Marriott International is the world’s largest hotel company, with more brands, more hotels and more opportunities for associates to grow and succeed. We believe a great career is a journey of discovery and exploration. So, we ask, where will your journey take you?
The Senior Director, Strategy Planning & Services, APEC is a key member of the Consumer Operations Continent Strategy Planning & Services organization that provides planning, business advisory, and consultancy support to the Chief Sales & Marketing Officer (CSMO) and senior leadership teams across APEC. The position will report into the APEC CSMO and leads projects ranging from long term strategic planning, business assessments of growth opportunities, and project management of global initiatives.
We are looking for a Senior Director that will work with senior executives to help define and drive the future growth of Marriott International by leading some of the most important initiatives across the Continent. Success in this role requires strong organizational skills, strategic thinking, structured problem-solving skills, writing and communication skills, ability to effectively manage multiple priorities at the same time and the ability to coach and develop a team of high performers.
Some examples of projects that this individual may lead include the following:
- Strategic planning to develop 3-year strategy house for Consumer Operations APEC and lead other staff/planning meetings; lead Consumer Operations long range planning
- Consulting initiatives to develop and lead the APEC digital partnerships strategy, localization strategies and other APEC priorities
- Business assessment of new growth verticals and adjacencies
CANDIDATE PROFILE
Education and Experience Required
- Bachelor’s degree holder and above in Business Administration, Accounting, Finance, Hotel Management, or related major
- Ideally MBA from top tier institution
- 12+ years of relevant professional experience of which at least 8+ must be from major strategy consulting house or in-house corporate strategy role
Skills and Experience Preferred
- Extensive consulting experience at major strategy consulting house (MBB, Big 4 consulting, boutique strategy firm)
- Some in-house corporate strategy experience would be beneficial
- Experience leading complex strategic projects and demonstrated success in leading a methodical process of analyzing problems, gathering information, generating innovative solutions, and then proposing and acting on a course of action
- Experience leading large scale implementation projects
- Strong communication skills with ability to craft presentations with compelling storylines
- Solid analytical skills with the ability to leverage data to inform and drive decisions
- Highly credible, high EQ, able to engage and influence senior leaders on a broad range of strategic issues
- Previous experience in leading and managing a team with demonstrated ability to coach and develop future leaders
- High business acumen and ability to connect Global and Continent strategies with consulting priorities
- Experience in hospitality industry would be advantageous
CORE WORK ACTIVITIES
Strategy Planning
- Lead Consumer Operations planning process including development of the group’s long-term strategy, KPIs, key objectives and strategic initiatives
- Facilitate planning/ strategy discussions in order to achieve alignment among all the disciplines and between Global
Consulting Project/ Business Assessment Leadership
Leads cross-functional teams comprised of discipline experts from HR, Finance, other Consumer Operations departments (Brand, Marketing, Sales, Revenue Management, Digital Platforms, IT), and APEC Leadership in the strategic assessment of new growth opportunities:
- Scope, develop and lead work plan to assess new opportunities with minimal oversight, working with senior leaders to meet project objectives and goals on time and on budget
- Conduct primary and secondary research to obtain necessary information
- Analyze data and develop recommendations and strategy for Marriott
- Create and deliver periodic and on-going presentations on findings and opportunities for senior management and other key stakeholders (e.g., owners)
- Communicate findings through compelling storyline
Project Management Leadership
Provide project management and analytical support for large, complex, cross-function implementation projects. Acts as a project management leader and day-to-day project decision maker with the following responsibilities:
- Accountable to the results of the project
- Provide content guidance to the project
- Participate in review cycles at key milestones & provide go/no-go decision
- Actively participate in strategy sessions
- Contribute to strategy development
- Develop and drive implementation plan
- Ensure alignment of all key stakeholders
- Ensure appropriate sponsorship and resourcing
- Establish key milestones and approval roles
- Ensure timely delivery against milestones
MANAGEMENT COMPETENCIES
Leadership
- Adaptability – Maintains performance level under pressure or when experiencing changes or challenges in the workplace.
- Communication –Conveys information and ideas to others in a convincing and engaging manner through a variety of methods
- Problem solving and Decision Making - Identifies and understands issues, problems, and opportunities; obtains and compares information from different sources to draw conclusions, develops and evaluates alternatives and solutions, solves problems, and chooses a course of action.
- Professional Demeanor - Exhibits behavioral styles that convey confidence and command respect from others; makes a good first impression and represents the company in alignment with its values.
- Professional Demeanor - Exhibits behavioral styles that convey confidence and command respect from others; makes a good first impression and represents the company in alignment with its values.
Managing Execution
- Building and Contributing to Teams - Participates as a member of a team to move toward the completion of common goals while fostering cohesion and collaboration among team members.
- Strategy Execution – Ensures successful execution across of business plans designed to maximize customer satisfaction, profitability, and market share through effective planning, organizing, and on-going evaluation processes.
- Driving for Results - Sets high standards of performance for self and/or others; assumes responsibility for work objectives; initiates, focuses, and monitors the efforts of self and/or others toward the accomplishment goals; proactively takes action and goes beyond what is required.
- Planning and Organizing - Gathers information and resources required to set a plan of action for self and/or others; prioritizes and arranges work requirements to accomplish goals and ensure work is completed.
Building Relationships
- Customer Relationships - Develops and sustains relationships based on an understanding of customer/stakeholder needs and actions consistent with the company’s service standards.
- Coworker Relationships - Interacts with others in a way that builds openness, trust, and confidence in the pursuit of organizational goals and lasting relationships.
- Global Mindset - Supports employees and business partners with diverse styles, abilities, motivations, and/or cultural perspectives; utilizes differences to drive innovation, engagement and enhance business results; and ensures employees are given the opportunity to contribute to their full potential.
Generating Talent and Organizational Capability
- Organizational Capability - Evaluates and adapts the structure of assignments and work processes to best fit the needs and/or support the goals of an organizational unit.
- Talent Management - Provides support and feedback to help individuals develop and strengthen skills and abilities needed to accomplish work objectives.
Learning and Applying Professional Expertise
- Applied Learning - Seeks and makes the most of learning opportunities to improve performance of self and/or others.
- Business Acumen - Understands and utilizes business information to manage everyday operations and generate innovative solutions to approach business and administrative challenges.
- Technical Acumen - Understands and utilizes professional skills and knowledge in a specific functional area to conduct and manage everyday business operations and generate innovative solutions to approach function-specific work challenges.
◦ Demonstrates working knowledge of discipline-specific systems, tools, and business practices. - Basic Competencies - Fundamental competencies required for accomplishing basic work activities.
◦ Basic Computer Skills - Uses basic computer hardware and software (e.g., personal computers, word processing software, Internet browsers, etc.).
◦ Mathematical Reasoning - Adds, subtracts, multiplies, or divides quickly, correctly, and in a way that allows one to solve work-related issues.
◦ Oral Comprehension - Listens to and understands information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
◦ Reading Comprehension – Understands written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
◦ Writing - Communicates effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
