Director of Sales & Marketing - Ultra-Luxury Hotel | Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (the success criteria)

Director of Sales & Marketing - Ultra-Luxury Hotel | Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (the success criteria)

This role is open to anyone qualifying anywhere in the world

An exceptional opportunity exists for a highly accomplished commercial executive to join Saudi Arabia's most prestigious luxury hospitality development as Director of Sales & Marketing. This position offers the opportunity to shape one of the Kingdom's most significant luxury hospitality openings!

Musts:

1. Worked as Director of Sales & Marketing for minimum 5 years.
2. Stable background and experience (no job hoppers).
3. Pre-opening / opening experience.
4. Experience working in one of the top luxury international hotel groups (flagship property experience preferred).
5. Experience working outside your country of birth .
6. Fluency in English mandatory. Second language skills would be an asset.
7. Must be a robust leader, with leadership exp over a multi-cultural team.
8. In addition to Sales and Marketing, candidate must have strengths in Public Relations, Revenue Management, Reservations, Catering & Events (preferred).

This flagship hotel will set new Global benchmarks for luxury, service excellence, and commercial performance within the region. Reporting directly to the General Manager, the Director of Sales & Marketing will lead the complete commercial strategy and execution from pre-opening through stabilization and long-term success. This role requires a commercially sophisticated leader with proven success in opening iconic luxury hotels, building world-class commercial organizations, and driving sustainable revenue growth within internationally recognized luxury brands.

The Director of Sales & Marketing is responsible for the strategic leadership of all commercial functions, ensuring the hotel achieves its revenue, profitability, market share, and brand positioning objectives. As the commercial architect of the hotel, this executive will establish every aspect of the commercial operation from the ground up, including organizational design, recruitment, operating standards, commercial systems, strategic partnerships, and market positioning.

Responsibilities:

1. Develop and execute the hotel's integrated commercial strategy across all revenue-generating disciplines.
2. Serve as the principal commercial advisor to the General Manager and Executive Committee.
3. Establish the hotel's long-term commercial vision, market positioning, and revenue strategy.
4. Drive all commercial decision-making through market intelligence, financial analysis, and strategic planning.
5. Ensure alignment with ownership expectations and luxury brand standards.

Pre-Opening Leadership

Lead every commercial aspect of the hotel's pre-opening journey, including:

1. Creation of the complete commercial organization.
2. Recruitment, selection, and onboarding of all commercial team members.
3. Development of departmental structures and reporting lines.
4. Creation of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), Policies & Procedures (P&Ps), manuals, and performance standards.
5. Development and delivery of comprehensive training programs.
6. Establishment of budgets, forecasts, sales strategies, revenue management processes, CRM systems, and reporting frameworks.
7. Development of luxury sales strategies across Corporate, MICE, Leisure, Government, Consortia, Entertainment, and High-Net-Worth Individual markets.

Departmental Leadership

Provide strategic oversight of: Sales, Marketing, Public Relations & Communications, Revenue Management, Reservations, Catering & Events (preferred)

Brand, Marketing & Communications

1. Lead all brand positioning, digital marketing, social media, public relations, partnerships, advertising, and promotional activities.
2. Ensure all communication reflects the property's luxury identity and enhances global brand recognition.
3. Develop innovative campaigns supporting both the hotel opening and ongoing commercial performance.

Revenue Optimization

1. Direct all pricing, forecasting, budgeting, distribution, and revenue optimization strategies.
2. Monitor market trends, competitive intelligence, and commercial performance to maximize profitability.
3. Work collaboratively with operational leaders to achieve sustainable revenue growth across all business segments.

Requirements / Qualifications:

The successful candidate will be a commercially driven luxury hospitality executive with a distinguished track record of leading major pre-opening projects and consistently delivering exceptional commercial results.

1. Currently employed as a Director of Sales & Marketing (or equivalent executive commercial leadership position) within an internationally recognized luxury hotel.
2. Minimum five years experience operating at Director of Sales & Marketing level.
3. Extensive luxury hotel pre-opening experience is essential.
4. Demonstrated success opening luxury hotels from concept through launch and stabilization.
5. Proven ability to establish complete commercial operations from the ground up, including recruitment, systems, policies, procedures, training, and commercial infrastructure.
6. Experience leading large, multidisciplinary commercial organizations of approximately 60–75 team members.
7. Strong expertise across: Sales, Marketing, Public Relations, Revenue Management, Reservations, Catering & Events (strongly preferred)

Additional Requirements:

1. Demonstrated career stability with progressive advancement within respected luxury hospitality organizations.
2. Long-term commitment to the successful opening and ongoing commercial performance of the hotel.
3. Fluency in English, both written and spoken, is mandatory.
4. Additional languages, particularly Arabic, are advantageous but not essential.
5. Willingness to relocate to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

This opportunity is best suited to an accomplished luxury hospitality commercial executive who has successfully led multiple luxury hotel openings, possesses deep expertise across every commercial discipline, thrives in complex flagship environments, and has the vision, leadership, and commercial excellence to establish one of Saudi Arabia's premier luxury hotels as a market-leading destination from day one.

If you meet with the above requirements, please send your current resume to Yasmin Khambatta at [Confidential Information] and Pina Mercuri at [HIDDEN TEXT]