Cluster Director of Commercial – Six Senses Italy & Ibiza

As the Cluster Director of Commercial, I fully comprehend the vision of Six Senses to help people reconnect with themselves, others and the world around them, plus our values of local sensitivity and global sensibility, crafted experiences, emotional hospitality, responsible and caring, fun and quirky and pioneering wellness. By embracing the Six Senses vision and values, I will deliver an exceptional experience for guests and develop hosts to be the very best they can be.

I will embrace our values of community, spirituality, and celebration, taking care to embody our values and understand their context within our marketing and communications. 

In this role, I will assume full responsibility for the efficient operation of the cluster and local and global sales & marketing teams to provide exceptional products and services within brand operating standards.

Duties and Responsibilities:

My key role is to drive the right business at the right price to ensure the properties achieve budgeted occupancy, rate and revenue. This includes writing and implementing the sales & marketing plan, contracting, setting sales targets by segment and by client and prospect, undertaking advertising, sales, promotions, working with the revenue lead for setting rates, and directing the sales team.

By keeping abreast of industry intelligence, trends and practices and updating knowledge and skills, I will continually focus on revenue generation and profile building for our properties and spas and for Six Senses. Sales strategies and tactics will be constantly assessed to remain relevant and effective.

An important part of the role is to interact with guests and hosts in a professional, courteous and positive manner and proactively seek feedback. In the event of guest or client complaints, I will effectively carry out service recovery or charge our hosts to do so to the satisfaction of guests and clients.

Interaction and communications between departments under my control and other departments within the properties are clear and effectively maintained to support the smooth running of the properties. I will perform any additional duties given to me by the General Managers and Chief Commercial Officer of Six Senses.

Strategic Planning & Execution

• Take care to understand the different needs of market segments per property, implementing strategies and programs to drive profitability while ensuring innovation stays at the heart of your approach – no cookie-cutter thinking.
• Lead the strategic sales and marketing planning process across the cluster, working in close collaboration with Revenue and Six Senses Home Office team members to establish clear strategic goals and long-term strategies. 
• Work closely with Revenue and GMs during the annual budgeting process, bringing your knowledge of the market and key accounts to analyze growth opportunities across key segments. 
• Maintain a strong, long-term sales and marketing strategy plan that creates opportunities in low periods while maximizing our high season revenue. 
• Consistently evaluate business opportunities in new geographical and demographic markets, identifying areas for growth and leading the team forwards to maximize these opportunities. 
• Develop a solid understanding of financials to evaluate revenue performance and monitor the sales and marketing department’s impact on property profitability cluster-wide.
• Suggest and launch tactical promotions across the cluster based on market conditions.

Cluster Sales Management

• Possess a strong background knowledge and contacts across the travel agency universe, including Consortia and Tour Operators, acting as a key face for the properties within the industry including proactive sales events and trade shows. 
• Nurture a hunter-type attitude with the sales team, pushing aggressive pro-active sales across our properties and Residences product. 
• Develop and approve travel schedules and budgets for your properties.
• Implement and monitor an effective prospecting program.
• Review the performance of each salesperson and audit key account activity quarterly.
• Participate in designated trade, service, and community associations and clubs.
• Co-ordinate sales activities with Luxury Lifestyle Global Sales.

Cluster Marketing Management

• Oversee PR and Communication teams and third-party agencies, establishing clear annual focus areas and monitor progress regularly. 
• Oversee final content sign-off for all relevant media channels, including social media, ensuring that all content adheres to brand guidelines and monitor content performance for constant learning. 
• Maintain a strong knowledge and focus on digital marketing, understand the entire digital ecosystem across the hotel, Six Senses brand and IHG to help drive awareness and conversion into direct channels. 
• Work across internal teams for all revenue generation and brand building programming – act as a voice of commercial reason, supporting and guiding teams where necessary on all activities, in particular marketing and communication execution. 
• Take final ownership over all marketing projects, including timelines, deliverables, and budgets. 
• Ensure all marketing content and collateral adheres to Six Senses guidelines.

Market Intelligence & Competitor Analysis

• Monitor competitor activities and assist in gathering market intelligence relevant to the cluster.
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of market dynamics locally, regionally, and internationally to inform strategic planning for the cluster.
• Build market and product knowledge in the 5* Corporate, MICE, and Leisure segments across the cluster.

Financial Management & Reporting

• Monitor competitor activities and assist in gathering market intelligence relevant to the cluster.
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of market dynamics locally, regionally, and internationally to inform strategic planning for the cluster.
• Build market and product knowledge in the Corporate, MICE, and Leisure segments in the Six Senses space across the cluster.

Leadership

• I will exercise a strong commercial acumen, working between Revenue, Sales, and Marketing to find a balance between business opportunities vs needs, acting as the voice of commercial reason across the team. 
• Take care to understand the different needs of market segments per property, implementing strategies and programs to drive profitability while ensuring innovation stays at the heart of your approach – no cookie-cutter thinking.
• Act with agility, being comfortable operating at pace with the ability to be nimble and make decisions quickly.
• Maintain accountability across your team, creating a structure that prioritizes action and follow-up with regular feedback loops to keep teams accountable and on target. 
• Comfortably work across multiple direct reports, Luxury Lifestyle Global Sales and third-party agencies, acting as a central glue to ensure all parties move as one team in a singular, strategic direction.
• Prepare regular reports for ownership as needed. 
• Regularly work between Six Senses brand team and ownership, balancing the needs of the properties with brand guidelines and timeline expectations. 
• Working directly with revenue lead, ensuring the team implement activities that positively impact the properties’ RevPAR performance.
• Monitor competitive properties to ensure continual market share improvement. 
• Develop and maintain a succession plan for all commercial positions.
• Prepare, monitor, and control the annual sales, marketing and business development budget.

Qualifications

To execute the position of Cluster Director of Commercial, I have the required qualifications, technical skills and experience in a similar role in luxury hotels with proven results. I possess a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality, Marketing, Hotel or Business Management and more than five years’ experience in a senior sales and/or sales and marketing role.

I am a personally involved, visible and proactive leader with excellent organizational skills, capable of providing focused direction and continuing to establish the properties’ prominent position within the market. I possess a well-developed capability for strategic decision-making and a track record of proven results in the areas of customer satisfaction, operational excellence, host satisfaction, revenue and profit.

In terms of commercial sales & marketing management, I have an intuitive sense for driving business, a passion for excellence and an understanding of the sophisticated needs of the luxury customer.

My financial acumen positions me as a business savvy leader with demonstrated financial understanding and interpretation of reports plus cost control.

From a people management perspective, I am a responsive, engaged and interactive leader, capable of building strong positive relationships with hosts that results in a shared vision of success for the operation, demonstrated ability to leverage shared resources, undertake training as needed and to manage through influence.

Technical skills include Advanced MS Office - Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook. I am also familiar with various hotel systems including PMS and CRM platforms. I have an excellent command of written and spoken English with some knowledge of the local language and customs.

The above is intended to provide an overview of the role and responsibilities for a Cluster Director of Commercial – Italy & Ibiza . It is not and does not infer that the above is an inclusive and/or exhaustive list of the duties and responsibilities inherent in the position.

Six Senses is an equal opportunity employer. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment.