Development Manager, West Africa

Position Statement: 

Under direction from the Managing Director Development for North & West Africa, the candidate must work effectively with colleagues and industry contacts to assist in the execution of Hilton’s development strategy.

Position Summary: 

The Manager will be Hilton’s in-market Development contact for North & West Africa markets and will be responsible for building and maintaining quality relationships with key stakeholders. They will gather and leverage market intelligence for the Development team, including evaluating and identifying business opportunities for brand expansion, supporting the deal-signing process in key markets, and enhancing Hilton's development exposure through various media and industry events. Responsibilities include maintaining and optimizing the deal reporting system, creating compelling business case proposals and presentations for diverse audiences both internally and externally and maintaining development tools and resources. Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work independently under tight deadlines are essential for success in this role.

Key responsibilities include:

•    Business Lead Analysis, Evaluation and Execution: Works effectively with the Managing Director Development for North & West Africa, the wider Development Team and external parties to provide efficient and accurate assessment of business leads / opportunities, to achieve an early consensus of the project´s inherent risks and opportunities. Establish the appropriate prioritization and allocation of projects. In the short term and supervised by the Managing Director Development, it is expected from the Development Manager to be capable and prepared to manage their own focused service leads, with an initial focus on the North & West Africa market, through all internal and external processes (including negotiations and approvals) to convert those leads/projects into executed agreements.
•    Industry Relationships Management: Establishes, enhances and maintains productive, quality working relationships with industry players (consultants, competitors, owners, investors etc.) with a view to actively obtain public market intelligence to understand what is happening in the marketplace with the purpose of always being first to market.
•    Proposals, Presentations, Due Diligence and Development Authorities: Drafting a variety of proposals for market leads you will be managing. In addition, you will also ensure a complete structured Due Diligence process is thoroughly conducted on those deals in line with Hilton Due Diligence Guidelines. 
•    Event Management: Manages the logistics and operation of several Hilton events throughout the year, including but not limited to, development conferences and road shows; attends other EMEA hotel investment conferences as required.
•    Development Marketing Collateral: Working closely with the development team, you will ensure that marketing collateral tailored for various audiences and events across key markets is sourced from regional channels and aligns with corporate creative guidelines and brand standards.
•    Hilton Corporate Profile: Maintain the corporate profile of Hilton in all external communications with industry partners, members of the investment community and other third parties as appropriate. In doing so, liaise with Corporate Communications to ensure all communication is in line with up-to-date corporate themes and practices.
•    Hilton Portfolio: Maintain up-to-date knowledge of the Hilton portfolio of Brands and respective products initiatives and developments, to allow the development team to optimally position the individual Brands and Hilton Hotels within the market.
•    Reporting & Support: Assists the development team and senior leadership with deal summaries, analysis, reports, research, and presentations.
•    Best Practices: Collaborates with other Development Managers to leverage best practices.
•    Efficiency Improvement: Suggests ideas to improve departmental efficiency, increase exposure, and ultimately support growth.
•    Budget Management: Maintain functional, general, and administrative activity within budget.
•    Administration: Manage a transparent filing and administration system and acts as the first point of contact for many development-related queries.
•    Ad-hoc Support: Actively handles ad-hoc requests to facilitate the smooth running of the development function and support regional teams.

What are we looking for?

The success in this role will demonstrate itself through the following attributes and skills:

•    Fundamental grasp of real estate investment, finance and hotel operations.
•    Accuracy, attention to detail, responsive and proactive behaviour.
•    High proficiency in Excel, PowerPoint and Word.
•    Strong communication & interpersonal skills at different levels.
•    A self-starter with the ability to proactively anticipate business needs.
•    Effectively manages a range of competing priorities and demands (strong time management)
•    Results-driven, tenacious, able to work under pressure and openness to regular feedback.
•    Strong analytical skills and decision-making abilities. 
•    Ability to work independently combined with a team spirit and desire to support a team.
•    A desire for self-improvement and career advancement.

Required Qualifications
•    BA/BS/ Bachelor’s degree or experience in lieu of. 
•    Experience in developing an expert level of analytic skills with the ability to present complex information to senior audiences.
•    Fluency in English and French (Arabic would also be advantageous)
•    Ability to travel when required for fieldwork, client meetings, industry events and internal meetings.

Preferred Qualifications
•    MBA/Master’s Degree Hospitality, Sales, General Business, Real Estate certifications or education or equivalent 
•    Prior industry experience (hotel operator, feasibility, consulting, sales) or substantial experience in similar roles
•    Previous experience in Hotel Development, Real Estate or Feasibility & Investment type roles. 
•    A solid understanding of and a passion for the hotel industry (e.g. operational experience) with experience of sales-driven functions. 
•    An aspiration to build a career in hotel development.
•    Additional language(s) would be considered an advantage.

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How We’ll Help You Thrive

At Hilton, the hospitality we’re known for doesn’t end with our guests. We proudly invest in our Team Members’ wellbeing, supporting you through all of life’s moments. When you join Hilton, our exceptional care extends to you with unmatched perks and benefits, including*:

Incredible travel perks – Enjoy 110 nights of deeply discounted travel, with room rates as low as $40 USD/night at our world-class hotels through our Go Hilton travel program

Paid parental leave – Because family matters. We offer paid leave for eligible Team Members, including partners and adoptive parents

Crisis concierge – In times of loss, our Crisis Concierge offers a single, compassionate point of contact for both practical support and emotional care

Mental health resources – Your wellbeing comes first. Through our Care for All hub, we provide resources to help our Team Members to care for themselves and their loved ones. In many countries, eligible Team Members receive free counseling and support through our Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

*Benefits availability may vary depending on Team Member’s location as well as terms and conditions of employment and are subject to the terms and conditions of each specific program/plan.