Director, Commercial AI and Automation EMEA

Job Summary

The Director, Commercial AI & Automation Product Delivery, EMEA provides dedicated leadership and execution capacity to identify, prioritise, design and deliver high-value AI and automation solutions across the wider Commercial Services organisation.

The role operates at the intersection of Commercial business expertise, process improvement, product delivery and applied technology. It works with Commercial leaders and operational teams to identify the most important business problems, map and simplify the underlying process, determine where AI or automation can add measurable value, and move selected opportunities from concept through prototype, proof of value, deployment and adoption.

This is not a pure strategy, portfolio coordination or software engineering role. The Director is accountable for converting Commercial priorities into practical, adopted solutions and measurable outcomes. The role requires sufficient technical capability to prototype and deliver fit-for-purpose solutions using approved tools, including Microsoft Copilot, Copilot Studio, Power Automate and Power Apps, while recognising when enterprise technology, data, security or specialist development support is required.

The Director serves as the senior Commercial product and delivery owner for this portfolio, making recommendations on where to invest, scale, route, revise or stop work. The role partners with EMEA AI governance and central orchestration, while remaining anchored within Commercial Services where business context, process ownership and accountability for execution sit.

Key Responsibilities

• Own and actively manage a prioritised portfolio of Commercial AI and automation opportunities aligned with profitable revenue growth, Commercial 30, HOME, and productivity priorities.
• Evaluate opportunities using business value, user impact, process and data readiness, feasibility, risk, scalability, adoption potential and alignment with enterprise capabilities. Recommend which initiatives should proceed, combine, route, defer or stop.
• Partner with Commercial discipline leaders, regional teams, subject-matter experts and users to diagnose material business pain points and determine whether the answer is process change, clearer accountability, automation, AI or a combination.
• Translate ambiguous business needs into clear problem statements, process maps, requirements, test scopes, success measures and proof-of-value plans. Challenge requests constructively where technology would automate the wrong process or create insufficient value.
• Lead selected use cases from discovery through prototype, testing, governance review, deployment, adoption and benefit measurement, maintaining clear stage gates, owners, decisions and delivery momentum.
• Act as the senior Commercial product owner, making or facilitating decisions on scope, priorities, user experience, business requirements and release readiness across multiple disciplines and stakeholder groups.
• Use practical knowledge of Microsoft Copilot, Copilot Studio, Power Automate, Power Apps and related approved tools to explore solutions, build prototypes and deliver appropriate low-code automations.
• Assess when a solution can be delivered within Commercial and when it requires support from IT, HQ AI Studio, Data & Analytics, Information Security, Privacy, Legal or specialist engineering teams. Ensure solutions use approved pathways and do not create unsupported shadow technology.
• Build adoption, communication, training, change impact and support requirements into delivery from the outset. Engage users throughout discovery, testing and refinement so solutions fit real workflows and can be sustained.
• Track usage, user feedback, operational performance and realised benefits after implementation. Establish clear ownership and support arrangements before broader deployment.
• Capture reusable components, patterns and playbooks so successful solutions can be applied across Commercial teams, markets or hotels where appropriate.
• Partner with the EMEA AI orchestration team to provide visibility of the Commercial portfolio, identify overlaps and reuse opportunities, and route solutions appropriately without duplicating central orchestration responsibilities.
• Provide Commercial leadership with concise, evidence-based updates on progress, benefits, risks, resource needs, blockers and decisions required. Surface recurring process, data or capability barriers that limit delivery.
• Influence senior stakeholders across Commercial, continent and HQ teams, balancing competing priorities while protecting scarce delivery capacity and maintaining a strong bias toward practical execution and measurable outcomes.

Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate is a commercially grounded, technology-fluent delivery leader who can move comfortably between senior stakeholder discussions, business processes, user needs and hands-on solution development. They must be credible enough to make continent-wide portfolio and prioritisation recommendations, practical enough to work directly with process owners and users, and technically confident enough to prototype, challenge solution design and make sound delivery decisions.

This role is not intended for a narrow technical specialist whose primary strength is coding, or for a general strategist whose contribution ends with recommendations and roadmaps. It requires a balanced leader who can determine what should be built, shape how it should work, mobilise the right contributors and remain accountable until the solution is operating and delivering value.

• Significant experience in Commercial e.g. revenue management, sales, marketing, digital, distribution, loyalty, commercial operations, or a closely related field.
• Demonstrated experience leading complex, cross-functional initiatives from ambiguous business need through implementation, adoption and measurable outcome.
• Strong Commercial acumen and judgement on value, feasibility, operational impact, scalability, adoption risk and return on investment.
• Practical experience with AI, low-code and workflow automation, particularly Microsoft Copilot, Copilot Studio, Power Automate and Power Apps. Able to build prototypes or fit-for-purpose solutions while recognising when specialist technical development is required.
• Strong capability in process mapping, requirements gathering, testing, change adoption, benefit tracking and product or programme delivery.
• High credibility with senior business and technical stakeholders, with the ability to influence across functions and geographies without relying on direct authority.
• Good understanding of enterprise data, privacy, security, responsible AI and governance considerations.
• Ability to simplify complex issues, challenge constructively, communicate in clear business language and maintain disciplined follow-through in a matrix organisation.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience. Relevant Microsoft Power Platform, AI, product, agile, process improvement or change qualifications are advantageous but not essential.

Leadership Scope and Role Boundaries

The Director owns Commercial use-case prioritisation, business problem definition, process clarity, product decisions, proof-of-value design, appropriate hands-on prototyping, delivery momentum, adoption planning and benefit realisation. The role carries end-to-end accountability for a cross-discipline EMEA portfolio rather than executing assigned automation requests.

The Director partners on enterprise governance, cross-discipline portfolio visibility, technical architecture, security, data access, complex integrations and scaled production support. The role does not own enterprise AI governance, central EMEA orchestration, general Commercial strategy and planning, technology architecture or specialist software engineering.

Success Measures

• Measurable business value, productivity or Commercial performance improvement delivered through implemented solutions.
• A focused, transparent portfolio with clear priorities, ownership, stage gates, risks and evidence-based scale, route or stop decisions.
• Improved speed from validated business need to usable prototype or solution, without compromising approved governance and technical pathways.
• Strong adoption, usage, user feedback and sustainable ownership for deployed solutions.
• Reduction in duplicated, disconnected or low-value experimentation and improved reuse of successful solutions across teams, markets or hotels.
• Quality of business problem definition, process mapping, requirements, testing and benefit measurement.
• Effective collaboration with Commercial disciplines, EMEA governance and orchestration, IT, HQ AI Studio, Data & Analytics and other enterprise partners.
• Clear evidence that Commercial AI and automation work is moving from discussion and experimentation to practical execution and measurable outcomes.

Key Working Relationships

EMEA Commercial Services leadership; Commercial discipline and process owners; regional and field stakeholders; EMEA AI governance and orchestration; EMEA and HQ IT; HQ AI Studio; Data & Analytics; Information Security, Privacy and Legal; HR/L&D and change partners; Digital Operations, low-code builders and approved external partners.

Right to work

At the time of application, applicants must have the legal right to work in the United Kingdom. Unfortunately, this role is not eligible for visa sponsorship or relocation assistance.

WHY JOIN MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL?

Marriott International has been recognized as one of Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For™ in 2026 by Great Place to Work®. This is a reflection of our people-first culture, commitment to wellbeing, and collaborative workplace. This accolade joins a growing list of regional honors, reinforcing our dedication to creating an exceptional environment where associates thrive.

At Marriott International, we are dedicated to being an equal opportunity employer, welcoming all and providing access to opportunity. We actively foster an environment where the unique backgrounds of our associates are valued and celebrated. Our greatest strength lies in the rich blend of culture, talent, and experiences of our associates. We are committed to non-discrimination on any protected basis, including disability, veteran status, or other basis protected by applicable law.

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Marriott International is the world’s largest hotel company, with more brands, more hotels and more opportunities for associates to grow and succeed. Be where you can do your best work,​ begin your purpose, belong to an amazing global​ team, and become the best version of you.