Sr. Director, Brand Management & Strategy - Midscale Brands
Who are we looking for?
Choice Hotels, one of the world's largest lodging franchisors, has an exciting new opportunity as our Sr. Director, Brand Management & Strategy - Midscale Brands in the Core Brands Strategy and Operations department. The Sr. Director, Midscale brands, a key leader within the Core Brand Segment, will play a crucial role in driving brand preference, performance, and growth within the Midscale portfolio. The Sr. Director, Midscale brands leads planning and execution of the short- and long-term brand strategies and leads the end-to-end brand management lifecycle, in alignment with the broader Core portfolio strategy and corporate business objectives. This leader will drive preference, performance, and growth of the Midscale brands through:
Developing the long-term vision and strategy for Choice's Midscale brands, which include Sleep Inn, Clarion, Clarion Pointe, and Quality Inn
Serving as a strategic brand champion to both internal partners and external owners, property management companies, and developers
Partnering with Commercial & COE leaders, including Operations, Procurement, Architecture & Design, Sales, Loyalty, Marketing, Revenue Management, & Finance, to generate performance-boosting strategies, programs, and processes
Leading planning and execution of the strategic brand priorities within the Midscale segment, ensuring strong cross-functional alignment and engagement, and identifying new opportunities for innovation
Inspiring and developing a team of Brand leaders while driving a strong culture of collaboration, performance, and excellence
This leader represents their assigned brands both internally and externally, leading owner- and GM-facing initiatives to ensure strong adoption and implementation across the portfolio. Other key areas of responsibility include directing the monitoring and analyses of brand performance and the competitive landscape.
Your Responsibilities
Brand Strategy & Execution
Leads long-term strategic planning and annual brand planning for the Midscale brands, ensuring alignment with corporate objectives and five-year growth targets.
Develops winning strategies to drive brand differentiation and brand performance within the Midscale segment
Leverages knowledge of commercial COEs (revenue management, channel and distribution strategy, marketing, loyalty, and more) to collaborate with COE leaders to create segment-specific, performance-driving strategies.
Partners with Analytics and Finance teams to quantify the success of programs and strategies, proactively recommending opportunities for optimization.
Drives the execution of multi-year comprehensive strategic brand plans and initiatives and collaborates cross-functionally to ensure buy-in and delivery across the organization, including with Franchise Development, Marketing and Distribution, Loyalty, Technology, Brand Compliance, Operations, and Legal.
Drives increased share through creation of relevant, differentiated brand positioning, hallmarks, amenities, design, and experiences across brands.
Develops and effectively communicates business cases for key brand initiatives and gains internal and external support for implementation.
Strategic Brand Champion
Represents Choice and the Midscale brands at a variety of industry events and media outlets to raise the brands' visibility.
Acts as the strategic "Brand Champion" to our owners, property management companies, and developers, including during Convention, Choice Onboard, franchise development discussions, and other events.
Leads the brands' relationship with owner councils including in-person and conference call meetings, partnering with colleagues within the segment and COEs.
Ensures cross-organizational awareness of brand priorities and annual plans.
Prepares and delivers professional and effective communications to convey brand strategy, brand initiatives, and brand performance to a variety of audiences, utilizing a variety of tools and methods (e.g., presentations, spreadsheets, videos).
Brand Performance Management
Monitors and tracks performance of Midscale brands and competitors on an ongoing basis and communicates findings to the appropriate audiences.
Directs preparation of analyses to assess current problems to solve, measure performance of brand initiatives, and identify opportunities to achieve brand goals.
Continuously monitors direction and growth of the business with respect to the competitive landscape and market trends; adjusts initiatives and strategic priorities in order to win.
Ensures franchisee, consumer, and developer value propositions are competitive, with the goal of strengthening RevPAR performance, guest satisfaction, unit growth, and retention, and gross operating margins.
Collaborates with the Advanced Analytics team, Commercial team, and Centers of Excellence partners to understand existing data and performance trends and identify additional research needs that will help the brand assess opportunities and build plans to achieve goals.
Leadership & Coaching
Hires, retains, and continually develops high-caliber talent who are able to contribute positively to the organization.
Mentors, coaches, and develops direct reports, driving a strong culture of collaboration, performance, and excellence.
Develops a pipeline of talent for all key positions to meet current and future needs.
Leads the team to achieve or exceed department goals, modeling exceptional business acumen, organizational savvy, and collaboration.
Leads and effectively communicates strategic change initiatives and organizational impacts.
Your Experience
MBA, or an equivalent combination of a Bachelor's Degree in Business, Marketing, or a related field, and relevant work experience.
Minimum of 10 years' progressive experience in brand management, strategy, or management consulting (or combination). Prior experience in hospitality or the travel industry is preferred.
Minimum of 5 years' leadership experience, including setting strategic direction and managing direct reports at management/professional levels.
Strong track record of success in driving execution and delivering business results. Highly results-oriented and a motivated self-starter.
Excellent leadership skills; proven ability to develop relationships with associates at all levels and to drive results in a team-oriented environment.
Excellent business-savvy with a consultative approach and holistic business view; ability to influence and collaborate with leaders across organizational lines.
High tolerance for ambiguity combined with the ability to leverage data and create a foundation of data-supported decision making. Excellent analytical and forecasting skills; previous experience with successful budget management.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to communicate across all stakeholder groups including small and large group settings, both internal and external. Can be trusted to build rapport with franchisees and stay "on message" with media.
Proficient in the use of MS Office applications, such as Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint.
Must be able to model Choice's Values & Performance Principles of collaboration, performance excellence, sense of urgency, openness to new ideas, inclusion & diversity, integrity, customer focus, and respect.
Based out of Choice Hotels' corporate headquarters in North Bethesda, MD.
Ability to travel up to 20% of the time.
Your Team
This is a leadership role that will report to the VP, Brand Strategy. You will have direct reports and collaborate with cross functional departments on a regular basis.
Salary Range
The salary range for this position is $184,269 to $216,939 annually. In addition to the annual salary, this role is eligible for an annual bonus based on the terms of Choice's Management Incentive Plan (MIP), as well as annual awards of Choice Hotels International common stock through Choice's Long-Term Incentive Plan (LTI Plan).
Choice prioritizes our associate wellbeing by offering a comprehensive benefits program that is both competitive and flexible to help you achieve your wellbeing goals - here are just a few:
Competitive compensation and benefits, including medical, dental, and vision coverage
Leave and paid time-off for holidays, vacation, personal, family, volunteer, sick, jury duty, bereavement, military, and religious observance
Financial benefits for retirement and health savings
Employee recognition programs
Discounts at Choice hotels worldwide
About Choice
Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH), is one of the largest lodging franchisors in the world. With 7,500 hotels in 45+ countries and territories, we offer a range of high-quality lodging options in the upper upscale, upper midscale, midscale, extended stay, and economy segments. We're the hotel company for those who choose to bet on themselves - the striver, the dreamer, the entrepreneur - because that's who we are, too.
At Choice, we are united by the simple belief that tomorrow will be even better than today - for associates, our company, and our franchisees. At our worldwide corporate headquarters in North Bethesda, Maryland, at our technology center in Scottsdale, Arizona, and through our associates around the globe, every voice is heard and every idea is listened to, no matter what area of the company they come from. We are united in supporting the entrepreneurial dreams of our thousands of franchise owners, which propels us forward - giving our work at Choice a purpose larger than our business.
Our corporate office locations:
North Bethesda, MD - Located at Pike & Rose (https://pikeandrose.com/) , our worldwide headquarters is less than 15 miles from Washington, D.C., one block away from the North Bethesda Metro station, with easy access to I-495, complimentary parking, electronic charging stations, restaurants and retail.
Scottsdale, AZ - Located at the northwest corner of Loop 101, the Scottsdale office is home to our technology, eCommerce and customer service organizations, with easy access to complimentary parking, electronic charging stations, restaurants and retail.
Minneapolis, MN - Select roles are based in our Minneapolis office on Highway 394, near the intersection with Highway 100, only five minutes from downtown.
Field/Remote - Select roles designated as field/remote will require associates to work from a home office, connecting virtually with Choice team members and leadership on Zoom, with possible required travel depending on the role.
Choice's Cultural Values
Welcome and Respect Everyone | Be Bold | Be Quick | Listen | Be Curious | Show Integrity
Choice's Leadership Principles
Act with Intention | Lead with Authenticity | Grow & Deliver
