Retail Learning & Development Manager

MSC Cruises; Genf; On-site; CHF 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

MSC Cruises is seeking a Retail Learning & Development Manager to design and deliver the global retail training strategy across MSC Cruises and Explora Journeys. You will ensure onboard teams have the knowledge, skills and service mindset required to deliver luxury shopping experiences and achieve commercial objectives.

Working with Retail Leadership, Category Managers and brand partners, you will build retail capabilities across product categories, combining luxury service excellence,

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in retail training, learning & development or retail excellence.
• Experience in luxury retail, premium retail, or travel retail environments.
• Proven experience designing and delivering sales and service training programs.
• Experience managing international and multicultural retail teams.
• Strong understanding of luxury customer experience and retail selling techniques.

Responsibilities

• Define and implement the global retail training strategy.
• Develop onboarding, product knowledge, selling skills and leadership programs.
• Establish consistent retail standards across vessels.
• Create scalable training programs for a global, multicultural organization.
• Develop programs focused on luxury hospitality and customer experience excellence.
• Train on customer engagement, storytelling and upselling techniques.
• Measure training effectiveness via business impact.

Skills

Retail training

Learning strategy

Luxury service

Product knowledge

Digital learning

Coaching skills

Cross-cultural leadership

Stakeholder collaboration

Job description

• Ensure teams develop strong product expertise across:
• Sales productivity

Where passion meets opportunity

The best of your adventures is the one you have yet to sail!

Your Purpose

The Retail Learning & DevelopmentManager is responsible for developing and delivering the global retail learning strategy across MSC Cruises and Explora Journeys.

The role ensures that all onboard retail teams have the knowledge, skills and service mindset required to deliver exceptional shopping experiences, achieve commercial objectives and represent leading luxury and premium brands with excellence.

Working closely with Retail Leadership, Category Managers, Visual Merchandising, Operations teams and brand partners, the role builds retail capabilities across all product categories, combining luxury service excellence, selling techniques, product expertise and commercial performance.

The position plays a critical role in transforming retail teams into confident brand ambassadors and high-performing sales professionals.

Your Impact

Retail Learning Strategy

• Define and implement the global retail training strategy aligned with MSC Cruises and Explora Journeys brand positioning.
• Develop a structured learning journey covering onboarding, product knowledge, selling skills, service excellence and leadership development.
• Establish consistent retail standards across all vessels while adapting training to different retail environments and customer profiles.
• Create scalable training programs suitable for a global, multicultural retail organization.

Luxury Service & Soft Skills Development

• Develop training programs focused on luxury hospitality and customer experience excellence.
• Train retail teams on:
• Customer engagement and relationship building
• Luxury selling rituals
• Storytelling and emotional selling
• Clienteling techniques
• VIP guest experience
• Cross-selling and up-selling
• Handling objections and closing techniques
• Ensure retail teams understand the importance of personalization, service attitude and guest journey.

Product Knowledge & Hard Skills Training

• Build category-specific training programs in collaboration with Category Managers and brand partners.
• Ensure teams develop strong product expertise across:
• Watches & Jewelry
• Fashion & Accessories
• Perfume & Cosmetics
• Duty Free categories
• Develop product storytelling capabilities including brand heritage, craftsmanship, innovation and key selling points.
• Support new product launches and brand introductions with dedicated training plans.

Sales Performance & Commercial Excellence

• Develop training programs connected to commercial objectives and retail KPIs.
• Train teams on understanding and improving:
• Conversion rate
• Average transaction value
• Units per transaction
• Sales productivity
• Category performance
• Customer engagement indicators
• Partner with Retail Operations to identify capability gaps and define improvement plans.
• Measure training effectiveness through business impact and performance improvements.

Training Content & Digital Learning

• Create engaging learning materials including:
• Training manuals
• Product guides
• Sales playbooks
• E-learning modules
• Videos and digital content
• Coaching tools
• Develop modern learning approaches adapted to a global mobile workforce.
• Continuously improve training content based on feedback and performance results.

Retail Culture & Engagement

• Promote a culture of continuous learning, curiosity and commercial excellence.
• Inspire teams to become passionate ambassadors of brands and products.
• Recognize and support high performers through development programs.
• Contribute to building a strong retail identity across MSC Cruises and Explora Journeys.

Your Journey so far

• 8+ years of experience in retail training, learning & development or retail excellence.
• Experience in luxury retail, premium retail, or travel retail environments.
• Proven experience designing and delivering sales and service training programs.
• Experience managing international and multicultural retail teams.
• Strong understanding of luxury customer experience and retail selling techniques.
• Experience working with luxury brands and product training programs is highly desirable.

Your Essentials

• Strong understanding of luxury retail codes and customer experience excellence.
• Excellent facilitation, coaching and communication skills.
• Ability to inspire and engage frontline retail teams.
• Strong commercial mindset with understanding of retail KPIs and sales performance.
• Ability to translate business objectives into effective learning solutions.
• Strong project management and organizational skills.
• Creative approach to training content and learning methodologies.
• Ability to work effectively across cultures and geographies.
• Fluent English; additional languages are an advantage.
• Willingness to travel extensively across the fleet.

Our commitment

We are committed to building a future that values diverse perspectives, embraces the world beyond borders, and fosters an inclusive environment where every individual feels valued, respected and empowered to be their authentic selves. Our commitment extends to taking meaningful, measurable actions that have a long-term positive impact on our guests, our employees and our planet.