Global Director of Sales & Account Management

About the role

The Placement International Group connects hospitality talent from around the world with luxury hotels, and restaurants through international work, internship, traineeship, and study programs.

We are looking for a Global Director of Sales & Account Management to lead our commercial engine end to end: recruiting candidates and converting them into paid programs, managing our employer partners, and building the partnerships and events that keep the pipeline full.

You will own the full funnel, from first contact to paid program and successful placement, and make sure Sales and Account Management work as one team with one set of numbers.

What you will do

1. Global Sales and Program Revenue

• Lead the global Sales teams across Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America, responsible for sourcing talent from hospitality schools, universities, alumni networks, trainees, and the wider hospitality market.

• Own conversion at every stage of the funnel, from first inquiry to enrollment in a program, and semester revenue and payment targets by market.

• Convert the existing pipeline as well as new leads.

• Build strategies for markets with complex visa conditions, including alternative programs and destinations that fit each candidate.

• Grow study and education pathways alongside work-based programs, with clear routes for candidates to move from one program to the next.

• Keep the candidate experience simple, fast, and personal.

• Develop strategies to expand and diversify the talent pipeline across relevant markets.

• Establish partnerships and lead-generation initiatives that generate qualified candidate profiles for placement opportunities.

• Coordinate with Marketing and educational partners to strengthen candidate acquisition and engagement.

2. Talent Search & Development / Account Management

• Lead the Talent Search & Development team, which serves as the primary Account Management function for hospitality properties.

• Establish and maintain strong relationships with luxury hotels, restaurants, hospitality groups, and other employer partners, growing repeat placements, multi-property agreements and new destinations.

• Ensure Account Managers understand each property's current and future recruitment needs, including job profiles, required competencies, experience, language skills, and hiring timelines.

• Translate employer requirements into clear talent search and placement priorities for Sales.

• Match available talent sourced by the Sales teams with suitable vacancies across the property portfolio.

• Coordinate candidate presentations, interviews, employer feedback, selection, and placement follow-up.

• Monitor client satisfaction, placement quality, vacancy fulfillment, and service delivery.

3. Sales and Account Management Coordination

• Ensure effective collaboration between the Sales teams generating talent and the Talent Search & Development team managing hospitality properties.

• Establish clear procedures for candidate lead handovers, vacancy communication, candidate matching, interview coordination, and placement tracking.

• Identify gaps between available talent and employer demand early and implement strategies to address them.

• Establish shared KPIs that encourage collaboration and accountability across both teams.

• Oversee CRM usage, pipeline visibility, reporting, and placement forecasts across the full process, so every record shows the right stage, source, and owner.

4. Educational Partnerships & Career Fairs

• Develop and strengthen strategic relationships with hospitality schools, universities, and educational institutions, and turn them into candidates and placements.

• Coordinate participation in career fairs, masterclasses, webinars, school visits, hospitality recruitment events, and university engagement initiatives.

• Ensure these activities support talent acquisition objectives and generate qualified candidate leads.

• Work with Sales and Marketing to plan recruitment campaigns and institutional engagement activities.

• Measure the effectiveness of partnerships and events through candidate leads, interviews, payments, placements, and long-term collaboration.

5. Team Leadership & Performance Management

• Lead, coach, and develop Sales and Talent Search & Development managers and their respective teams.

• Define departmental objectives, KPIs, responsibilities, and performance standards.

• Run a clear performance rhythm: weekly scorecard, quarterly priorities, monthly one-on-ones and market-by-market sales reviews.

• Establish a results-driven culture focused on talent pipeline growth, client satisfaction, and successful placements.

• Provide the CEOs with consolidated reporting on revenue, talent acquisition, client demand, placement performance, and strategic partnerships.

Key Performance Indicators

• Revenue: Program revenue and payments against target.

• Talent Acquisition: Qualified candidate leads generated, pipeline growth, candidate quality, and conversion at each stage of the funnel.

• Account Management: Client retention, client satisfaction, repeat business, and account development.

• Placement Performance: Vacancy fulfillment, successful placements, time to fill, interview-to-placement conversion, and candidate suitability.

• Sales and Account Management Alignment: Lead handover efficiency, candidate-to-vacancy matching, pipeline accuracy, and placement conversion.

• Educational Partnerships: Active institutional partnerships, candidate leads generated, payments, and placements originating from partner institutions.

• Career Fairs and Events: Qualified leads, institutional engagement, interviews, and placements resulting from events.

• Team Performance: KPI achievement, CRM accuracy, productivity, and cross-functional collaboration.

Reporting Structure

Reports to: The CEOs.

Direct Reports:

• Regional Sales and Placement Managers.

• Managers of Talent Search & Development.

• Relevant team members responsible for educational partnerships and recruitment events, according to the organizational structure.

Key Collaborators: Marketing, Admissions, Operations, Visa Processing, Finance, hospitality properties, and educational institutions.

Overall Objective

To lead an integrated global operation in which Sales teams build a strong pipeline of hospitality talent and convert it into paid programs, and the Talent Search & Development team manages placement relationships and converts that talent supply into successful placements.

The Director ensures that the right talent is sourced, the right properties are served, recruitment needs are fulfilled efficiently, and educational partnerships and career fairs continuously strengthen the pipeline, with every lead, partnership, and event traceable to a result.

Candidate Profile & Qualifications

• Experience: 10+ years of progressive commercial leadership experience, with at least 5 years directing international, multi-country sales teams, enterprise account management, or commercial partnerships.

• Industry Domain: Proven track record within international hospitality, hospitality education, high-end recruitment/staffing, study-abroad/educational travel, work-and-travel programs, or international talent mobility.

• Commercial Expertise: Has grown B2C sales (paying candidates or students) and B2B accounts (employers and institutions) at the same time, running a funnel by stage with conversion and revenue targets in HubSpot or a similar CRM. Experience negotiating multi-property hotel agreements or institutional MOUs.

• Leadership: Has led managers across time zones and cultures, coaching people and holding them accountable.

• Executive Presence: Seasoned negotiator skilled at presenting to C-suite executives, Corporate Vice Presidents of HR, Hotel General Managers, and Academic Deans.

• Global Acumen: High cultural agility and working knowledge of US J-1 and TN visas; experience with F-1, European traineeships or New Zealand programs is a plus.

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management, Business Administration, International Relations, or related field; Master’s/MBA preferred.

• Languages: Full professional proficiency in English required; Spanish, French, and an Asian language are a plus.