Area Director of Information Technology

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Job summary

Oversees the IT Service Delivery for Rosewood Middle East (covers Doha, Jeddah, Red Sea, Abu Dhabi) and work from Rosewood Doha. As a member of the senior IT leadership team be responsible for the overall management and performance of IT systems in the assigned area.

Under the business supervision of the Senior Corporate Director – Property Technology and the Hotel/Resort Manager, and within the limits of Rosewood Hotel Group policies and procedures and local requirements, the position is responsible for the supervision of all members of the hotel Information Technology Department and will support property technology leaders within assigned Area.

The Area Director of Information Technology provides strategic leadership, functional guidance and valuable insights to Operations Leaders, Partners, Executive Committee and Department Heads for optimal business decision; Will be responsible for the overall management and performance of IT systems within local hotel and all hotels within assigned Area. Will implement the Rosewood Information Technology strategy to support the company’s strategic objectives; Establishing and executing a people strategy that will cultivate a high-performing technology team who will continue to evolve and stay relevant in the business and technology landscape.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities – (Key Activities) Business Partnering and Performance Management

Creation and embracing the culture of business partnering by working with Managing Director/General Manager & the hotel’s senior management team to deliver Oversight and Management of Rosewood Hotels Technology Services.

• Provide technology enabled business leadership to our Hotels & Outlets
• Drive standardization in our property technology
• Capture, rationalize and champion evolving business requirements
• Be Local and Global – enable global projects, support, security
• Drive positive changes in user adoption, enablement & best practices
• Assist with transformation programs, hotel openings, focus groups
• Implement agreed strategies and associated plans
• Develop, maintain, and review the company project program in partnership with the Corporate Information Technology senior management. Ensure projects are delivered on schedule that meets the agreed objectives and business needs.
• Manage and review IT projects within assigned Area
• Be responsible for the management of IT and systems risk & compliance
• Provide leadership to Property IT departments within assigned Area and ensure that the staff are aligned with Rosewood’s vision, mission, values, and strategic priorities.
• To communicate and provide recommendations to Area senior management in areas of IT expertise.
• Manage relationships with strong business acumen & communication skills. Has the ability to innovate, influence and lead Hotel and Outlet management as well the Property Owner groups through complicated IT projects, planning and decisions.
• Ensure the continued, uninterrupted operation of the hotels and other business units, IT infrastructure and systems required for the company’s services, secure from threats and operating within agreed performance metrics
• Plan and manage the departmental budget and the IT capital expenditure program for the hotels in assigned Area in partnership with the Director, Finance Business Partner
• Implement a continuous measurement, review, audit and benchmarking process to monitor the security, capacity and performance of systems.
• Regularly review, monitor, audit & report on user access and permissions to hotel & corporate systems and assets
• Monitor Service Level Agreements (SLA) for local systems/vendors. Monitor and Report performance on centrally agreed SLA’s for the business units.
• Work with the Corporate Information Technology senior management to plan schedules and priorities and respond to any major issues.
• Identify opportunities for cost-effective investment of financial resources in IT systems, including staffing, sourcing and purchasing
• Facilitate consultation with stakeholders to define business systems requirements for new technology implementations.
• Provide support to the Corporate Information Technology team with new hotel opening projects within Area. Focus on system setup & testing, project management and promoting Rosewood culture & best practices
• Travel will be required within area as necessary to support operating and pre-opening hotels.
• Other duties, responsibilities and projects as may be assigned.

Other Standard Responsibilities

• Self-Reporting of local IT support tickets to enable enterprise analytics of asset performance
• Meets targets for system maintenance, problem resolution and system uptime.
• Works within pre-set budgetary limits.
• Works to the highest level of integrity and transparency
• Strong interpersonal and relationship-building skills and a team player with high energy levels to work with cross-functional teams, negotiate for resources and influence stakeholders
• Identifies the need for upgrades, system configurations in a timely manner
• Understands Information security and compliance related actions within the hotel environment and ensures its implementation within the hotel.
• Reviews policies and manuals, as related to the division/department and communicates with the Senior Corporate Director for any updates or modifications needed. Ensure compliance to the same for consistency across the group and is responsible for the rollout and implementation in their property/other hotels under his/her purview.
• Is a “brand ambassador” always and ensures brand integrity and clarity are always maintained.
• Models the company’s culture, vision, mission and core values always.

People and Talent Management

Work within the Rosewood Hotel Group’s Talent and Culture Management System to ensure the departmental performance of employees is productive. Duties include:

• Operate efficiently and optimize staffing levels
• Plan for future staffing needs of hotel and hotels within assigned Area (Succession Planning)
• Recruit in line with company guidelines
• Prepare detailed orientation programmes for new employees
• Maintain a comprehensive, current and guest focused set of departmental standards and procedures and oversee their implementation
• Ensure training needs analysis of your departmental employees is carried out and training programmes are designed and implemented to meet needs
• Deliver training
• Actively work at developing your direct reports and identify high potentials
• Conduct probation and formal performance appraisal in line with company guidelines
• Coach, counsel and discipline employees, providing constructive feedback to enhance performance
• Approve leave requests after considering peaks and troughs in the business
• Regularly communicate with employees to maintain positive relationships

Dual Reporting Responsibilities

The Area Director of IT’s dual reporting responsibilities could potentially give rise to a situation where there is a conflict in the property technology leader responsibilities. Such a situation can usually be resolved by referring to the Company’s Policy and Procedures Manuals and / or HMA documents. In the event that the manuals / documents are not specific or applicable, and the RVP Hotel Operations and the Senior Corporate Director – Property Technology are not able to come to a mutually satisfactory agreement, the Chief Information Officer should be consulted.

Performs other similar or related duties as necessary. Required Skills and Knowledge

• Proven experience as IT director or similar role
• Experience in planning and implementation of IT system
• Experience in Hotel Systems (Property Management System, Point of Sale, Sales & Catering)
• Sound understanding of technology infrastructure at hotels and ability to configure and maintain the same.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering or related discipline preferred.
• Fluent in written and spoken English, ideally additional languages.
• Excellent organisational and communication skills