Cluster IT Director - Johannesburg, South Africa - Marriott Hotels Resorts

Description

JOB SUMMARY

Leads and manages the Information Technology (IT) function for properties and managed offices in scope. Cultivates technology leadership capability and develops talent via effective succession planning, mentoring and performance management. Provides support to operations leaders for owner relations and negotiations on IT matters. Performs Business Council member role representing the IT discipline. Provides internet support for managed properties. Works with Area Director, Information Technology (ADIT) on technology partner management and product development for the assigned market. Manages day to day hotel and company office IT operations.

CANDIDATE PROFILE
Education and Experience

• Hotel or Hospitality Management education, awareness of global hospitality technology trends. Experience in assignments at International locations. Back of the house and guest facing operational and technical experience with hospitality management systems. Minimum 5 years in an Associate Supervisory role.
OR

• Bachelor's degree level or equivalent. Minimum 5 years project management experience. Proven negotiation skills.

CORE WORK ACTIVITIES

General

• Maintains and verifies accuracy of status documentation (goals, scorecard, LPA tracking, etc.).

• Strives to achieve balanced scorecard and goals by leveraging resources and solutions to achieve desired results.

• Monitors assigned company owned and managed offices to verify IT operations are running effectively.

• Creates presentations for regional team visits and area team visits as property leader and produces follow-up report and action plan.

• Participates in Business Council meetings and produces follow-up report, action plans and distributes information.

• Meets with the ADIT and provides updates on IT activities and business plans.

• Meets with point of contact at each property (General Manager, Director of Finance, etc.) to seek feedback and provide updates on IT activities and plans. Produces follow-up report, action plans and distributes information.

• Assists with the activation of all potential properties within the cluster by building business cases and engaging owners and business partners.

Hotel Acquisition

• Confirms IT scope for assigned properties with ADIT.

• Executes hotel acquisition IT project with minimal defects and adheres to an appropriate schedule.

People

• Owns relationship with IT vendors for properties in scope.

• Seeks to improve engagement score results through continent/local initiatives, rap sessions, and engagement score survey findings.

• Participates in the Talent Acquisition process according to company procedures.

• Verifies effective induction program for new associates or those in new or different roles.

• Trains associate(s) to provide backup coverage in the department to cover cluster leader's function during vacation and sick leave.

• Performs LPAs on a timely basis and allocates sufficient time, research, and effort to verify the process effectively benefits the development of associates.

• Verifies adequate communication, training, and execution of talent development programs and related initiatives.

• Develops a personal management style that is intended to bring positive performance results from associates.

• Builds and maintains positive and effective relations with direct team members.

Product

• Strives to remain informed on the most up to date knowledge regarding technology partner activities.

• Notifies ADIT to put resources in place to verify owners have sufficient technology partner choices in each market/city.
Corp Sr. Tech Expert Template Rev NOV4 2

• Where assigned, delivers pilot phase early review/completion/recommendation report and relevant documentation.

• Where assigned, documents technology pilot scope and objectives with Business partners.

• Seeks owner and operations buy-in and funding.

• Sets measurable goals and timeline.

• Leads initial phase assessment.

Process

• Maintains IT inventory for all properties/offices in cluster.

• Manages cluster IT agreements for participating properties.

• Verifies cluster associates are treated appropriately and in alignment with local operational practices.

• Verifies the execution and tracking of rollouts on a timely basis.

• Compiles, seeks approval, monitors, and strives to meet operating budgets; manages expenses using tracking and forecasting tools and engages with the accounting team closely.

• Verifies resources assigned to IT escalation and tracking processes are effective and meet the service level agreements.

• Monitors flow of issue management amongst continent support desk, technology partners and cluster organizations to verify effectiveness.

• Implements cluster best practices and suggests enhancements with the intent to benefit the wider IT community.

• Implements cluster IT policy and procedure as received by Regional IT.

• Attends IT Education calls.

• Verifies planning and accomplishment of technology disaster and contingency plan testing for each property and office.

• Completes other reasonable duties as requested by leadership.

MANAGEMENT COMPETENCIES

Leadership

• Communication - Conveys information and ideas to others in a convincing and engaging manner through a variety of methods.

• Leading Through Vision and Values - Keeps the organization's vision and values at the forefront of employee decision making and action.

• Managing Change - Initiates and/or manages the change process and energizes it on an ongoing basis, taking steps to remove barriers or accelerate its pace; serves as role model for how to handle change by maintaining composure and performance level under pressure or when experiencing challenges.

• Problem Solving and Decision Making - Identifies and understands issues, problems, and opportunities; obtains and compares information from different sources to draw conclusions, develops and evaluates alternatives and solutions, solves problems, and chooses a course of action.

• Professional Demeanor - Exhibits behavioral styles that convey confidence and command respect from others; makes a good first impression and represents the company in alignment with its values.

• Strategy Development - Develops business plans by exploring and systematically evaluating opportunities with the greatest potential for producing positive results; ensures successful preparation and execution of business plans through effective planning, organizing, and on-going evaluation processes.

Managing Execution

• Building a Successful Team - Uses an effective interpersonal style to build a cohesive team; inspires and sustains team cohesion and engagement by focusing the team on its mission and importance to the organization.

• Strategy Execution – Ensures successful execution across of business plans designed to maximize customer satisfaction, profitability, and market share through effective planning, organizing, and on-going evaluation processes.

• Driving for Results - Sets high standards of performance for self and/or others; assumes responsibility for work objectives; initiates, focuses, and monitors the efforts of self and/or others toward the accomplishment goals; proactively takes action and goes beyond what is required.

Building Relationships

• Customer Relationships - Develops and sustains relationships based on an understanding of customer/stakeholder needs and actions consistent with the company's service standards.

• Global Mindset - Supports employees and business partners with diverse styles, abilities, motivations, and/or cultural perspectives; utilizes differences to drive innovation, engagement and enhance business results; and ensures employees are given the opportunity to contribute to their full potential.

• Strategic Partnerships - Develops collaborative relationships with fellow employees and business partners by making them feel valued, appreciated, and included; explores partnership opportunities with other people in and outside the organization; influences and leverages corporate and continental shared services and/or discipline leaders HR, Sales & Marketing, Finance, Revenue Management) to achieve objectives; maintains effective external relations with government, business and industry in respective countries; performs effectively as a liaison between locations, disciplines, and corporate to ensure needed resources are received and corporate strategies are understood and executed.

Generating Talent and Organizational Capability

• Developing Others - Supports the development of other's skills and capabilities so that they can fulfill current or future job/role responsibilities more effectively.

• Organizational Capability - Evaluates and adapts the structure of assignments and work processes to best fit the needs and/or support the goals of an organizational unit.

Learning and Applying Professional Expertise

• Continuous Learning - Actively identifies new areas for learning; regularly creates and takes advantage of learning opportunities; uses newly gained knowledge and skill on the job and learns through their application.

• Technical Acumen – Expertly understands and utilizes professional skills and knowledge in a specific functional area to conduct and manage everyday business operations, generate innovative solutions to approach function-specific work challenges, and function as a thought leader in his or her area of expertise. o List out all discipline technical competencies relevant to this position.

• Business Acumen - Understands and utilizes business information to manage everyday operations and generate innovative solutions to approach business and administrative challenges.

• Basic Competencies - Fundamental competencies required for accomplishing basic work activities.
o Basic Computer Skills - Uses basic computer hardware and software personal computers, word processing software, Internet browsers, etc.).
o Mathematical Reasoning - Adds, subtracts, multiplies, or divides quickly, correctly, and in a way that allows one to solve work-related issues.
o Oral Comprehension - Listens to and understands information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
o Reading Comprehension - Understands written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
o Writing - Communicates effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.