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Job description / Role
The Director of Digital Marketing MEA is responsible for the Strategy and Execution of Digital Media, Turnkey Digital Solutions and Ecommerce activity for hotels across Middle East & Africa. This individual will work closely with teams in our operating hotels to understand business needs, market conditions, digital trends, and challenges to help identify local Digital Marketing strategies to drive execution of digital marketing and e-commerce initiatives.
Position Responsibilities / Essential Functions:
Strategy & Leadership:
- Lead the cluster Digital Marketing managers to develop and utilize local digital marketing strategies, tactics, tools and programs that can be executed by hotels to generate direct channel revenue and increase preference share within our target customer groups in local, regional and international markets.
- Understand the digital regional market landscape, competition, hotel needs as well as country level opportunity to set overall digital and ecommerce direction for the region in an effort to drive higher room and other related revenues (i.e. F&B, spa, meetings, etc.) for the hotel.
- Spearhead the digital go to market strategy and create an infrastructure and culture to support all Digital Marketing related initiatives to drive hotel openings, new brand introductions, re-brands and conversions or major renovations across the region.
- Assist pre-opening hotel teams with the selection of Digital agencies and guide them through the media planning process in the pre-opening phase.
- Support the Director Digital Marketing EAME in crafting the right regional digital strategy by providing a nuanced understanding of the target customer groups within the sub-region so as to increase preference share with the target customer groups.
- Spot patterns and synergies in local Digital Marketing needs across hotels in the region, and create custom digital marketing solutions, specifically where there are significant performance issues, re-brands or renovations.
- Collaborate closely with Regional Marketing, Sales, Communications, Operations, Revenue Management and World of Hyatt teams by providing digital marketing expertise, digital tools and direction that support hotel openings, renovations, and other initiatives designed to maximize business performance.
Stakeholder Management & Digital mentorship:
- Build a strong network with hotel teams across the region and key stakeholders across other corporate functions.
- Work closely with cluster digital managers and hotel teams across the region to tackle concerns about corporate or regional tools, programs, and campaigns related to direct channel performance and ecommerce solution from regional/area leadership, senior stakeholders and owner representatives/owners.
- Communicate commercial value of direct channels to owners, operators and other key stake holders, for operating and opening hotels.
- Keep track of new hotel/market awareness on digital channels and communicate the overall digital updates timely internally and to hotel stakeholders.
- Mentor and educate digital cluster managers and senior hotel management on key industry news, trends, issues, platforms and best practices impacting Digital and Social Marketing.
- Identify needs and support digital on-boarding and training of hotel commercial associates for both operating and opening hotels.
Digital Marketing Responsibilities:
- Lead strategy and roll-out of CPA, CPC, CPM, Metasearch, e-mail buys, paid search, mobile, paid social & other conventional and unconventional internet advertising/acquisition models, both with existing Agency / Partners and direct 3rd parties.
- Collaborate with partner agencies to develop annual business plan for the hotel to ensure sound comprehensive strategic recommendations and ensure ROI goals are achieved for SEO, PPC, mobile and social activity.
- Collaborate on content marketing strategy and social media activity to generate engagement and commercial impact, working with agency on tagging and monitoring social media performance using approved tools.
- Create framework for prioritization and execution of turnkey digital solutions including mini-site development, digital sales, social platforms, etc. - for rooms, F&B, weddings, etc. and support the cluster managers in executing these projects.
Media Budget & Agency Management:
- Maintain regional, digital and ecommerce budget and related vendor/agency relationships (i.e. Supporting billing and invoicing needs, etc.) while coordinating with cluster digital managers on hotel digital budgets for optimal outcomes for our direct channel.
- Meet with regional/local digital and Ecommerce industry representatives (i.e. vendors, agencies, media partners as necessary) to gain insight to best practices.
- Develop and build strong working relationships with vendors and agency partners - serve as primary point of contact for all digital marketing/E-Commerce vendors and agencies. Frequency of agency contact will be determined based on the scope of work outlined between the agency and Hyatt's corporate office.
- Prioritize needs, and set timelines and goals with the agency as well as ensuring the agency meets agreed KPIs.
Requirements
Hard Skills:
- You have an understanding of web analytics, ability and affinity toward data interpretation.
- You are able to support the team to develop and communicate digital and Ecommerce performance to senior leadership.
General:
- High degree of personal and professional savvy and experience which instils confidence among all internal and external audiences.
- A confident personality with the ability to establish and grow successful, mutually beneficial business relationships, along with a commercial attitude and a strategic mindset.
- Experience in establishing credibility and presenting digital and technical concepts in a non-esoteric way.
- Demonstrate strong leadership ability, team management and interpersonal skills.
- Display a positive approach to the work environment and culture, including respectful cooperation with colleagues.
- Strong organizational skills and problem-solving attitude.
Education/Experience:
- This position requires excellent knowledge of Internet marketing practices.
- Bachelor's degree in marketing or business management is preferred.
- Google Adwords certification is desired.
- 7 years of work experience with at least 5 year-experience with digital media (SEO, PPC, display, mobile and social platforms) acquired through hands-on job experience specific to the digital marketing function, with emphasis on performance activities.
- Previous experience working for / with an Agency on the client side is preferred.
- Web-related project management experience is preferred.
- Understanding of Design, Usability and Development processes is preferred.
- You should have worked hands-on, with multiple social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube as well as competent in understanding major Blogs and Photo sharing platforms.
- Very strong relationship-building skills at all levels of the organization. Ability to influence, guide and lead executive-level colleagues.
- Superior presentation and written communication skills.
About the Company
Hyatt was founded by Jay Pritzker in 1957 when he purchased the Hyatt House motel adjacent to the Los Angeles International Airport. Over the following decade, Jay Pritzker and his brother, Donald Pritzker, working together with other Pritzker family business interests, grew the company into a North American management and hotel ownership company, which became a public company in 1962. In 1968, Hyatt International was formed and subsequently became a separate public company. Hyatt Corporation and Hyatt International Corporation were taken private by the Pritzker family business interests in 1979 and 1982, respectively. On December 31, 2004, substantially all of the hospitality assets owned by Pritzker family business interests, including Hyatt Corporation and Hyatt International Corporation, were consolidated under a single entity, now Hyatt Hotels Corporation.