Director of Technical Services

About the role

The Director of Technical Services leads all engineering, maintenance and technical functions across Elaf Group’s hotel portfolio. This senior position provides strategic technical expertise for existing properties and supports due‑diligence, design and pre‑opening activities for new hotel projects.

Key responsibilities

• Oversee engineering and maintenance operations for all operating hotels, ensuring optimal performance of MEP, HVAC, life‑safety and BMS systems.
• Drive preventive and predictive maintenance programmes to reduce downtime and operating costs.
• Manage CapEx planning, budgeting and execution across the portfolio while ensuring compliance with local regulations, civil‑defence requirements and brand standards.
• Lead technical due‑diligence for new hotel opportunities, reviewing building condition reports, system lifecycles, technical risks and feasibility studies.
• Review and approve design submissions (architecture, interior, MEP) to align with brand standards, operational efficiency and cost optimisation.
• Direct renovation, refurbishment and new‑build projects, ensuring they are delivered on time, within budget and ready for pre‑opening.
• Support hotel teams in resolving major technical issues and drive sustainability initiatives such as energy and water optimisation.

Required profile

• Minimum 12 years of experience in hospitality engineering or related technical leadership roles.
• Proven track record managing MEP, HVAC, life‑safety and BMS systems across multiple hotel properties.
• Strong background in capital‑expenditure planning, project management and technical due‑diligence for new developments.
• Ability to work with cross‑functional teams, consultants, developers and brand representatives.

Required skills

• Risk management
• Commissioning
• Project management
• Life safety systems
• Predictive maintenance
• Design development
• BMS
• Defect resolution
• Snagging
• CapEx planning
• Governance compliance
• Systems testing
• Vendor contract management
• MEP systems
• Feasibility studies
• HVAC
• Technical due diligence
• Value engineering