Director of Development Scandinavia

The Director of Development – Scandinavia is responsible for leading Leonardo Hotels’ expansion strategy across key Nordic markets, including Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland.

This senior leadership role focuses on originating, structuring, and executing hotel development and conversion opportunities in a region characterised by institutional ownership, long-term lease structures, and strong ESG considerations. The role requires strategic thinking, strong financial expertise, and the ability to operate credibly at C‑suite and investor level.

Main tasks

Development & Growth Strategy

• Identify and originate hotel development, conversion, and repositioning opportunities across the Scandinavian region.

• Focus on capital cities and high-performing urban destinations aligned with Leonardo Hotels’ brand positioning.

• Build and manage a long-term, sustainable development pipeline in line with regional growth objectives.

Market Intelligence & Strategic Positioning

• Monitor and analyse market fundamentals including demand drivers, RevPAR trends, competitive supply, and development pipelines.

• Assess macroeconomic, regulatory, and ESG factors impacting hotel investment in the Nordic region.

• Advise senior leadership on market entry strategies, risk profiles, and competitive positioning.

• Ensure strong brand fit and operational alignment for each opportunity within the Leonardo portfolio.

Deal Origination & Execution

• Lead end-to-end deal execution from initial sourcing through to signing.

• Prepare and review feasibility studies, financial models, and investment cases.

• Structure and negotiate commercial terms, with a strong focus on lease-based and hybrid models common in the region.

• Coordinate due diligence processes, including legal, technical, financial, and ESG-related assessments.

• Prepare board-level investment proposals and decision documents.

Relationship Management

• Establish and maintain senior relationships with: Institutional investors and real estate funds, Developers and long-term asset owners and Advisory firms, brokers, and financial institutions.

• Act as Leonardo Hotels’ senior representative at Nordic industry events and conferences.

Internal Coordination & Governance

• Partner closely with internal stakeholders (operations, finance, legal, technical services, brand) to ensure project alignment.

• Lead internal approval processes and present investment opportunities to executive management.

• Oversee the handover from development to operations, ensuring.

LEONARDO HOTELS BENELUX
A young, fresh, and slightly rebellious hotel chain that does things just a bit differently — that’s Leonardo Hotels. A no‑nonsense approach is what defines us. Leonardo Hotels operates in the Benelux and has 29 hotels. The employees of our Shared Service Office perform tasks related to their discipline for all these hotels. Sales, Marketing, Revenue, Finance, and Human Resources are centralized and work across the Benelux hotels.

A fixed workplace? That’s not how we do things! Employees from these departments regularly visit the various hotels and occasionally work at the Shared Service Office located at Leonardo Hotel Amsterdam Rembrandtpark. No day is the same, making the work dynamic and challenging!