Commercial Planning Manager

Carnival UK (P&O Cruises & Cunard); Southampton; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading cruise line company in Southampton is seeking a Commercial Planning Senior Manager. The role involves shaping the sales and revenue strategy, leading the annual sales plan, and collaborating with teams globally. Successful candidates will demonstrate strong business acumen, experience in managing commercial change, and an analytical approach to driving results. This full-time, permanent position offers hybrid working and numerous employee benefits including discounts, learning opportunities, and a supportive environment.

Benefits

Employee Discounted Cruising

Extensive learning opportunities

Minimum 25 days leave

Health Cash Plan

Life Assurance

Electric Car and Cycle to Work schemes

Qualifications

• Experience with sales and revenue strategy.
• Proven ability to manage commercial change.
• Strong analytical skills with financial data.

Responsibilities

• Lead development of annual sales plan for Cunard's global markets.
• Guide business leaders on annual global campaign plans.
• Establish governance for managing cross-functional commercial activities.

Skills

Business acumen

Commercial awareness

Stakeholder management

Data analysis

Education

Degree in relevant subject

Job description

Job Description

Cunard provides the definitive ocean travel experience perfected by over 185 years at sea and is continuously redefining the voyage experience for future generations. Our success is built on a foundation of diverse talents and perspectives, and we believe in fostering an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive.

In our continuous journey of growth and innovation at Carnival UK, we are seeking a Commercial Planning Senior Manager to bring fresh insights and expertise to our Cunard department.

Role Overview

As the Commercial Planning Senior Manager within our Cunard Planning team, you’ll play a crucial role in shaping the sales & revenue strategy for the Cunard Brand, collaborating with teams globally to deliver commercial planning and change activity. Key responsibilities include:

• Lead development of our annual sales plan across Cunard’s global markets, ensuring it is aligned to our distribution strategy.
• Guide our senior business leaders to develop cohesive annual global campaign plans that align with our commercial objectives, ensuring commercial readiness to deliver these plans.
• Establish effective governance to manage and monitor our cross-functional commercial activity, and chair cross-functional forums.
• Manage commercial change that impacts multiple Cunard directorates, identifying impacted areas, developing and managing implementation plans, and leading working groups to ensure a seamless delivery.
• Provide actionable insights through robust analysis of financial and guest data, supporting decision‑making at all levels.

Position Requirements

Our ideal candidate will bring experience, fresh ideas and different perspectives to Cunard’s commercial planning, with a strong focus on sales, marketing, and revenue generation.

Required Qualifications and Skills:

• High level of business acumen and commercial awareness, particularly in sales & revenue strategy.
• Experience at proactively delivering commercial change in a dynamic environment, developing options to mitigate risks, and leveraging opportunities.
• Experience of embedding effective governance processes to drive results.
• Proven experience of effectively managing and collaborating with a range of stakeholders, challenging and influencing effectively across all levels of seniority.
• Degree in relevant subject and project management experience is desirable.

About You

You are someone who thrives in a fast moving, collaborative environment yet is capable of working independently with a high degree of accuracy and accountability. Your qualifications are just the start; we're looking for team members who are eager to learn, grow, and contribute to our collective success.

Personal Qualities

• You are a collaborative partner, able to influence and align stakeholders without direct authority.
• Comfortable working with numbers and data, you bring clarity and insight to complex challenges.
• You thrive in a global, fast‑paced environment, adapting quickly to change and driving continuous improvement.
• You communicate openly, listen actively, and empower others to succeed.

Why Join Us?

Positioned within our internal structure from CUK15 (entry level) to CUK1 (Brand President), this role is classified as a CUK06, offered as a full‑time position, on a permanent basis, with hybrid working including up to two days from home.

Read our employee experience guide to learn more about life as a Carnival UK colleague.

We offer a dynamic and inclusive workplace where your work makes a real impact. Beyond competitive salaries and benefits, here’s what we offer:

• Employee Discounted Cruising plus Friends and Family offers
• Extensive learning and development opportunities
• Recognition scheme with prizes and awards
• Minimum 25 days leave, bank holiday allowance and holiday trading scheme
• Employee Assistance and Wellbeing programmes
• Contributory Defined Contribution Pension scheme
• Company paid Health Cash Plan and health assessment
• Life Assurance
• Parental and adoption leave
• Employee Shares Plan
• Electric Car and Cycle to Work schemes
• Onsite restaurant offering healthy meals
• Discounted retail and leisure via discounts portal
• A friendly welcome with help settling in
• Regular office events including live entertainment, lifestyle events and charity partner fundraisers
• Employee‑led networks
• In‑house Occupational Health help and access to digital GP

Application Note

Given the opportunities we provide, we encourage prompt applications. We are committed to finding the right blend of talent and passion, and our recruitment process may close earlier than advertised for roles with high applicant volumes.

Don't miss this chance to leverage your accounting qualifications in a role where you can truly shine. Apply today and let’s explore how your skills and ambitions align with our opportunities!

Recruitment Journey

For more information on your recruitment journey, please visit https://bit.ly/CUKCandidateJourney.

#CUK

About Us

Holidays are one of life’s greatest pleasures. Having the chance to relax, escape and explore is a magical thing. And there is no better holiday than a cruise.

No one knows cruising like Carnival UK, where talented people from across the globe come together to create unforgettable holiday happiness. As part of the world’s largest holiday travel and leisure company, we take enormous pride in bringing to life two of the most iconic brands from Britain’s rich seafaring heritage, P&O Cruises and Cunard. Collectively they have been delivering unbridled joy, boundless adventure and lifelong memories to millions of people for over 350 years. And in a multi‑million pound global holiday market, where cruising has barely scratched the surface, we have the opportunity to do that for many, many more people.

Our diverse yet tight knit teams share high standards, heartfelt values and passion for our purpose. Our Culture Essentials describe the expectations we have for ourselves and of each other, in building a culture that supports safe, sustainable, compliant operations and celebrates diversity, equity and inclusion.

It’s through the successful delivery of these extraordinary travel experiences for our target markets and our distinctive culture, that we hope to become Travel’s Employer of Choice.

About The Team

The Cunard Sales and Marketing team are instrumental in the success of Cunard and our aim to be the benchmark of luxury travel. Our marketing teams maximize opportunity and create focused, meaningful communications that help to grow existing audiences as well as appealing to new ones. We have experts across advertising, CRM, brand, PR, digital, loyalty and the creative studio who work together collaboratively to create unforgettable holiday happiness. Our sales teams develop and grow partnerships ensuring they have the finest knowledge of our products. Our teams also manage sales communications, systems, and events to provide the best tools and support, ensuring that our travel trade partners are at the centre of all that we do. In addition to supporting travel agents, the sales team provide support to a team of ship based sales managers and work with third parties to find new routes to market for our brand.

Join us on our journey - apply now.