Account Director HWS Turkey

Position Statement:
Putting the customer at the heart of what you do and making their lives easier is key to this role. As the Account Director HWS Corporate, you will manage and grow high value and large potential corporate accounts for Hilton Worldwide. The role will look after these accounts on a national, regional and global basis where relevant. You will be accountable for the performance of selected accounts on a national, regional or global basis. You will create and communicate the account strategies to drive increased market share and demonstrate value to both internal and external customers.

Position Summary:
The Account Director is accountable for the performance of their key and strategic accounts. To do this, you will need to proactively manage the relationships with customers as well as internal stakeholders such as VP’s, GMs, Commercial Directors’ and Hotel Managers. You will need to create and communicate the Individual Business Travel (IBT) and Conference, Meetings and Events (CMTG) account strategies to drive increased and unfair share. You are also responsible for the implementation and execution of various projects. The role holder is owner and brand agnostic.

Planning Activities 20%
• Develops IBT & CMTG strategies and directions for accounts in remit.
• Identifies and evaluates IBT & CMTG business opportunities for the company and directs accordingly.
• Executes strategic account plans and supports communications of key messages internally and externally.
• Develops account plans to implement long term goals for the business that are the basis for short term goals and annual operational planning.
• Develops appropriate objectives and directs their achievement.
• Establishes relevant procedures and processes.
• Accountable for the delivery of the strategy and activities of the sales function.
• Total account management (IBT & CMTG) focus where applicable.
• Quickly determine the segments within the accounts that provide the greater opportunities.

Organizing Activities 40%
• Identifies resources, oversees activities, and confers with key stakeholders to ensure objectives of the team (where applicable) and sales function are accomplished.
• Implements account plans to ensure overall strategic direction of the account base and supports the company’s revenue strategies.
•Develops account plans that specify goals and action plans to support the defined account strategy and ensure maximum opportunity for account penetration.
• Establishes and develops long term effective working relationships with key customers to drive business.
• Depending on the segment and the contracting region of responsibility,
• Manages the RFP process with the assistance of RFP Support and Sales Support teams ensuring the correct procedures are in place to support the client and drive business into Hilton.
• For corporate transient clients Accurately identifies the level of influence and decision-making power of contacts in the customer organisation and uses these to secure business
• Handles the strategic relationship with Meetings & Events clients and handles group requests, at times supported by a Hilton Direct team member.
• Handles the strategic relationship with the appointed third parties of the corporate customer on both the transient and the meetings & events space (e.g., rate negotiations, meetings & events agreements, opportunities to move market share, sales promotions)
• Identifies, handles, and generates new leads on Corporate Project/Extended Stay business, at times supported by a Project/Extended Stay Desk team member.
• Ensures relevant updates are sent both to internal and external stakeholders.
• Monitors and reviews the impact of marketing initiatives on the account strategy.
• Networking with sub account handlers and global leads where relevant.
• Strengthening relationships with key hotels and aligning strategies where relevant.
• Accountable for communicating the strategy, Account Plans, and activities on a regular basis, along with relevant issues, opportunities and successes to the relevant stakeholders as well as the Account Team, where applicable.
• Manages cross-functional links to other teams, departments and functions.
• Regular meetings to take place to account base throughout the sales territory.
• Attends relevant industry conferences and events.

Directing Activities 20%
• Develops and manages agreed team activities.
• Provides direction to account team members (where applicable) and establishes work priorities to achieve management objectives for those accounts managed by incumbents.
• Executes organisational directives and encourages achievement of goals through motivation, communication and leadership.
• Reviews Account Plans on a quarterly basis, updating SFDC records accordingly.
• Implements account specific marketing initiatives to help drive the business.
• Agrees marketing activity to underpin the account strategies and deliver increase market share.

Staffing Activities 5%
• Ensures regular 1:1’s are conducted with Sales Support, Hilton Direct, Project/Extended Stay Desk, RFP Support as appropriate to accomplish goals.

Controlling Activities (where applicable) 15%
• Directs and implements proper controls and systems.
• Assesses actual performance to ensure success and takes corrective actions.
• Establishes and enforces policies and procedures to improve overall operations.
• Works within the approved process for activities and expenses to ensure optimal financial results.
• Develops and maintains Hilton Best Practice to ensure accurate and up-to-date customer account information is kept in Salesforce.
• Ensures information relating to customer requirements, interests and marketing activities is kept up to date using relevant Hilton procedures through Salesforce.
• Provides accurate management reports to review account performance and communicate future plans.
• Reviews customer base to determine new opportunities for account penetration.

Supportive Functions
In addition to performance of the essential functions, this position may be required to perform a combination of the following supportive functions, with the percentage of time performing each function to be solely determined by the supervisor based upon the requirements of the company.
• Attendance at sales workshops.
• Support sales weeks and blitzes.
• Support joint calls for colleagues visiting.
• Organize fam trips and support the hotels with client attendance.• Host virtual (WebEx, Microsoft Teams) calls for the key hotels to support with conversion.
• Involvement in various projects to support the wider HWS team’s strategies.
• Additional task may be required

Direct Reports
• None but may have responsibility to support and work alongside RFP and Sales Support Teams as well as Hilton Direct and Project Desk.

You must possess the following knowledge, skills and abilities and be able to perform the essential functions of the job, with or without reasonable accommodation.
• Excellent communication skills: presentations, written and public speaking
• Good understanding of sales process, tools, measurements and systems
• Good knowledge of market segments and pricing strategies
• Understanding of competition and marketing strategies
• Strong in account management
• Strong persuading and influencing skills
• Ability to direct collaboration among cross-functional teams including external resources
• Ability to analyse departmental financial data in order to make strategic and tactical decisions
• Leads by example to resolve conflicts, introduce change and ensure collaboration among others
• Demonstrates the highest standards of ethical behaviour and absolute discretion with sensitive information
• Ability to take initiative to identify, prioritise and implement actions required to achieve functional goals
• Strong problem-solving skills including ability to address any issue in collaboration with others, identify and prevent potential problems and develop problem solving skills in others
• Ability to provide development and mentoring to others
• Ability to work independently and manage the work of others
• Ability to deliver performance feedback to subordinates to improve overall performance
• Ability to adjust plans and priorities as situations change
• Prioritizes, organizes and uses a systematic approach to get things done
• Ability to think and articulate a vision for business sales and capable of translating this into practical and tangible actions
• Self-reliant, working with minimal control and direction
•Takes calculated risks to achieve results in consultation with immediate supervisor and other relevant team members
• Contributes and is effective when team working with peers
• Has good relationship management skills and presents the appropriate professional image to customers and external contacts
• Can handle more than one task/situation at a time

Qualifications
• To hold a University degree or experience in lieu thereof
• Significant work experience in customer facing, revenue generating roles including management experience
• Experience working in multi-cultural or international settings
• Fluency in English
• Proficient in Microsoft office applications

Preferred Qualifications:
• Advanced degree preferred
• Hospitality industry experience preferred in Sales, Marketing, Revenue or Operating roles
• In-depth knowledge of business sector managed
• International experience advantageous
• Working knowledge of at least one other European language
• Proficient in Salesforce CRM