Director of Security

A fantastic opportunity has arisen for a Director of Security to be part of an iconic London Opening. The Old War Office located in historic Whitehall, is being transformed into the Raffles London at the OWO.

The Director of Security reports to the Director of Rooms.

The Director of Security ensures the safety of Guests, Team Members and Hotel property through a professional and efficient daily operation.

The Director of Security should take the time to get to know the guests and be committed to service excellence, promote feedback with the team and anticipate the guest’s needs.

The Director of Security sets an example for punctuality, appearance, courtesy, performance, attitude, leadership, guest relationships, observance of the house rules, loyalty to Management and inter-department cooperation.

The Director of security:

• Develops fire, emergency & evacuation guidelines, trains team members on the guidelines and takes ownership for regular fire drills.
• Handles complaints effectively and ensure issues are followed up with both in-house and out-of-house guests.
• Is responsible for the planning and budgeting of Security expenditures for the Hotel, including business cases for justification of investments and expenditures to support the approval process.
• Provides regular security reports to the Managing Director.
• Ensures awareness and delivers the optimum levels of service and guest satisfaction.
• Initiates and manages Security projects, consulting the Managing Director on Security strategy.
• Ensures that Fire Safety, Emergency and Evacuation handbooks and manuals are up to date and available to the team.
• Ensures that all Lost & Found items are registered, stored, and handled in accordance with the policy.
• Ensures the security team log and handles all incidents, guest complaints or queries confidently and professionally.
• Coaches and counsels all security officers to ensure they are developed professionally.
• Supervises the daily operations of the security team.
• Liaises with local law enforcement authorities and Fire & Safety officials as required, maintaining good relations.
• Establishes objectives for the team and ensures these are achieved.
• Works closely with security contractor supplier to ensure quality staff are provided and that they are familiar with the hotel product and security procedures.
• Assumes responsibility for the CC TV room, ensuring that all equipment is working, and Team Members are trained to handle the responsibility of monitoring cameras as required.
• Keeps ahead of industry trends.
• Develops ideas on increasing guest satisfaction.
• Participates in Hotel’s MOD program.
• Sets standard for incident reporting and ensures the team follows the standard when carrying out investigations.
• Maintains inventory control of hotel Safety and Security equipment.
• Works with the Learning & Development Manager to deliver Safety and Security information to new employees during induction and updates as required.

• Works closely with the Director of Human Resources to investigate incidents involving Team Members.
• Ensures that themselves and the team keep all incident reports confidential.
• Monitors the duty roster and ensures optimum daily manning levels are met.

The role responsibilities are included but not limited to this job description as this has been drafted as a guide to the purpose and main duties of the role as it currently exists. The hotel relies on the flexibility of its staff to ensure the continuity of the high standards currently being achieved.

You must have strong leadership ability.

You will live and breathe the Raffles culture serving as a brand ambassador.

You will have 5 years Security Manager/Director experience and be able to illustrate previous successes in a comparable luxury environment in UK. Previous opening experience is a plus.

Passionate about the hospitality industry, art and culture, heritage, and history, you will be driven to deliver excellence in our guest experience.

• Excellent interpersonal, communication and organizational skills
• Self-control and ability to deal with pressure under all circumstances
• Strong problem-solving abilities
• Business acumen
• Strategic thinking
• Highly responsible & reliable
• Ability to work cohesively as part of a team
• Ability to focus attention on both guest needs, while balancing colleague needs, remaining calm and courteous
• Gracious and charming, delivering emotional experience with each individual guests
• You understand the meaning and importance of discretion and confidentiality
• You are an English speaker and are eligible to work in UK

The Raffles name is synonymous with luxury, glamour and extraordinary adventure. Each hotel is an oasis of calm and charm at the crossroads of a civilization. Each is a carefully chosen destination in its own right. Each is uniquely, indefinably, sublimely Raffles.

Exciting and enchanting, refreshing and reinvigorating, Raffles is patronised by nobility and loved by those with a pioneering spirit and a taste for the very best in life. Legendary service since 1887.

Raffles is a beloved Accor Brand. We are far more than a worldwide leader. We are 280,000 women and men placing people at the heart of what we do, and nurturing real passion for service and achievement. Joining Accor means embarking on a unique life journey towards forging the future of hospitality.

Our commitment to Diversity & Inclusion:
We are an inclusive company and our ambition is to attract, recruit and promote diverse talent.