Manager, Business Development and Key Account

Co-operated by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) and the Hotel Association of Canada (HAC), Green Key Global (GKG) is a leading international environmental certification body that offers standardized programs and resources, designed specifically for the hotel and meetings industries. Green Key’s mission is to be positioned in the lodging industry as a leader in corporate social responsibility certification, through education, collaboration and promotion. Green Key Global is at an exciting inflection point. AHLA entered a partnership with HAC to establish a North America-wide solution for sustainability certification for hotels. Green Key Global is poised for rapid expansion and is undertaking a major scale-up effort. Summary: AHLA and HAC is currently seeking a Business Development and Key Account Manager for Major Hotel Brands to support its Green Key Global Sustainability Certification Sales efforts in USA & Canada. Reporting to the Vice President Market Development, the Key Account Manager will drive the growth of Green Key Global Sustainability Certification within the major hotel brand market in the USA and Canada. In this role, the Key Account Manager will play a pivotal role in developing and maintaining relationships within assigned hotel brand accounts leading to the successful adoption of our certification across the portfolio in the USA and Canada. An exciting time for the program, it is positioned for rapid expansion and has undergone significant investment. In this role, you will promote these investments in communicating member benefits and ensure a best-in-class certification journey for brand hotel members. This role will work cross-functionally with Communications and member services to ensure alignment in all sales and marketing efforts to the key values and criteria of the Green Key Global programs. The ideal candidate will possess a strong understanding of the hospitality industry, particularly within the major hotel brand market in the USA and Canada, with a good understanding of Sustainability and Sustainability Certification Excellent communication, negotiation, and presentation skills with the ability to effectively engage and influence key stakeholders at all levels, are critical in this role. Key Roles and Responsibilities: Account Development:

• Develop and execute a strategic sales activity plan to achieve and exceed revenue targets within the assigned major hotel brand accounts in the USA & Canada.
• Apply account mapping skills to understand and document the infrastructure and hierarchy of assigned accounts to Facilitate the Certification Process.
• Become an expert on Internal Hotel Brand Sustainability programs identifying alignment opportunities with Green Key Global programming.
• Lead contract re-negotiations for assigned accounts.
• Provide regular reporting and analysis of sales activities, market trends, and market activities to inform strategic decision-making.
• Regularly monitor and evaluate the sustainability performance of hotel brands to ensure ongoing compliance with certification standards and uncover promotional opportunities.
• Guide hotel brands through the certification process with white glove service, providing resources, and answering questions related to the sustainability certification process and practices.
• Compliance and AuditsEnsure that hotel brands are aware of all relevant certification processes and undergo necessary audits for sustainability certification.

Client Relationship Management:

• Build and maintain strong collaborative brand relationships with key stakeholders at the Corporate, National & Regional hotel brand levels, including VPs and Senior Executives, Sustainability Directors, Regional Directors, General Managers, and other decision-makers.
• Act as the primary point of contact and spokesperson for the sustainability certification program, representing the organization at account-specific industry events, tradeshows and conferences.
• Be the primary point of account contact for all sustainability-related matters and serve as a trusted advisor and subject matter expert to clients.
• Drive Continuous Improvement by collaborating with hotel brands to identify opportunities for improvement in sustainability efforts, marketing, and promotion of initiatives.
• Educatehotel brand stakeholders and representatives on the importance of sustainability certification, promoting best practices and innovative ideas from sustainability leaders' preferred suppliers.
• Organize educational sessions and workshops for hotel brand stakeholders to promote awareness and understanding of sustainability practices.
• Database Management Ongoing management and maintenance of portfolio data and account contact information.
• Communication of portfolio assessment and audit data analysis to provide value-add reporting and insights to the brands on a regular basis.
• Sales & marketing support Work collaboratively with the sales, communications, and marketing team to build, execute, and track targeted account communications and member marketing that strengthens the GKG brand, positions the organization as a thought leader, and ensures timely relevant information is available through our communication-channels.

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