Sr Dir, Comms Events & Training

POSITION: Sr. Director, Trade Marketing, Training & Events

LOCATION: Miami, FL

REPORTS TO: SVP, Sales & Services, Americas

ABOUT US

Royal Caribbean Group comprises five distinctive brands that share a vision anchored in excellence. We have a common passion for creative thinking, innovative engineering, and outstanding guest service that drives continuous improvement in everything we do. The entire Royal Caribbean family is committed to the legacy of hospitality and culture of innovation that is at the core of our guest service, the protection of our natural environment, and responsible citizenship in our global community

POSITION OVERVIEW

This leadership position has broad management oversight on a variety of internal and external sales (trade channels) responsibilities which include 1) the development of delivery of sales & marketing related strategies and training programs, focused on driving revenue growth, customer engagement, and brand management within the B2B sector, while also ensuring alignment with sales and business objectives. The position reports to the SVP - Sales & Services and provides ongoing support to the VP Sales as well as the Brand President (as needed) with a focus in identifying, coordinating, and maximizing commercial opportunities. This could include channel strategy support for the Celebrity Cruises brand, as well as communications, campaigns, advertising, promotions, and social media, oversight of the Trade Technology Platforms, oversight of internal and external training programs, conferences, special events, functions, and meetings.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Partner with sales teams to align marketing efforts and ensure a smooth sales process.
• Own the vision, develop and implement a comprehensive B2B marketing strategy aligned with overall business goals, to grow and strengthen trade engagement, loyalty, activation, and revenues.
• Define and track key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure marketing effectiveness.
• Participates with senior management in strategy and optimize the development of operational and demand generating trade communications and integrated brand campaigns.
• Stay informed about industry trends, competitor activities, and emerging technologies.
• Oversee the development of comprehensive, multidimensional marketing programs to drive maximum demand and sales results while ensuring the brand is represented appropriately through all cooperative program media: direct mail, newspaper, television, internet, etc.
• Oversight of content management and maintenance of all information featured via various omnichannel trade resources, while also considering strategic placement of core messaging. Review usage analytics to maximize site performance and to improve efficiency.
• Own content management and strategic positioning of new brand site lets, a core component to improving and preserving Celebrity's brand image and accuracy on travel agency websites.
• Cultivate and manage newfound relationship with BranchUp, as well as develop strategic plan to optimize existing capabilities and evolution of future advancements. Monitor usage analytics to maximize performance and continue to grow travel partner reach on current and future platforms.
• Leverage intelligence gathered to develop programs & ETDBW policies that give the brand a competitive edge with the trade, drive trade loyalty & preference to the brand, and continue to win us best Sales & Service recognition.
• Develop and implement lead generation strategies to drive pipeline growth.
• Partner effectively with Revenue & Sales Finance teams in the development and oversight of trade channel performance to identify specific travel partners who have proven to stimulate awareness and demand on specified product(s), season(s), ship(s), etc.
• Align Sales & Marketing priorities to maximize brand impact through collaborating spend, timing, product & high/mid value account targets.
• Work with in-house Marketing creative team to develop branded packaging of offers to create a unique, ownable and premium identity. Develop integrated communication plan with Sales & Marketing channels. Track results for continuous program optimization.
• Own ideation and fulfillment of branded promotional items for sales meetings, travel partner campaigns, biannual allocation replenishment, and various sales events. Maintain set budget while fostering relationships with external vendors and ensuring cost efficiencies / production accuracies.
• Oversee sales and trade events with an emphasis on ship revitalization events, sales meetings, partner and advisory board meetings, conferences, inaugurals, and more.
• Ensure maintenance and continued innovation of online travel agent learning tool, as well as internal presentation library tool.
• Lead Sales Training team. Drive team performance by providing strategic direction and ensuring effective / purposeful training methods.
• Recommend, orchestrate, and execute new training methods, programs, and events - both in person and virtual - including but not limited to national training tours and virtual training series.
• Supervise Seminar at Sea program guidelines and booking process from start to finish - both strategic and tactical allocations.

KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS

• To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.
• The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.
• Knowledge of the sales process, and marketing channels, pricing, and strategies. Understanding of research information and performance metrics in relation to consumer trends, behavior, and preferences as well as trade needs and expectations for use in determining strategy.
• Knowledge of revenue performance management and metrics and corporate revenue expectations.
• Knowledge of Celebrity Cruises products, services, and capabilities relative to competitors.
• Ability to assemble and lead cross-functional teams to develop and achieve revenue maximization strategies that include input and buy-in from all stakeholders.
• Ability to analyze corporate data, research, and analysis, identify trends, and make data-driven recommendations for product strategy and success.
• Exhibit ability to interact with all departments and levels of management throughout organization and with external customers and companies.
• Excellent internal and external communication skills for development of comprehensive and impactful communication strategy.

FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• Plays strong strategic and operational role in the achievement of team's KPIs, including revenue targets in excess of $1B annually
• Manages a multi-million-dollar SG&A Budget

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelors degree or Graduate Degree preferred with Strong Analytical Background preferred in Marketing, B2B Sales, or related field.
• 10+ years of management and strategy experience in Sales, Marketing, Revenue Management or related field, with B2B marketing, demand generation, and training preferred
• Travel category experience a plus
• Strong leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Strong project management skills required
• Strong business and analytical acumen
• Creativity and strategic thinker.
• Travel required