Job Title: Senior Director & Senior Counsel Operations EMEA

Company: Hilton

Location: LocationWatford, England, United Kingdom

Job Type: Full Time

JOB DESCRIPTION
Hilton is one of the largest and fastest growing hospitality companies in the world, with more than 9,000 properties with more than 1.1 million rooms in 126 countries and territories. In the 100+ years since our founding, we have defined the hospitality industry and established a portfolio of 25 world-class brands, including our flagship Hilton Hotels & Resorts brand, which is the most recognized hotel brand in the world. Hilton was recently crowned World’s Best Workplace by Great Places to Work and Fortune Magazine and we have more than 170 million members in our award–winning customer loyalty program, Hilton Honors.

What will I be doing?

As a Senior Counsel in the Operations group within the Global Legal team, you will provide strategic legal support to business partners, regional offices, and hotels across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Your primary geographic focus will be on the UK and Ireland, Europe, and Türkiye. You will provide legal expertise across a wide range of commercial contracts to support corporate initiatives and hotels operated by Hilton, including agreements for procurement, food and beverage, sales, and engineering operations. You will serve as legal adviser to various corporate functions, including Government Affairs, Corporate Communications, Corporate Supply Management, Sales, Finance, Human Resources, and Risk Management. You will also provide legal support to the Hilton UK Foundation, a registered English charity.

You will form part of the Operations Legal team reporting to the Vice President & Senior Counsel, International Franchising, and Operations and Development EMEA. You will represent Legal at senior leadership meetings hosted by regional leaders of hotel operations.

(Please note that this is not a Legal Operations role in the sense of overseeing the budget of the legal team or maintaining law firm relationships. Rather, this role refers to leading on strategic commercial contracts and providing other legal support to hotels operated by Hilton across its portfolio of brands and to corporate functions.).

Your responsibilities will also include:

• Providing appropriate and timely advice, consistent with company policies and procedures.
• Drafting and negotiating a wide suite of commercial contracts, including agreements for hotels and for corporate departments such as Supply Management, Sales, Finance and Engineering Operations.
• Supporting HR with corporate and hotel-level employee related matters, policies and guidance, including compensation and benefits initiatives.
• Assisting with hotel-level leases, licences, and concession agreements.
• Supporting the Risk and Safety & Security team with various legal matters including crisis management.
• Supporting the F&B team with NDA’s, franchise, license, third party and outsourcing agreements for chefs, restaurants, and consultancy services.
• Providing advice to managed hotels and business partners on contentious and non-contentious matters, collecting information and preparing documentation in relation to actual and anticipated disputes and assisting in the preparation for litigation, mediation and arbitration.
• Assisting various business functions including Government Affairs, Corporate Communications, Finance, Human Resources, Brands, and Development.
• Attending business partner meetings and serving as a senior legal representative at such meetings.
• Developing and maintaining constructive and cooperative working relationships within the Legal Department, internal business partners, and external legal counsel.
• Providing support and strategic guidance to the business when contractual disputes arise, working to protect the company and to find appropriate commercial solutions when available.
• Helping to ensure the Legal Department’s EMEA operations are conducted within established budgetary parameters and requirements including engaging and managing outside counsel in accordance with engagement policies and budgets.
• Assisting legal colleagues globally in the coordination, deployment and implementation of global initiatives and priorities.
• Formulating and delivering training programs for business partners, and identifying, planning and implementing additional self-service programs for business partners for recurring matters wherever possible.
• Working with Hilton Legal’s standard systems and procedures and assisting in their continuous improvement and updating.
• Undertaking knowhow development and management for the Operations group.
• Leveraging effective partnerships with outside counsel resources, internal clients, and other corporate departments.

How you will collaborate with others:

• You will work closely within the Operations team in Legal, including with global colleagues. You will also collaborate and work with colleagues in the legal development, employment, compliance, privacy, marketing, commercial services, anti-competition, dispute resolution and intellectual property teams.
• You will also work with business partners leading or supporting hotel operations, and across other business functions critical to Hilton’s wider business.

Direct reports:

• Line manager of a paralegal in the Legal EMEA team, also based in Watford.
• Dotted line manager of a paralegal in the Legal EMEA team, also based In Watford.

What are we looking for?

Success will demonstrate itself through the following attributes and skills:

• Highly experienced legal professional and negotiator.
• Excellent commercial contracts experience including negotiating complex and strategic commercial agreements.
• Experience in managing a pool of very demanding clients.
• Experience of working internationally in a multicultural, decentralised environment.
• Ability to create and maintain strong relations with all levels in an organisation.
• Highly developed strategic and analytical skills, presenting solutions to challenges.
• Strong commercial awareness.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to clearly and concisely express ideas both verbally and in writing.
• Ability to work with and get the best out of external legal counsel.
• Highly developed interpersonal skills that build trust and instill confidence to motivate and influence others.
• The ability to initiate and direct collaborative efforts of multiple teams throughout an organisation, including internal resources, external resources and other constituent groups as appropriate with aim of furthering strategic goals.
• Excellent problem-solving skills, including the ability to effectively address any issue in collaboration with others as appropriate; ability to proactively identify and prevent potential problems.

To fulfill this role successfully, you must possess the following minimum qualifications and experience:

• Degree from a common law jurisdiction and other appropriate legal qualifications to practice as a qualified lawyer.
• Post-qualification experience in a law firm and/or in-house legal senior counsel role.
• Strong experience with a background in commercial contracts, including excellent drafting and negotiation skills and familiarity with corporate structures including joint ventures, partnerships and limited liability companies.
• Experience with the hotel sector, including hotel operations legal work, hotel management and hotel franchise agreements.
• Travel up to 10% of time (as required).

It would be useful in this position for you to demonstrate the following capabilities and distinctions:

• Exposure to legal frameworks in multiple jurisdictions.
• Experience with the hotel sector, including hotel operations legal work, hotel management and hotel franchise agreements.
• Exposure to international disputes and their resolution via forums such as arbitration/mediation/court processes.
• An understanding of financial statements and corporate structures.
• Solid knowledge of issues relating to data protection and intellectual property.
• Experience with charity law would be helpful.

Posted: 18/12/2025