Chief Executive

Visit Belfast; Belfast City District; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Visit Belfast, the official tourism marketing agency for the Belfast City Region, seeks a Chief Executive to provide strategic leadership, set priorities, and guide the organisation toward growth. The role is full-time and on-site in Belfast, with responsibility for marketing, stakeholder relations, and delivering measurable outcomes for partners.

The Chief Executive will lead the senior team, manage budgets and governance, and act as an ambassador to national and international audiences,

Qualifications

• Significant senior leadership experience at Chief Executive, Director or equivalent level.
• Strong stakeholder management with public bodies, private sector partners, and industry associations.
• Expertise in strategic planning, business development, and financial management.
• Experience in brand development, marketing, and communications for destination or organization.
• Proven people leadership capabilities and ability to foster an inclusive culture.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and presentation skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with data-driven decisions.
• Relevant higher education qualification or equivalent professional experience.
• Knowledge of Belfast/Northern Ireland tourism landscape.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership, set vision, goals, and priorities for Visit Belfast.
• Oversee tourism marketing and destination promotion.
• Manage stakeholder relationships across public and private sectors.
• Represent and advocate for member businesses.
• Lead and develop the senior management team.
• Manage organizational performance and budgets.
• Ensure delivery of high-quality services and measurable results for partners and stakeholders.
• Act as ambassador for the city, engaging with national and international audiences.
• Identify new opportunities for tourism growth and investment.

Skills

Senior leadership

Stakeholder management

Strategic planning

Brand development & marketing

People leadership

Communication & presentation

Analytical thinking

Education

Degree in business/marketing/tourism or related field

Job description

Company Description

Visit Belfast is the official tourism marketing agency for the Belfast City Region, operating as a public-private partnership supported by Belfast City Council, Tourism Northern Ireland, and private sector partners. The organization promotes Belfast as a leading city-break, conference, and cruise destination and operates three gateway tourist information centres. Visit Belfast represents around 500 tourism businesses and services, including accommodation providers, attractions, venues, transport, entertainment, and hospitality. It offers a wide range of marketing platforms to help tourism businesses reach travel trade and consumer audiences and is committed to showcasing the best of what the city has to offer visitors.

Role Description

The Chief Executive is a full-time, on-site role based in Belfast. The post holder will provide strategic leadership for Visit Belfast, setting the vision, goals, and priorities to grow Belfast’s profile as a world-class destination. Day-to-day responsibilities include overseeing tourism marketing and destination promotion, managing stakeholder relationships across public and private sectors, and ensuring effective representation of member businesses.

The Chief Executive will lead and develop the senior management team, manage organizational performance and budgets, and ensure that Visit Belfast delivers high-quality services and measurable results for partners and stakeholders. The role also involves acting as an ambassador for the city, engaging with national and international audiences, and identifying new opportunities for tourism growth and investment.

Qualifications

• Significant senior leadership experience at Chief Executive, Director or equivalent level in a complex organisation, business or major function.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, including experience working with public bodies, private sector partners, and industry associations, and the ability to build effective collaborative relationships.
• Expertise in strategic planning, business development, and financial management, including setting and managing budgets, overseeing revenue streams, and ensuring governance and accountability.
• Experience in brand development, marketing, and communications, with the ability to guide integrated campaigns, digital engagement, and media activity to promote a destination or organization.
• Demonstrated people leadership capabilities, including leading high-performing teams, fostering an inclusive and supportive culture, and managing change.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and presentation skills, with the ability to represent Visit Belfast credibly to local, national, and international audiences.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to use data and insights to inform decisions and measure impact.
• Relevant higher education qualification (e.g., degree in business, marketing, tourism, or a related field) or equivalent professional experience.
• Knowledge of the tourism landscape in Belfast and Northern Ireland, or the ability to rapidly develop such insight, and a commitment to inclusive, sustainable tourism growth.

Candidates do not need to have previously been a DMMO Chief Executive. Equivalent senior leadership experience will be considered by reference to the scale, scope, complexity and accountability of the role rather than job title alon e