Interim Account Executive in Watford

Location: Watford, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom (Hybrid)

Job Schedule: Full time

Job Category: Sales and Marketing

The Account Executive – Group Sales will manage a portfolio of Group clients based in the UK and Ireland, driving Group, Meetings and Events business into Hilton hotels across the UK and internationally. The role focuses on growing existing accounts while proactively developing new business, identifying and converting opportunities, and increasing account productivity. The Account Executive is accountable for the commercial performance of their assigned account portfolio, supported by Hilton Direct and internal hotel teams. Working closely with hotels and internal partners, the role supports end to end account management and promotes relevant brands, new openings and key updates.

What will I be doing?

The Account Executive will work within the Hilton Worldwide Sales (HWS) team alongside Account Managers and Directors, managing a portfolio of Group, Meetings & Events clients. The role focuses on driving Group, Meetings & Events business into Hilton hotels across the UK and internationally, including the development of new Group opportunities in emerging and under-penetrated territories such as Ireland. Activities include organising familiarisation trips, presenting new hotel openings to customers, and working closely with Hilton Direct to support and convert meeting opportunities.

Key responsibilities:

• Proactively manage and grow an assigned portfolio of Group, Meetings & Events accounts, increasing engagement, productivity and conversion.
• Identify new business opportunities through reporting insights, referrals, existing relationships and market intelligence.
• Identify client needs and shape tailored approaches for customer engagements and events.
• Develop and present proposals that position Hilton effectively for meetings and events.
• Use insights from pipeline and performance tracking to inform future actions and prioritisation.
• Enhance customer awareness of the Hilton portfolio, including new openings, refurbishments, brand updates and key developments.
• Organise and support familiarisation trips and customer engagement activity where appropriate.
• Act as the central connection point between clients and hotels, ensuring clear information flow both ways.
• Collaborate with Hilton Direct and Group Sales Support to ensure efficient opportunity management, follow up and reporting.
• Ensure opportunities and activities are coordinated effectively across internal teams.
• Convert qualified leads into new accounts, taking ownership of onboarding, relationship development and ongoing account management.
• Drive opportunity progression and conversion through clear next steps and follow‑up.
• Represent Hilton professionally at industry events, workshops and networking opportunities.
• Work closely with Hilton Direct and Group Sales Support to align effort and resource to priority opportunities.
• Provide clear direction and information to internal stakeholders to support opportunity delivery.
• Support collaboration across teams to ensure a consistent customer experience.
• Deliver agreed revenue targets and contribute incremental growth for Hilton hotels globally.
• Track activity, pipeline and performance against goals using reporting tools and systems.
• Ensure accurate and timely updates within relevant systems and reporting platforms.
• Comply with all Hilton policies, systems and procedures, operating with professionalism and integrity at all times.

Supportive Functions:

In addition to the core responsibilities of the role, the Account Executive may be required to perform a range of supportive activities, with the time allocated to each determined by business needs and priorities.

• Communicate regularly with internal teams and hotels to ensure effective coordination of activity and appropriate sharing of customer information across the portfolio.
• Attend sales workshops, training sessions and internal meetings to support professional development and business effectiveness.
• Contribute to projects and initiatives that support the wider Hilton Worldwide Sales and Group Sales team.
• Support collaboration across the sales organisation by sharing insight, best practice and market intelligence where appropriate.
• Plan and attend familiarisation trips aligned to their account portfolio to support customer engagement and business development.
• Undertake additional duties as required to support team objectives and service delivery.

What are we looking for?

To be successful in this role, you will demonstrate the following skills, knowledge and experience:

• Confident working with internal teams, hotels and external partners to progress opportunities and deliver results.
• Highly organised, with strong prioritisation skills and the ability to manage multiple accounts and activities concurrently.
• Comfortable working independently, with sole responsibility for managing and growing an assigned account portfolio.
• Proactive and self‑reliant, able to take initiative and follow through on actions to completion.
• Strong problem‑solving skills, with the ability to address issues professionally and collaboratively.
• Adaptable, able to adjust priorities and approach as business needs change.
• Confident influencing and persuading to drive opportunity progression and positive outcomes.
• Able to interpret sales, pipeline and performance data to inform decision‑making and prioritisation.
• Good understanding of the sales process, including opportunity management, tools, measurements and systems.
• Sound commercial awareness, with an understanding of the needs of both hotel partners and client organisations.
• Demonstrates professionalism, integrity and strong relationship management skills when representing Hilton internally and externally.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to present clearly and communicate effectively in writing and verbally.

Required Qualifications:

• University degree or experience in lieu thereof.
• Proven experience in customer‑facing, revenue‑generating sales roles.
• Experience managing and growing accounts with individual performance accountability.
• Experience working in international or multi‑cultural environments.
• Fluency in English.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office applications.
• Proficient in Salesforce or a comparable CRM system.
• Ability and expectation to be on the road conducting face‑to‑face customer engagements a minimum of three days per week.
• Willingness and ability to travel weekly within the UK and Ireland to support high levels of in‑person customer engagement, business development and account management.
• Experience or working knowledge of the Group, Meetings & Events sector.