Director of Trade Engagement

MSC Cruises•Fort Lauderdale, FL

About The Position

MSC Cruises, the world’s third largest cruise line is expanding its commercial team in the USA. Reporting to the SVP, Trade Sales, the Director of Trade Engagement will lead the overall trade sales engagement strategy and execution with the goal of increasing trade sales revenue and profitability. This role will also serve as a key overall support for the SVP, Trade Sales.

Requirements

7+ years experience in travel / hospitality industry, cruise preferred, specifically engaging with the trade
Bachelor’s degree in business, Economics or other relevant subject, MBA preferred
Strong critical thinking and analytics skills – ability to gather and use data to drive insights and recommendations
Advanced project management skills and background in managing complex calendar of trade events and related budget
Data-centric approach to trade engagement, proven background in tracking KPIs and adjusting strategy based on insight from regular reporting
Demonstrable experience of driving trade communications strategy, both internal and external
Well versed in Salesforce (or similar) and background in maximizing its use to increase impactful outreach to trade
Accustomed to working closely with internal business partners in Marketing, PR, Revenue Management and Contact Center to maximize effectiveness of trade engagement
Exceptional communication skills and confident liaising with senior stakeholders both internally and externally
US Passport or US Permanent Resident

Responsibilities

Lead the trade engagement team responsible for events, training and overall engagement strategies
Develop effective communications strategy in partnership with sales executives and PR / Communications team to deliver meaningful information and sound bites to drive travel advisor awareness and engagement via press releases, webinars, owned channels, etc.
Develop and execute training strategy to increase understanding of MSC Cruises’ brand and how to leverage MSC Cruises’ tools for both internal sales team and external trade partners
Lead strategic framework and development of key presentations, decks and materials to support events and key meetings
Manage events calendar and budget and lead the strategy surrounding MSC Cruises’ presence at trade shows and other large events including ship inaugurals and advisory board meetings
Partner with marketing on meaningful trade brand messaging strategy and event materials, toolkits and collateral
Leverage MSC Cruises owned B2B channels including emails list, and social media pages to drive engagement and business results
Develop asset library of impactful sales presentations (PowerPoint) for use by field / trade sales team at seminars etc.
Develop dashboards to track trade-related KPIs to include impressions, touchpoints, sentiment, productivity etc.
Develop strategies to grow trade marketing database and social media communities
Operate as internal communications lead for all items related to MSC’s trade engagement in the USA and ensuring all teams are aligned with the company’s trade strategy.