Head of Tourism, Planning, Property & Economic Development - Dublin City Council

Dublin City Council; Toronto; On-site; CAD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

A local government authority in Ontario is seeking a Head of Tourism to lead the development and implementation of tourism initiatives. The successful candidate will manage tourism projects, build relationships with stakeholders, and contribute to promoting tourism as a sustainable economic driver. The ideal candidate has strong leadership experience, knowledge of the tourism industry, and excellent communication skills.

Qualifications

• Experience in managing tourism destinations at a senior level.
• Knowledge of the Irish tourism industry and EU tourism policy.
• Project management expertise including budget management.
• Experience in leading and motivating teams.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement tourism strategies and plans.
• Lead and manage teams to deliver projects.
• Build relationships with tourism stakeholders.
• Manage budgets for tourism projects.
• Engage with tourism partners and present to diverse audiences.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder engagement

Project management

Communication

Tourism industry knowledge

Education

Degree in tourism or related field

High level qualifications

Tools

Microsoft Office

CRM systems

Job description

Dublin City Council established a tourism team, designed to support DCC in delivering on its tourism potential. The strategic importance of Tourism to Dublin City and objectives to further co-ordinate and support this work was further set out in Dublin City Development Plan 2022-2028 and the Tourism Development Plan 2023 to 2028.

Our Tourism goals are set out below:

• Human: serves a people-centered and community based growth agenda

• Sustainable: is proactive, accountable and measurable toward our climate goals

• Innovative: is future facing, creative, collaborative and digitally advanced

Our tourism strategy pillars are:

• People

• Places and Spaces

• Culture

• Climate Action and Sustainability

• Innovation

• Data and Insights

Dublin City Council has a requirement for the longer term delivery of our Tourism strategy and ambition through the formation of an in-house Tourism Development team. It will do this through managing the Tourism Steering Committee that will provide support and guidance to the team, and it will shape policy through engagement with the members of the Economic Development and Enterprise Strategic Policy Committee, management in DCC and Fáilte Ireland.

THE JOB

The Head of Tourism role will focus on supporting the development of the city's tourism infrastructure, programming and offering. This includes areas such as capital tourism projects, sustainable and digital tourism, data capture and insights, smart tourism, cultural tourism, visitor experience development and will align with the broader objectives of the Economic Development Strategy and team, European policy and projects and will deliver on a number of Development Plan and Corporate Plan objectives. The Head of Tourism will report to the Head of Economic Development and to the Executive Manager for Economic Development.

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE SHALL HAVE

• Experience in managing tourism destinations at a senior level, including strategy, governance, finance and communications.

• Knowledge and experience of the Irish tourism industry, local authority tourism landscape and EU tourism policy including its challenges, opportunities, and key trends.

• Experience in delivering high level strategy and action plans and presenting to varied audiences.

• The capacity to build strong relationships with Local Authority, National, International and EU tourism institutions and Tourism Industry stakeholders.

• Excellent leadership and communication skills and ability to present information at a high level to diverse audiences.

• Project management expertise to include experience in planning, managing, and delivering projects, including managing budgets, resources, and timelines.

• Experience in sustainable destination development and best practice tourism development.

• The ability to bring together diverse stakeholder groups to deliver on common objectives.

• Experience in building internal and external relationships in large organisations.

• Cross sectoral expertise in data analytics, insights, economics and reporting.

• Oversight experience in digital marketing, communications campaigns and public relations.

• Experience of managing and supervising staff, including managing performance.

• Experience in leading and managing teams, delegating tasks, and motivating staff.

• Relevant administrative experience at a high level transferable to local government.

• Experience in project/programme management including establishing, monitoring and verification of strategic outputs.

• Experience of managing budgets and procurement processes and compiling, preparing and presenting reports.,

• An interest in tourism technology, sustainable tourism development, tourism accessibility and cultural tourism.

• Experience with Microsoft Office suite, CRM systems, and other relevant software.

• A passion for tourism and a commitment to promoting Dublin as a world-class sustainable tourism destination.

• Knowledge and understanding of the structure and functions of local and regional government.

QUALIFICATIONS

CHARACTER:

Each candidate shall be of good character.

HEALTH:

Candidates shall be in a state of health such as would indicate a reasonable prospect of ability to render regular and efficient service.

EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, ETC.:

Each candidate must, on the latest date for receipt of completed applications: -

(a) (a) have obtained at least a Grade D (or a Pass), in Higher or Ordinary Level, in five subjects (or four subjects if Irish is included) from the approved list of subjects in the Department of Education Established Leaving Certificate Examination or Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme including Irish and/or English and one of the following : Mathematics, Accounting, Business Organisation or Economics, and

(b) have obtained at least Grade C (or Honours) in higher level (or Honours) papers in three subjects in that examination (or two subjects if Irish and/or one of the following is included: Mathematics, Accounting, Business Organisation or Economics, or

(b) have obtained a comparable standard in an equivalent examination, or

(c) hold a third level qualification of at least degree standard, and

(d) have satisfactory experience in administrative procedures, including adequate practical experience in work of an executive nature, office organisation and control of staff and budgets.

DESIRABLE:

a) hold a recognised degree, (at least level 8 in the National Framework of Qualification) in a subject relevant to tourism, circular economy or economic development.

b) after attaining the qualification referred to at (a) above, have at least five years relevant satisfactory senior experience working in the tourism or city development space.

c) any additional relevant technical training associated with tourism development.

d) Fluency in Irish and other languages.

e) Experience in specific areas of tourism, such as smart and sustainable tourism, product development, marketing, or business development.

DUTIES

The duties of the post include, but are not limited to, the following: -

• Developing and implementing tourism strategies, plans, and initiatives to support the growth and development of the tourism sector in Dublin city and delivering on relevant plans such as the DCC Tourism Strategy, Dublin Destination and Experience Development Plan, Corporate Plan and Local and Economic and Community Plan objectives.

• Leading and managing teams, providing guidance, and ensuring the effective delivery and communication of projects and objectives. Managing Governance Structures for delivery of Tourism projects and policies.

• Building and maintaining strong relationships with key internal and external stakeholders, including regional and national tourism colleagues, tourism and business representation bodies, government agencies, and broader European stakeholders and local communities.

• Planning, managing, and delivering tourism-related projects, including European projects, ensuring they are aligned with broader DCC and National and European Tourism policy and are completed on time, within budget, and to the required standards.

• Engaging with Fáilte Ireland, Tourism Ireland, European partners and Tourism industry representatives at events, workshops, and conferences, and actively participating in collaborative platforms.

• Developing and delivering presentations, reports, and other communication materials to various audiences, including senior management, members of the Strategic Policy Committee stakeholders, and the public.

• Managing budgets associated with projects and initiatives, ensuring effective financial controls, reporting and good governance arrangements.

• Providing operational support to the broader DCC team, including administrative tasks, event management, and other relevant activities.

The particular duties and responsibilities attached to the post may vary from time to time, without changing the general character of the duties or level of responsibilities entailed. The post holder may therefore be required to perform duties appropriate to the post, other than those detailed above, and to take instructions from and report to, an appropriate Officer or such designated Officer as may be assigned from time to time by the City Council.

The duties of the post are to give to the local authority and to

(a) The local authorities or bodies for which the Chief Executive is Chief Executive, and

(b) To any other local authority or body with which an agreement has been made by the local authority or by any of the authorities or bodies referred to in sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph under the general direction and control of the Chief Executive or of such officers as the Chief Executive may from time to time determine, such appropriate computing, technical, management, administrative, executive, supervisory, advisory and ancillary services as may be required by any local authority or body hereinbefore mentioned in the exercise and performance of any of its powers, functions and duties and to exercise such powers, functions and duties as may be delegated to them by the Chief Executive from time to time including the duty of servicing all committees that may be established by any such local authority or body. The holder of the post will, if required, act for an officer of a higher level.