Cluster Director of Sales at Fairmont Hotels & Resorts

What’s in it for you:

• Employee benefit card offering discounted rates in Accor worldwide
• Learning programs through our Academies
• Opportunity to develop your talent and grow within your property and across the world!
• Ability to make a difference through our Corporate Social Responsibility activities, like Planet 21

What you will be doing:

• Responsible for achieving rooms and catering sales budgets
• Support leadership in the development of the sales & marketing plan and budget presentation
• Responsible for the preparation of the administration duties, including but not exhaustive;
• Competitor Information on GCC, Ministry, Corporate, and Wholesale rate positioning
• Task the team to build local building/corporate lists
• Create comprehensive induction plans for onboarding new team members
• Act as a brand ambassador, representing the hotel by maintaining constant contact with stakeholders, including clients, guests, GSO, and partners
• Assist in the planning and development of sales and marketing strategies
• Monitor and evaluates current sales and marketing initiatives and trends within the market, sharing market intelligence with the commercial team to develop strategic plans across business segments
• Plan and attend trade exhibitions, collection reviews, road shows, and sales trips to maximize the brand coverage of Fairmont in Kenya, optimizing the ROI of short, medium, and long-term business for the three hotels
• Lead sales team to build an extensive network of contacts, building relationships to drive high-yield business from all market segments into the three Fairmont properties. Switching key accounts from direct competitor sets and positioning both hotels as #1 in primary comp sets
• Ensure sales team activities are logged in Sales Force accurately, reviewing weekly activity reports with the General Manager.
• Assist in setting up systems to monitor the achievement of departmental goals and objective
• Support strategic department planning and development
• Analyze sales and marketing data from sources including Hoteligence, STR, Rate360, CVENT, and consortia partners, modifying sales and marketing strategies together with our director of marketing to ensure Fairmont Kenya secures fair market share within both primary and secondary comp sets
• Oversee team onboarding, orientation, and induction plans
• Assist in the development of new products and services, such as packages and offers to drive sales
• Attend weekly sales and revenue meetings, contributing to the commercial sales strategy
• Attend all compulsory training courses as directed by the T&C division
• Manage associate performance and personal development, in line with job description, role, and responsibilities, conducting probation, annual and ongoing performance review
• Manage relationships across all market segments, developing brand sentiment with key stakeholders for Fairmont in Kenya
• GCC Regional Account Manager for luxury partnership agreements; ex. AMEX FHR, Virtuoso, Traveler Made, etc
• Work in partnership with DOR to drive distribution through local partners, reacting to market trends and consumer demand
• Work with operations to ensure service delivery meets required standards across partnership agreements
• Contribute to the formation of the annual department budget, monitor departmental performance, and report the rationale for all variances of actual revenues achieved versus budget and recommending and implementing appropriate action
• Maintain accurate departmental records with respect to associate training development
• Obtain first-hand guest information and use it for improvements in products and services
• Act with guests in mind; establish and maintain effective relationships with guests, gaining their trust and respect
• Maintain effective communication within the department ensuring the CDOS/EDC are kept well informed of business activity and/or any issues/queries that have arisen
• Work with other departments to ensure good cross-department communication
• Attend to guest comments brought to attention either directly or through the Front Office Managers, or other Executive Committee Member or Head of Department and manage these and courteously

Your experience and skills include:

• Working experience in a similar role with strong knowledge of the Kenyan Hospitality market.
• Excellent communication and negotiation skills.
• Ability to build and maintain relationships with clients.
• Strong organizational and planning skills.
• Knowledge of RFP process and ability to complete RFPs within specified time scales.
• Familiarity with the hospitality industry, including accommodation, banqueting, meeting, and food & beverage.
• Ability to achieve targeted penetration index and guest satisfaction levels.
• Ability to work closely with the Digital, Marketing, and Communications department to identify opportunities and leverage networks within the media.
• Ability to promote Fairmont Hotels-Kenya within Accor both nationally and internationally.
• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Hospitality Management, or related field (preferred).
• Fluency in English, both written and spoken.
• Valid driver's license.