Assistant Director of Sales - Leisure & Mice - voco Dubai®

Role Overview

Assistant Director of Sales - Leisure & Mice at voco Dubai®, part of IHG Hotels and Resorts, located in Dubai.

Company Overview

voco® is an upscale hotel brand under IHG Hotels and Resorts that delivers a different choice in hospitality—reliable yet distinctive, premium without being stuffy. The brand values are always dependable, respect individuality, and be distinctive. voco® Dubai is located on Sheikh Zayed Road and combines premium ambience with laid-back, attentive service. The role sits within an organization committed to True Hospitality, defined by true attitude, true confidence, true listening, and true responsiveness.

Role Purpose

Develop and implement sales strategies to achieve revenue and room night sales goals for leisure and MICE segments. Manage team productivity, drive external sales across multiple channels, build customer relationships, and contribute to overall hotel performance and strategic objectives.

Key Responsibilities

Sales Strategy & Revenue Management

• Develop and implement strategies to ensure revenue and room night sales goals are achieved.
• Create and implement tactical plans and monitor results against objectives.
• Identify business trends and marketing opportunities that can improve hotel performance.
• Understand the Dubai market, competitors' strengths and weaknesses, economic trends, and supply and demand dynamics.
• Know the business in the market, including where and why clients book at competitor hotels.
• Identify best opportunities for future business based on hotel needs.
• Maintain a central and up-to-date file of all rates contracted, offers and promotions in place.

Sales Execution

• Complete face-to-face sales calls (minimum 5 sales calls per day).
• Actively sell all hotel services through outside sales calls, telemarketing, entertainment, sales trips, events and other channels.
• Use negotiating skills and creative selling abilities to close business and maximize revenue opportunities.
• Work closely with each salesperson to identify opportunities and ways to maximize and exceed personal and team revenue goals.
• Monitor segment and team productivity and targets for Leisure and MICE.

Stakeholder & Relationship Management

• Build and strengthen relationships with existing and new customers to enable future bookings, including sales calls, entertainment, FAM trips, sales trips, trade shows and other activities.
• Effectively manage and develop relationships with key internal and external stakeholders.
• Handle familiarization trips, site inspections and entertainments as per department needs, budget and marketing plan as requested by the Commercial Leader.

Team Leadership & Development

• Recruit, select, orient, train, coach and counsel staff to increase management's effectiveness.
• Ensure complete department training hours as per policy.
• Lead the team through communicating values, strategies and objectives via self-practice.
• Build a healthy work culture by exchanging information, taking opinions and participating in colleague activities.
• Work closely with Human Resources to execute performance appraisals, coaching, counselling, discipline and grievance management, colleague relations and compensation and benefits matters.

Strategic & Professional Development

• Develop strategic plan by studying technological and financial opportunities, presenting assumptions and recommending objectives.
• Build company image by collaborating with customers, government, community and employees and by enforcing ethical business practices.
• Maintain professional and technical knowledge by attending educational workshops, reviewing professional publications, establishing personal networks, benchmarking state-of-the-art practices and participating in professional societies.

Operational & Compliance

• Participate in the Hotel's Manager on Duty programme and perform regular weekday and/or weekend duty shifts as per the Hotel's operational requirements.
• Respond to audits to ensure continual improvement is achieved.
• Understand and strictly adhere to the Rules & Regulations established in the Colleagues Code of Conduct Policy and the Hotel's policy on Fire, Hygiene, Health and Safety.
• Promote efficiency, confidence, courtesy and an extremely high standard of social skills.
• Generally promote and ensure good inter-departmental relations.
• Display a pleasant manner and positive attitude at all times and promote a good company image to guests and colleagues.
• Demonstrate pride in the workplace and personal appearance at all times when representing the hotel, identifying a high level of commitment.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor's degree, higher education qualification, or equivalent in marketing or related field.
• Four or more years of experience in a hospitality or hotel sales and marketing setting.
• Direct supervisory experience over a sales team.
• Strong knowledge of local businesses and business trends.

Skills & Competencies

• True Attitude: caring, wanting to make a positive difference, and building genuine connections with guests.
• True Confidence: knowledge and skills to perform the role and give guests confidence they can trust you to help and support them.
• True Listening: focusing on what guests are saying, picking up on overlooked body language, and understanding what guests want and need.
• True Responsiveness: providing guests with what they need in a timely and caring manner.
• Negotiating skills and creative selling abilities.
• Ability to identify business trends and market opportunities.
• Strong interpersonal and relationship-building capabilities.
• Team leadership and coaching abilities.

Additional Information

• Career development opportunities, employee room discounts and great work culture provided.
• Membership in the global IHG family with emphasis on trust, support, doing the right thing and welcoming different perspectives.
• Full details are available on the employer's original posting.