Product & Digital Development Manager

SKI SOLUTIONS CAREERS

Product & Digital Development Manager

Reports to – Head of Product and Commercial
Based at – Brixton, London

Ski Solutions operates as a hybrid travel agent and tailor-made tour operator currently generating c.£35m of turnover from taking c.19,000 clients to the snow annually. Tailor-made ski holidays have been the engine room for growth of the business and we believe there is an opportunity to further accelerate growth through investment in digital technology to optimise both the initial contracting and accessing availability and pricing of those tailor-made components. We are already on that journey, but there is still a long way to go, with ambitions to create a B2B portal for 3rd party agents to access our chosen product and ultimately a fully bookable B2C dynamic packaging website.

The newly created Product and Digital Development Manager role will report to the Head of Product and Commercial and will work alongside the HoP&C and other senior managers within the business to deliver these technology platform ambitions, whilst at the same time supporting the evolution of the Ski Solutions tailor-made offering by securing, curating, pricing and merchandising accommodation in both existing and new resorts to meet the evolving needs of our clients. This is a management role right at the centre of the business and the individual will join the core trading management team within the business from the get-go.

The nature of working for a bespoke, tailor-made tour operator means that day-to-day tasks will be varied. Ski packaged holiday related experience is essential and the ideal candidate will already have an extensive network of industry partners. They will also be able to bring fresh ideas, relationships and challenge to the leadership team. The role will involve regular sales team training, as well as being the face of Ski Solutions (along with colleagues) at trade events, both in the UK and overseas.

The role will entail hybrid working with the initial expectation of it being 3 days office based, with the remainder from home (subject to suitable home working arrangements being in place.)

You must be comfortable ‘rolling your sleeves’ up and getting hands on in the detail where required but equally understand the importance of seeing the ‘big picture’ and be able to think and operate strategically. The successful candidate will be able to display evidence of demonstrable successes through their career in the travel sector.

Personal Attributes

• Experience in the travel industry with a product/commercial focus, preferably within winter sports.
• An understanding of the role of a Product and Commercial department within a Tour Operator/Travel Agency business.
• An understanding of the dynamics of the UK winter sports industry preferred.
• A strong understanding of technology within the industry, with a focus on direct hotel connections, supplier APIs and online UX.
• Experience managing innovative online supply chain solutions for travel businesses and the related stakeholder relationships.
• Ability to identify further opportunities for integration of cutting-edge technology solutions to optimise tour operation processes.
• Experience working with tech developers to communicate and deliver on digital development requirements – agreeing detailed project specifics and assessing end product viability.
• Must have strong commercial, negotiation and communication skills. Able to develop and maintain key supply partner relationships.
• Highly organised with a high level of commercial and strategic acumen and good attention to detail.
• Strong communicator, quick-witted and commercially focused, capable of scoping and championing new products and developing key product ranges.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to identify and act on trends and patterns in the numbers.
• Ability to identify commercial opportunities to drive revenue and margin growth.
• A strong team player, able to work closely with colleagues across a wide variety of projects, with the ability to react nimbly to changes in the commercial and inter-departmental requirements.
• Confident, capable and able to make decisions – the candidate should be comfortable in their ability to work with low levels of day-to-day supervision.

Core Responsibilities

• Reporting to the Head of P&C and working with other senior management to agree the roadmap for the digitisation of online inventory (both B2C and B2B) of tailormade products.
• With the Head of P&C, lead the development of supply chain connectivity platforms, ensuring effective management and troubleshooting of existing API integrations, alongside identifying and implementing new API opportunities. This will involve working with various other departments and external partners to identify opportunities to streamline business processes then collaborating on finding workable solutions, overseeing their launch, resolving technical issues and developing the user experience.
• Assess opportunities to expand the digitisation across other business units within Active Travel Group.
• With Head of P&C, plan and execute the annual product strategy by core channel, contracting accommodation, ground transfers, ski extras securing best rates, promotional offers and exclusives and analysing new destination opportunities.
• Continue to build and foster close relationships and build trust with core suppliers.
• Represent the company at trade events and contracting trips in the UK and abroad.
• Conduct sales team training on products and support the organisation of the annual fam trip programme.
• Production and commercial analysis of reports.
• Support the management of accommodation and flight allocations.
• Engage with key partners in joint marketing initiatives and work with the marketing team to support direct marketing campaign activity, as well as merchandising across all channels.
• Provide support to the marketing team with content and product suggestions for newsletters, blogs and PR activity.
• Support organisation of press trips and sourcing of competition prizes.
• Support the day-to-day needs of the ski sales team, helping with ad hoc queries and product related requests.
• Arrange relevant training sessions for sales and service teams with key strategic suppliers.

Benefits

• Rapidly growing business in England, Scotland and Ireland, offering development opportunities
• Regular social activities including annual ski trip, summer BBQ’s and weeknight events
• Modern office adjacent to Brixton Market
• Flexible / hybrid working
• Contributory pension
• Active Travel Group travel discounts
• Friends and family discount scheme
• Cycle to work scheme
• Childcare voucher scheme
• Time off on your birthday

To apply for this position, please send your CV and covering letter to Paul Russell, at [email protected].