions assume a company should: “I have no hesitation saying that I recruit for attitude over skills. We can teach virtually every skill, but changing an attitude can take years, if ever.” And for the people she wanted to grow, the development was tailored and included “a variety of cross-exposure opportunities in other Jumeirah hotels,” which is what the global career paths on the careers page look like from inside a hotel.

Both are honest about the cost. The industry “takes dedication, commitment, and long working hours,” Majumder says. “If you do not have a passion for guest service, I would not recommend this industry to you.” Kartal Timer puts it more bluntly: “This is an industry that you either love or hate, and you must absolutely love it in order to be successful.”

What to take from it

Settle the programme length with Jumeirah before you apply, since the company’s own page gives two figures. Expect the first year to be the heavily taught one, and treat the quarterly reviews as the opportunity they are rather than an exam. Walk the floor the way Majumder did at Dar Al Masyaf, and take ultimate responsibility the way Kartal Timer did with her sea view rooms, because the people around you on each rotation will notice both. Ask in the interview about cross exposure to other Jumeirah hotels, which both general managers describe as the real engine of development inside the group. And read their full accounts on the Voices pages above before you go in. Chapter 2 of The Luxury of Attention, The Apprenticeship, is about exactly these years.