Lead Community Tourism Development Specialist

Greater Western Chapter, Travel and Tourism Research Association (GWTTRA); Saint Paul (MN); On-site; USD 75,000 - 83,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Tuition benefits

Public service loan forgiveness (PSLF)

Transit benefits

Comprehensive benefits package

Job summary

The University of Minnesota Tourism Center invites applications for a Community Tourism Development (CTD) Specialist to lead the CTD portfolio, develop a Center AoE, and advance research-driven programs that serve Minnesota communities. The role emphasizes community coaching, partnerships, and externally funded scholarship.

Located on the St. Paul campus with a flexible schedule and occasional travel, the specialist will report to the Tourism Center director and work across Extension and campus

Qualifications

• Master's degree, at time of application, in tourism, community development, or a related field.
• Two years of professional experience in designing, developing, and delivering CTD programming and community coaching.
• Ability to apply research to program design, delivery, and evaluation.
• Proven ability to develop and maintain effective relationships with stakeholders, communities, colleagues, partners, and participants.
• Experience in applying for external resources to support programs and applied research, including grants, fee-for-service, third party reimbursement, and other means.
• Ability to design, implement and report on community-based applied research to help communities inform their decisions and meet their challenges.
• Demonstrated ability to use technology for communication, information gathering, research, program delivery and reporting.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English.

Responsibilities

• Lead the CTD work portfolio at the Tourism Center and collaborate across departments and external partners.
• Develop, implement, and share applied CTD research to inform program development.
• Build an Area of Excellence (AoE) in CTD to align Educators with community CTD needs.
• Collaborate to set annual goals, evaluate outcomes, and report progress for academic promotion.
• Support public relations and marketing for the Tourism Center and engage with professional networks.

Skills

Communication

Relationship building

Applied research

Research translation

Grant writing

Tech proficiency

CTD programming

Education

Master's degree in tourism or related field

D. in tourism or related field (preferred)

Tools

Google

Microsoft Office

Job description

The University of Minnesota Tourism Center invites applications for a Community Tourism Development (CTD) Specialist to lead the CTD portfolio, develop a Center AoE, and advance research-driven programs that serve Minnesota communities. The role emphasizes community coaching, partnerships, and externally funded scholarship.

Located on the St. Paul campus with a flexible schedule and occasional travel, the specialist will report to the Tourism Center director and work across Extension and campus