Director, A&D Hospitality - Kimball Hospitality, Jasper, IN

Kimball International•Jasper, IN

About The Position

The Director, Architecture & Design, Kimball Hospitality(KH) will develop and execute a detailed strategy to drive awareness and elevate the KH brand within the hospitality A+D community. This is a business development role to drive growth in our Custom business by forging new relationships and creating new opportunities that KH would otherwise be unaware of. Leveraging relationships from past roles in the industry, relationships garnered through our independent rep force, and new relationships TO BE IDENTIFIED, this individual will uncover new custom opportunities for Kimball Hospitality. The successful candidate will have enough gravitas to open doors for KH with A+D industry leaders. Once a winning approach to the A+D market is identified, the goal will be to leverage the learnings and expand the team over time.

Requirements

Passionate, creative, dedicated, reliable, insightful and genuine personality
Ability to lead multiple personality types without formal authority
Stay connected with team to ensure cohesiveness and a healthy team environment
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Foster relationships with targeted firms
Ability to demonstrate and communicate the scope of KH’s experience and expertise to help designers (many of whom are junior) in the nuances of hospitality furniture construction techniques and what sets KH apart from the competition
Ability to lead and influence the A+D community and our customers on the value of doing business with Kimball Hospitality
Ability to act as the A+D leader in conjunction with the internal and external sales teams, as it relates to the design community
Proven history or ability to demonstrate safe / responsible behavior, and a positive performance record
Promote strategic and tactical opportunity planning through consistent communication with immediate team members and internal members
Solid understanding of the importance of profitable sales growth; financially-minded steward of the organization
Strong Design Background
Understanding of the hospitality design and development process
7+ years of product development and/or sales experience within the hospitality industry with a successful track record calling or working within the A+D community

Nice To Haves

Undergraduate Degree preferred
Design degree a plus

Responsibilities

Elevate KH brand position broadly across the A+D community
Develop and maintain a hit list of A+D firms in North America with which we’d like to grow awareness and create profitable opportunities
Research alternate market verticals (i.e., branded residence) and shape KH strategy to grow this go-to-market if we determine it to be a growth opportunity
Contribute to the development and/or changes to marketing and collateral and sample development geared toward A+D
Grow pipeline for custom opportunities with the targeted A+D firms
Be KH’s Subject Matter Expert (SME) in understanding hospitality industry trends and pain points to position KH as a market leader
Key contributor in the development and support of sales approaches and communication of key brand initiatives and alignment with our internal sales team and rep force
Develop a working cadence/meeting (both strategic and tactical) with the Custom sales director and independent rep force
Work closely with Marketing and Management on a consistent basis to ensure the A+D Program is in alignment with goals of KH, serving to inform the Kimball Hospitality and D’Style brands on marketplace trends, thought leadership and industry insight
Extensive travel is necessary to be successful in this role. Responsible for attending after hours networking and social events on a frequent basis
Provide continuous updates on A+D efforts, leading to specifications / forecasted opportunities / improved close rate metrics and most importantly increased project sales
Work with KH personnel and KH reps on critical Model Rooms and provide support, where needed
Work with the marketing team to manage the marketing budget earmarked for the A+D strategy
Provide insight on tradeshow booth designs
Attend industry tradeshows to support the KH brand