Franchise Hotel – Pre-Opening Director of Sales and Marketing IHG Hotels & Resorts

About Us

The InterContinental Lusaka is located on a tree-lined avenue in the Embassy area of Lusaka, close to the Judiciary and international corporate head offices. Originally opened in 1968.

After a multi-million-dollar renovations we are ready to re-launch this iconic hotel in Q3 2022 and the IHG’s InterContinental brand in the heart of Lusaka city, Zambia.

Your day to day

• Direct day-to-day sales activities, plan and assign work and establish performance and development goals for the Sales & Marketing Colleagues. Provide regular feedback to help manage conflict, improve Colleague performance.
• Work closely with the Director of Human Resources in recruiting and developing the right talent within the Sales and Marketing function.
• Oversee Sales & Marketing culture to ensure True Hospitality for all is inculcated and Colleague engagement is at its highest.
• Develop your team and improve their performance through quarterly feedback sessions as per IHG standards and one-on-one mentorship programs. Ensure yearly, quarterly, monthly and weekly targets are discussed, understood and achieved while continuously recognizing great performance via the Hotel’s reward & recognition programs.
• Train colleagues to make sure they hit hotel revenue goals to the standards we expect and have the tools they need to work effectively
• Develop and maintain relationships with key clients and outside contacts (example: guests, airliners, wholesalers, travel agencies, ad agencies, local community groups) in order to produce group and/or convention business, to include room sales, food and beverage sales, and catering/banquet services.
• Provide guests with information (example: loyalty programmes, area attractions, restaurants, facility information) to enhance guest experience
• Schedule conventions and/or business group activities at the hotel and coordinate with other hotel-level departments to facilitate services agreed upon by the sales office and prospective clients
• Communicate to appropriate departments all pertinent information requirements and special needs for arriving VIP’s, large groups, and other key guests
• Lead marketing efforts to up sell guests on hotel services, offerings, and amenities
• Work closely with key business leaders, officials, and representatives of local community groups within the city to ensure constant high profile exposure for the hotel
• Effectively communicate and market aspects of the hotel that are sustainable or “green” and use information to gain new business opportunities
• Work with advertising agencies, consulting firms, and vendors to maximise advertising investments and ensure ads represent brand identity
• Raise the awareness and reputation of your hotel and the brand locally – occasionally acting as hotel representative for media related enquiree
• Identify improvements to marketing activities and overall hotel sales performance and work with other departments
• Ad-hoc duties – unexpected moments when we have to pull together to get a task done
• Hit all personal/team sales goals and maximise profitability, RGI and GSI targets.
• Help prepare the departmental budget and financial plans including the hotel marketing plan
• Create and implement sales plans that drive measurable incremental occupancy, increase average rates, increase volume, food and beverage and banquet sales
• Produce monthly reports and sales forecasts to analyse current/potential market and sales trends, coordinate activities to increase revenue and market share and monitor performance to ensure actual sales meet or exceed established revenue plan
• Review monthly reports and sales forecasts to analyse current/potential market and sales trends, coordinate activities to increase revenue and market share and monitor performance to ensure actual sales meet or exceed established revenue plan
• Create and develop special events and sales blitzes to showcase the hotel to potential clients. Attend trade shows and major market events locally and nationally to promote new business and increase sales and marketing opportunities for the hotel

Accountabities

This is the top sales and marketing job in a full- or limited-service hotel and may include meeting space and/or catering facilities. May manage professional-level and administrative sales team members.

What we need from you

What we need from you

• Hotel Experience in similar capacity and calibre hotel is must
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in marketing or related field
• Six or more years of experience in a hospitality or hotel sales and marketing environment with direct supervisory experience over a sales and c&e team, or an equivalent combination of education and work experience
• Must speak English and Portuguese fluently
• Other languages preferred
• with financial budgeting is desirable.

What we offer

In return we’ll give you a competitive financial and benefits package and the chance to work with a great team of people. Most importantly, we’ll give you the Room to be yourself. So what’s your passion?

Please get in touch if this position matches your skills and interests and tell us how you could bring your individual competencies by clicking “Apply Online”.

At IHG we are committed to developing our team and managing our talent and would encourage internal as well as external candidates to apply for any of our vacancies. We are an equal opportunities employer.