Director, Residential Openings

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts•Toronto, ON

3d•CA$145,000 - CA$165,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Director, Residential Openings is responsible for providing operational expertise and support for all new Residential openings globally primarily focusing on pre-opening activities. They are responsible for ensuring proper support is provided to pre-opening teams to guarantee the efficient and effective setup of the residential operations and delivery of the high-touch service to meet resident expectations from day 1. This position supports our newly opening Residential standalone and mixed-use properties by providing project knowledge, set up assistance, tools and materials, and guidance on operational matters to assist with the successful opening of the branded residences. This position is responsible for supporting the residential regional teams in delivering standard operational guidance and requirements for projects in the design and build phase. They will also work on gathering learnings and findings through post-opening reviews and working with corporate functions to enhance and refine our opening experience and processes for all residential properties.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree – Major in hospitality / business / real estate / property management preferred.
15 years of experience in Operations within Residential and/or Hotel (both on property and corporate ideal).
3-5 years of experience of opening hotels and/or residential properties is required.
Intermediate/advanced level of understanding of Residential Operations and Hotel Operations.
Good understanding of property management, business/financial management, and operations.
Solid understanding of technology systems used property.
Advance user of Excel, Word, PPT, SharePoint, etc.
Ability to adapt and work effectively in a variety of situations.
Ability to work effectively in rapidly changing or ambiguous situations in which there are no policies procedures or guidelines.
Open-minded and receptive to new and different ways of doing things and provides valuable input to change efforts.
Be able to manage self with minimal supervision.
Solid understanding of the opening process for hotels and residentials properties.
Ability to translate complex and difficult information into communication that is easy to understand.
Excellent focus on detail and accuracy.
Advance level of management skills for full execution/implementation.
Summarize, analyze and organize various information to provide meaningful insights.
Communicate clearly, comfortably and confidently to all levels of stakeholders.
Ability to work in fast paced work environment and manage multiple work streams under minimal supervision.
Strong problem solving, decision making, conflict resolution and strategic thinking skills.

Nice To Haves

MBA or Post Graduate Degree beneficial.

Responsibilities

Develop tools for the Residential Regional teams to better support / provide guidance on operational elements within this phase
Support the Residential regional teams with operational expertise on ad hoc needs eg. floor plan review, operating plans, labour plan review, OS&E review post regional submission; collateral or employee fashion best practices, etc.
Review and develop new materials and supporting documentation to assist all relevant stakeholders (developer, property teams, new onboarding members etc.) to better understand the pre-opening activities
Organize and prepare onboarding material for Residential regional teams to execution for the handover of project knowledge/information to the new local team.
Review current roles and responsibilities during pre-opening for all stakeholders (FS corporate teams, developer, developer sales teams, various consultants etc.) to document for alignment and efficiencies
Review current pre-opening project plan and Hotel critical path templates to ensure all residential opening considerations are included and extend through post-opening
Review current pre-opening tools to develop and/or adjust providing the Residential regional teams and local pre-opening teams with tools to better manage pre-opening activities eg. assessment tool
Review and refine training requirements; establishing trainer requirements and assist with sourcing to support the on-site residential team on leadership, service, products, systems, task force requirements, etc.
Monitor the status of each opening to assess any operational risk factors of opening, and assist the Residential regional teams and Residential Leader with establishing the relevant next steps; escalating as needed
Harvest and document best practices from prior opening to improve efficiency and reduce potential challenges and re-occurring
Develop and manage content of pre-opening section on Residential Operations SharePoint site
Provide hands on guidance to the local teams as required during pre-opening to assist with the set up the operation in the following areas: service (basic and a la carte), homeowner communication, resident recognition and engagement, safety and emergency plans, maintenance programs for common areas, residential systems set up, training, etc.
Liaise with Residential regional teams to help ensure minimal to no delays in opening timeline
Execute pre-opening readiness assessment to determine and document any outstanding matters requiring attention prior to opening
Support Residential regional teams with post-open assessment to ensure daily operations are stable and identify any key areas requiring further attention. Ensure close out or set-up of all key workstreams.
Work with Regional and/or local team, providing support to resolve any remaining post-opening issues
Assist with any issues while developing solutions to post-open matters regarding products, service, quality, etc.
Liaise regularly with the on-site team to obtain status updates and pending issues to help ensure minimal impact to the operation and the resident experience.
Assist senior Residential Operations leadership with ad hoc projects as necessary.