Tour Operator Product Director

Travel Trade Recruitment Limited; Gloucester; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job description

Leading established multi-brand Tour Operator, based in the South Midlands, has an exciting opportunity for a Senior Travel Product Professional to join them as their Product Director. This is a real opportunity to not just continue the success of these travel brands, but to have a meaningful impact on their future product strategy and product development. Product focus is primarily group tours and European, so a Product Director with experience of the nuances of this kind of travel would best suit this opportunity. This is a Senior role with a salary to match, but with much dependent on experience and expectation. This is a hybrid role, and would suit someone prepared to relocate to enable 3 days in the office per week, or it is commutable from locations including Bristol, Birmingham, Swindon and Oxford.

JOB DESCRIPTION:

Reporting to the CEO, you will lead the development of distinctive, high-margin products that maintain our brand heritage while attracting new customers. Success in this role means increasing our Average Selling Price, growing revenue and market share, and delivering exceptional customer experiences through streamlined, efficient operations across both domestic and international offerings.

Strategic Leadership

1. Develop and deliver the product strategy and volume plan in line with the overall Strategic Plan, driving revenue growth and increasing ASP across all brands.
2. Lead and develop the Product and Operations' teams to deliver high-performing products that position us as a leader in the silver traveller market.
3. Analyse competitor offerings, customer preferences, and emerging travel trends to identify opportunities for market share growth.

Product Development

1. Design interesting, experiential, and distinctive itineraries across all brands that drive customer engagement and sales.
2. Review existing product offerings to ensure they continue to meet customer needs and deliver on commercial requirements.
3. Enhance our domestic and international product portfolio to create travel experiences that command competitive pricing with strong margins.
4. Conduct regular competitor analysis to identify market gaps and opportunities for differentiation.

Commercial Management

1. Ensure product contracting levels are in line with budget aspirations and negotiate optimal commercial terms across all product elements.
2. Work closely with the Finance team to ensure accurate and timely reporting of all product costs to maintain margins that deliver the budget.
3. Collaborate with the Commercial team on creating effective product briefs, including sales focus, consolidations, and inventory management.
4. Monitor sales performance for each product category and make timely, data-driven recommendations to achieve sales targets.

Operational Excellence

1. Ensure efficient administration processes for transport, accommodation, and tour activities while maintaining high levels of customer service.
2. Manage and oversee the Product Managers, Contracting and Operational teams, driving optimal team performance.
3. Ensure all customer-facing staff and contractors have the right skills and tools to deliver contractual terms and SLAs.
4. Working with the Customer team, actively utilise customer feedback to improve products and inform future product development.
5. Oversee Customer Health & Safety compliance across all products and operational areas.

Supplier & Stakeholder Management

1. Build and maintain effective supplier relationships to secure competitive rates and high-quality service delivery.
2. Implement standardised contracting approaches to ensure consistent service levels and favourable terms.
3. Create buy-in for the product vision internally and externally, ensuring sales teams are equipped to sell effectively.
4. Represent the company at trade events and actively network within the travel industry to promote our brands and source new opportunities.

EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

The ideal candidate will have Senior Product experience from a Tour Operator, ideally with experience of European Group Travel. You will have strong leadership skills, with a solid background in service delivery, with a key focus on overall customer experience and a continual drive on operational and process efficiencies. Commercially minded with experience of driving growth through innovative product development, we are looking for someone who has demonstrated the ability to identify competitive advantages, translating them into product features that drive customer preference and ultimately, market share gains.

THE PACKAGE:

As a Senior level position you can expect this to be a highly competitive salary and benefits package, but it is confidential at this stage and your experience, current salaries, and salary expectations.

INTERESTED?

Please follow the instructions to apply attaching your CV. This vacancy is being managed by Claire Muge. I can be contacted on (phone number removed) or Not right for this role, or this role not right for you, but keen to further your career in the Travel Industry! We have a variety of different opportunities so do submit your CV to us! Unfortunately if you are unsuccessful, due to our volume of applications, we are unable to reply to everyone individually.

Job Info

Job Title: Tour Operator Product Director

Company:

Location:

Competitive

Posted: Apr 16th 2025

Closes: May 17th 2025

Sector: Other

Contract: Permanent

Hours: Full Time

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