Business Development Manager Northern California

HX Expeditions; Seattle (WA); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employer-paid Medical, Vision, Dental

Retirement with 4% match

11 paid Holidays

3 weeks Vacation

9 personal days

Familiarization trips

Employee discounts

Job summary

HX Expeditions in Seattle is seeking a Business Development Manager responsible for generating sales from travel advisors and maintaining relationships within the travel industry. The ideal candidate will have over 5 years of sales experience, strong communication abilities, and proficiency in Salesforce.

This position offers a salary of $90K to $95K annually, alongside a comprehensive benefits package including health insurance, retirement matching, paid holidays, and employee discounts.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in sales or business development, preferably in travel.
• Fluency in English is necessary.
• Experience in maritime or cruise industry beneficial.

Responsibilities

• Generate sales from travel advisors and wholesalers.
• Develop strong relationships with travel agencies.
• Achieve established revenue goals.

Skills

Sales experience

Account management

Relationship-building

Presentation skills

Commercial acumen

Communication skills

Proficiency in Salesforce

Proficiency in MS Office

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience

Job description

Overview

At HX our purpose is to awaken people to the beauty and fragility of the planet, with adventure that reignites a sense of wonder. We take curious travelers to incredible destinations, sustainably in true expedition‑style with science and education at the heart of every journey. We bring them off the beaten track, to special destinations across the Arctic, Antarctic, Galapagos, British Isles, Alaska, Northern Norway, and Central / South America.

The Business Development Manager is responsible for maintaining and servicing current travel advisors and securing new travel advisors for the company, by creating and maintaining good customer relations. This role is also responsible for providing travel advisors with brand story, product promotions, and the marketing and selling of company products. At HX, we are a passionate team who deliver our global operations from every corner of the world and our people are instrumental in continuing to inspire this adventure, play their part and deliver on our promise of guest‑centric and memorable experiences, benefiting the communities we visit, enriching our guests and inspiring a more sustainable world.

Key Responsibilities & Deliverables

• Generates sales from travel advisors, wholesalers, and group focused accounts in the assigned territory.
• Develops strong relationships with travel agencies throughout the assigned region.
• Develops new business opportunities, maintains, and enhances relationships with all new and existing travel advisors assigned.
• Achieves established revenue goals within budget.
• Oversees all sales of company products through face‑to‑face contact, mailings, telemarketing projects, group training seminars, product presentations, and trade shows focused on current and prospective travel agents, consortia, and group contacts and tour organizers.
• Delivers timely customer service to all product inquiries, collateral, and co‑op requests.
• Initiates activities to motivate travel advisors to sell HX products.
• Gives, receives, and analyses information, formulates work plans, and prepares written materials, and articulates goals and action plans.
• Exhibits strong negotiation skills.
• Counsels and sells all appropriate company programs, products, and services to assigned travel advisor territory.
• Communicates with management as required or needed.
• Strives to attain all goals and objectives as outlined by Sales Director.
• Maintains a regular call schedule, with daily customer contact, and manages the territory assigned to enhance sales and profitability of the company.
• Markets new programs, and instructs travel advisors on industry or company changes, as well as training of new products.
• Provides management with field knowledge and examples of competitive programs, services, sales techniques, and products to enhance our company offerings.
• Must be able to travel within all of territory.
• Performs other duties as requested.

Requirements

• 5+ years in sales, account management, or business development (travel industry preferred).
• Fluency in English is required.
• Experience in maritime, expedition, or cruise industry beneficial but not required.
• Demonstrated success managing partner portfolios.
• Excellent relationship‑building, communication, and presentation skills.
• Strong commercial acumen and experience in forecasting, co‑op planning, and contract execution.
• High proficiency in Salesforce, MS Office, webinar platforms, and digital communication tools.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience required.
• Clear and conceptual thinking ability is a plus.
• Excellent judgment and discretion; ability to handle multiple priorities simultaneously, meet deadlines, and handle work‑related stress is required.
• Friendly, courteous, service‑oriented, professional, outgoing, and customer service oriented.
• Remains calm and professional in stressful situations.
• Detail‑oriented and work effectively under pressure while meeting all applicable deadlines.
• Must be able to work independently and productively with minimum supervision.
• Recognizes problems, identifies possible causes, and resolves routine problems.
• Ability to establish and maintain professional atmosphere for employees, clients, and customers.
• Able to work a flexible schedule to include weekends and evenings to cover trade events and sales presentations.
• Excellent presentation skills and public speaking skills.
• Demonstrated ability to forecast sales.
• Must understand and follow implicit instructions and react favorable in all work situations.
• Must be adaptable and flexible in dealing with a variety of personalities, is frequently called upon to handle difficult situations.
• Must be able to handle conflict and represent company in a professional manner.
• Must be able to travel for partner business meetings, conferences and expos.
• Must live in the territory (Northern California).
• Must have a reliable transportation vehicle.
• Tech‑forward and adaptable, with a proven ability to quickly learn new systems.
• Proficiency in MS Office applications including Outlook, PowerPoint, Word, and Excel.
• Experience working in a multi‑national organization with a global guest mix.

Key Personal Attributes / Behavioral Competencies

• Safety and Compliance minded for yourself and others.
• High degree of personal integrity and honesty.
• Passionate about inclusion and belonging. You take pride in bringing people and different perspectives together to promote a diverse and inclusive workplace.
• Clear and effective communication with internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to manage execution and competing demands.
• Ability to adapt to change in a positive, productive manner.
• Approach work with an emphasis on attention to detail and accuracy to minimize mistakes.
• Effective & confident communication skills.
• Effective problem solving, conflict resolution, networking, continuous improvement, and technical aptitudes.
• Ability to work in an organized and logical manner with the flexibility to adapt to change when necessary.
• Strong sense of initiative and urgency, with the ability to follow‑up on outstanding matters efficiently.
• Demonstrates pride and ownership in all aspects of your work, from high level advisory to essential day‑to‑day administration.
• Demonstrated polish and professionalism at all times when engaging with leaders and team members with differing points of view.

Benefits

Salary for this position is $90K to $95k USD annually plus Sales Incentive Plan. HX provides an excellent benefits package which includes competitive compensation, employer‑paid Medical, Vision, Dental, EAP, Retirement with 4% match, 11 paid Holidays, Vacation 3 weeks, 9 personal days, familiarization trips, and excellent employee discounts.