Senior Development Manager, Luxury - Europe & Africa

About Hilton

Hilton is one of the largest and fastest growing hospitality companies in the world, with over 9,000 properties and 1.3 million rooms in 138 countries and territories. In the 105 years since our founding, we have defined the hospitality industry and established a portfolio of 25 world-class brands, including our flagship Hilton Hotels & Resorts brand, which is the most recognized hotel brand in the world. We have more than 200 million members in our award–winning customer loyalty program, Hilton Honors, and we are consistently named among the World’s Best Workplaces.

Position Statement:

Under direction from the Vice President Development Luxury & Residential, the Senior Manager Development must work effectively with colleagues and industry contacts to assist in the execution of Hilton’s development strategy with respect to our chosen brands and business models, within Europe and Africa, with a particular focus on southern Europe.

Position Summary:

The Senior Manager Development establishes, maintains, and enhances quality working relationships with key internal and external stakeholders to effectively compile up-to-date market intelligence and relevant information to identify new sources for franchise and management opportunities. The role includes providing support to the VP Development by assisting in the evaluation and identification of opportunities for further expansion of Hilton’s luxury brands, preparation of board and investment committee papers, and execution of approved opportunities to deliver on aggressive new deal signings targets.

You will contribute to Hilton's presence at lodging conferences and internal/external events, and showcases, and present Hilton branded product opportunities to owners and investors both with development team members and independently. Strong interpersonal skills are required in communications with the hotel investment and advisory community, senior leaders, and external stakeholders including ownership groups. This will also involve the preparation of bespoke presentations for a wide range of audiences, requiring the ability to work independently with limited supervision to deliver projects within tight deadlines.

Estimated Time Allocation:

• Strategic planning and analysis to support new lead generation: 20%
• Lead qualification and analysis: 30%
• Internal reporting: 20%
• Industry events and conferences (attendance and preparation): 20%
• Administration/strategic planning/training: 10%

Key Responsibilities

• Provide ongoing support to the VP Development Luxury & Residential.
• Evaluate and identify business opportunities for further expansion of our luxury brands and communicate the strategy accordingly.
• Proactively build new contacts and leverage existing network of owners and advisors to identify new opportunities to grow Hilton’s luxury hotel and resort platform across Europe and Africa.
• Retain excellent and transparent filing and administration systems; act as the first point of contact for many development-related queries.
• Lead all RFP responses for the team at the direction of the VP.
• Proactively seek up-to-date and impactful market-derived and internal information to support commercial endeavors by the development team, maintaining current knowledge of Hilton brands, product initiatives, and services, and maintain ongoing relationships with the individuals driving these initiatives.
• Navigate and maintain relationships with different departments within the business to continually improve collaboration and data gathering for RFPs and brand presentations.
• Work collaboratively with US-based brand colleagues and share best practices with counterparts in Asia and the Americas.
• Maintain the profile of Hilton with industry partners and members of the hotel investment and advisory community by actively participating at industry conferences and events.
• Produce accurate activity reports, development approval authorities, and investment committee papers.
• Compile, review, and/or consolidate development deal summaries for internal approval as required.
• Ensure timely execution of processes and procedures and assist Development senior leadership with required analyses, reports, research projects, and commercial documents & presentations.
• Work effectively with all support functions (e.g. Legal, Feasibility, Finance, Corporate Compliance, Brands, etc.) to avoid any situations preventing the completion of a development project.
• Maintain functional, general, and administrative activity within budget.

What are we looking for?

Applicants will ideally come from a hotel or hospitality background and must have relevant, proven development experience gained from working within a consulting firm or a similar in-house role. The ability to operate successfully supporting and transacting deals within the luxury hospitality space is essential. Additional language skills, particularly Italian, will be advantageous. Other skills and experience include:

• Understanding and experience in hotel investment, management agreement negotiation, and franchising.
• Accuracy, attention to detail, responsiveness, and proactive behavior.
• Firm grasp of hotel operations, finance, and real estate investment.
• High proficiency in Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.
• Ability to present complex information to senior audiences in a professional and creative manner.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills at different levels.
• A self-starter with the ability to anticipate and not simply react to business needs.
• Ability to manage a range of competing priorities and demands (strong time management skills are essential).
• Results-driven, tenacious, able to work under pressure, and open to regular feedback (in line with the wide audience addressed).
• Strong analytical skills and ability to make decisions independently.
• Ability to work independently combined with team spirit and a desire to support a team.
• Aspirations to build a career in hotel development.

Required Qualifications

• BA/BS/Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
• Fluency in English.
• Willingness to travel as required for fieldwork, client meetings, industry events, and internal meetings.

Preferred Qualifications

• MBA/Master’s Degree in Hospitality, Sales, General Business, Real Estate certifications or equivalent education.
• Up to 10 years of relevant industry experience.
• Additional language(s) would be considered an advantage, particularly Italian.