Director - Shore Excursions USA

MSC Cruises•Fort Lauderdale, FL

About The Position

The Shore Excursion Director - US is responsible for leading MSC Cruises excursions Product Development and Operations for all North America Vessels. Among his/her tasks, the Director oversees strategic planning and bidding for the appointment of tour operators, operational delivery & quality consistency in all ports of call, and ensuring that the US team achieves its annual organizational goals. Responsible for the MSC Product development and Shore Excursions Manager teams locally, this role also involves (i) developing teams / personnel, (ii) implementing strategies, products, and onboard operations which enhance the guest experience, (iii) driving revenues, while concurrently improving profitability & efficiency, and (iv) ensuring compliance with all relevant regulations and standards.

Requirements

English - fluent, written and spoken. Ability to speak additional languages such as Italian, Spanish, French or German is preferred.
Minimum of 10 years of managerial & cruise industry experience.
Effective management skills in a multicultural and dynamic environment.
Strong communication, problem solving, decision making, and interpersonal skills.
Strong planning, coaching, organizing, staffing, controlling, and evaluation skills.
Bachelor’s degree in hospitality management, business administration or related field from an accredited college or university, or equivalent international degree.
Advanced computer software skills required, including strong knowledge of Microsoft Office tools.
This position involves 30% travel time.
US Passport or US Permanent Resident

Nice To Haves

Ability to speak additional languages such as Italian, Spanish, French or German is preferred.

Responsibilities

Budget definition and achievement: Achieve or exceed Shore Excursion revenue and cost-of-sales objectives, per established targets.
Quality Execution and NPS growth for Shorex: responsible to achieve or exceed guest quality standards and ratings for Shore Excursions, consistent with department and company goals; recommend methods to improve the quality of the program as needed.
Product Management & Development
Supervising the procurement of new tours - via periodical bids - to determine the local Operators with the best cost-effectiveness and highest quality standards, in coordination with Shore Excursions Product development teams.
Monitor the performance of Shore excursions, ensuring delivery of a guest experience which is consistent with both the tour description and guest expectations.
Collaborate with the Corporate Shore Excursion Business Analyst and Corporate Tour Manager team to (i) determine optimal selling prices and (ii) ensure cost containment to meet budgeted revenue targets, by developing a year over year analysis containing pricing, tour mix, inventory, and historical sales.
Ensure that the shore excursions programs are in line with company requirements, tracking results together with Shore excursions Customer experience Manager. Review and investigate the root causes of high priority problem issues; implement processes to reduce the risk of similar issues in the future and to ensure a culture of continuous improvement.
Monitor and regularly assess prepaid bookings. Lead the team responsible for managing inventory of available tours on a cruise-by-cruise basis, and make recommendations to increase pre-cruise sales and penetration.
Operation handling
Lead all operational processes, weekly meetings and special projects between the various shoreside and shipboard teams.
In collaboration with vessels and tour operators, work with Corporate Tour Managers & Operational offices to solve operational issues, including but not limited to guest accidents, guest service issues, last-minute program revision, cancellation or changes in ports of call.