Specialist, EMEA Openings & Transitions Central Services

Job description

Position summary
The Openings Specialist – EMEA plays a pivotal role in leading the successful opening and transition of Hilton hotels across the Europe, Middle East, and Africa region. This role ensures operational readiness, brand compliance, and stakeholder alignment throughout the pre-opening and post-opening phases. The ideal candidate is a specialist in handling multiple projects with hospitality expertise, and a passion for delivering exceptional guest experiences from day one.

 

Key responsibilities:
This position will centrally coordinate the openings & transitions processes, across all brands, with key responsibilities being:

Project Leadership:
- Lead hotel opening projects from pre-planning through post-opening stabilization.
- Manage detailed opening timelines, milestones, and deliverables.
- Coordinate with hotel leadership, and Hilton brand teams.

Operational Readiness:
- Ensure all departments are prepared for launch.
- Support onboarding, and training of pre-opening teams.
- Facilitate brand immersion and service culture activation.

Cross-Functional Collaboration:
- Partner with Development, Design & Construction, IT, and Brand Operations.
- Align opening activities with Hilton brand standards and regional strategies.

Quality & Compliance:
- Conduct regular readiness assessments.
- Ensure compliance with Hilton policies, legal requirements, and safety standards.

Post-Opening Support:
- Monitor performance metrics and guest satisfaction during stabilization.
- Provide coaching and operational support to new leadership teams.

 

Support Activities (100%)
•    Daily support of hotels in pre-opening / transactions. 
•    Complete pre-opening / transactions tasks & milestones in conjunction with our hotels.
•    Ensure process timelines are met and all objectives are delivered on time for a successful opening / transition.

 

Qualifications

What are we looking for?
Applicants must have proven experience gained from within hotel operations or a Corporate role, providing support to hotels, including relevant systems exposure and project related work.

Essential Skills
•    Strong commend of English both written and verbally 
•    Degree/College Diploma
•    Qualification specializing in hotel administration and/or business management 
•    Experience using MS Office (Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Teams) 

Preferred Skills
- Multilingual capabilities (English required; other EMEA languages a plus).
- Knowledge of Salesforce is advantageous.
- Strong understanding of Hilton brand standards and systems.

 

What will it be like to work for Hilton?

Hilton is the leading global hospitality company, spanning the lodging sector from luxurious full-service hotels and resorts to extended-stay suites and mid-priced hotels. For more than a century, Hilton has offered business and leisure travelers the finest in accommodations, service, amenities and value. Hilton is dedicated to continuing its tradition of providing exceptional guest experiences across its  global brands .  Our vision “to fill the earth with the light and warmth of hospitality” unites us as a team to create remarkable hospitality experiences around the world every day.  And, our amazing Team Members are at the heart of it all!