This is a remote based role

Salary Range- $150,000.00 to $175,000.00

This role will develop and implement best practices drawing on the cross functional opening team in all aspects of commercial strategy. Working closely with Head of Hotel Openings + Operations team, this role will direct activities to establish collaborative relationships across all disciplines. It will serve as the primary contact for the pre-opening Commercial team and will be responsible for the successful planning, budgeting and execution of strategy through to stub year performance.

Reporting to the Head of Commercial Operations, Luxury & Lifestyle Americas, the Director, Commercial Openings + Transitions will provide project management to each Luxury + Lifestyle Americas opening and transition and continually identify opportunities to streamline process and move business objectives forward.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Strategic Planning

• Lead the development of a comprehensive commercial playbook for property openings.

• Working with the property team, prepare a pre-opening Commercial plan and corresponding to span across sales, marketing, public relations, revenue, digital, channels and distribution etc.

• Gain alignment and support from all key stakeholders on overall strategies and key tactics to ensure a successful opening. Update and report regularly to senior leadership on deliverables.

• Ensure plans support the brand vision and L+L AMER performance and owner objectives.

• Project Management

• Opening Team

• Lead as the commercial right hand for the Head of Hotel Openings + Operations Support and engage actively with the openings + transitions team.

• Lead commercial discussion on weekly Internal Project Call with property and corporate teams. Coordinate follow up on key issues, ensure senior leadership is aware, and engaged as necessary.

• Interview and assess key on-property commercial positions as requested by the GM.

• Establish and conduct regular calls with property team to ensure key milestones are achieved.

• Work with VP Ops + VP Commercial, Heads of Commercial Operations, Revenue, Sales and Finance to maintain agreed Ways of Working and associated processes.

• Commercial Operations

• Ensure brand standards are communicated to the project team and incorporated into property training programs.

• Provide support to high-profile openings that require elevated levels of brand, marketing, and commercial support and investment.

• Create comprehensive project documentation to track follow up and results as well as improve existing commercial operations by building tools, templates and processes to streamline organizational and project management framework.

• Support L+L AMER Commercial leaders with implementation of a clear framework of goals and tactics that result in a first-in-class organization.

• Performance

• Regularly assess competitive data and review key performance data to provide guidance to hotel team on revenue projections.

• Work with Pre-Opening Finance team on management of commercial budget and topline performance projections, forecasting and stub year performance.

• Guide property leadership on goal setting for sales and catering sales teams and ensure that a robust business development plan is executed in pre-opening. Follow up with stub year goal setting and recommendations for sales deployment based upon learnings from pre-opening.

• Develop and implement handoff process and plan to Performance Leadership Team to ensure successful transition post opening.

• Communications

• Attend bi-weekly and monthly ownership update calls per project and lead the commercial discussion.

• Attend Brand Positioning and lead all Commercial Strategy meetings per project.

• Coordinate ownership communications with Head of Openings + Operations Support team.

• Facilitate introductions and set up calls with global sales organization; help property team plug into the greater IHG organization quickly and effectively.

• Present status updates and regularly ensure all relevant opening tracking tools and project management systems are maintained and updated deliverables at executive meetings.

• Partner with Development on high profile, strategic pitches, i.e. build pitch content and decks.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree and 10+ years of hospitality industry, commercial and marketing experience

• Experience in hotel openings or past Director of Sales and Marketing preferred

• Strong experience in working cross functionally across commercial disciplines, i.e. marketing, PR, digital marketing, R+B marketing, sales, revenue, channels and distribution

• Experience in owner engagement + communication, pitch deck development, and cross discipline models

• Project management certification strongly preferred and/or five to eight years’ experience in project management (CAPM or PMP)

• Adept in Delphi, Saleforce, Tableau, Hotelligence, Demand 360, Cvent, Knowland

• Excellent interpersonal skills with strong negotiation, influence and impact and problem-solving capabilities

• Adept in Microsoft Office Suite, particularly PowerPoint, Outlook, Excel, and Word; Experience in project management tools such as Smartsheet, Saleforce Tools, etc.

• Understanding of key hotel performance metrics (STR report, Pace report, Source of Business, etc.)

• High levels of organization, prioritization, resourcefulness, initiative, and teamwork

Internal Key Relationships:

• Luxury + Lifestyle AMER Commercial team

• Luxury + Lifestyle AMER Operations, Development, Finance teams

• Luxury + Lifestyle Global Brand Teams

• Property team

External Key Relationships:

• Hotel ownership and asset management groups

• Consultants and contractors

• Suppliers and vendors Direct Supervisor: Head of Commercial Operations

Location: Remote

The salary range for this role is $150,000.00 to $175,000.00 This is the lowest to highest pay scale we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range, and the range may be modified in the future. An employee’s pay position within the pay range will be based on several factors including, but limited to, relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, seniority, geographic location, performance, shift, travel requirements, sales or revenue-based metrics, and business or organizational needs.

**This job is also eligible for bonus pay.

We offer comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off, medical/dental/vision insurance, 401k, and any other benefits to eligible employees.

You can apply for this role through the link below (or through internal career site if you are a current employee).

Note: No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, or any other form of compensation that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company’s sole discretion, consistent with the law.

We’ll reward all your hard work with a great salary and benefits – including great room discount and superb training.

Join us and you’ll become part of the global IHG family – and like all families, all our individual team members share some winning characteristics. As a team, we work better together – we trust and support each other, we do the right thing, and we welcome different perspectives. You need to show us you care, that you notice the little things that make a difference to guests as well as always looking for ways to improve.

At IHG Hotels & Resorts, we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. IHG Hotels & Resorts provides equal employment opportunities to applicants and employees without regard to an individual's, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, marital or familial status, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.

IHG is committed to promoting a culture of inclusion where everyone feels safe, respected and valued. We seek talent from all backgrounds to join our teams and encourage our colleagues to bring their authentic and best selves to work.

Not Applicable for Colorado Applicants

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At IHG, we’ve made a promise. As one of the world’s leading hotel groups, we’re here to deliver True Hospitality for Good. Making our guests and colleagues feel welcome, cared for, recognised and respected – wherever they are in the world. Want to be part of the journey?

We need people like you to make a difference and create exceptional experiences every single day. Don’t just join a growing team of 370,000 colleagues across 100 countries. Let your passion shine. Innovate and collaborate around the world. Embrace your ambition.

Don't quite meet every single requirement, but still believe you'd be a great fit for the job? We'll never know unless you hit the 'Apply' button. Start your journey with us today.

At IHG Hotels & Resorts, we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We firmly believe that all our colleagues deserve to be treated equally and have the same opportunities to develop and grow their skills within our business and provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants and colleagues without regard to an individual's, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, marital or familial status, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.