Manager, Discovery & Innovation, Product Development

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd•Miami, FL

46d•Onsite

About The Position

Based in Miami, FL and reporting to the Director of Product Development, the Manager of Discovery & Innovation will lead a high-performance team that is responsible for all concept development efforts for Celebrity Cruises. This role will be responsible for providing leadership over the team that defines the innovation strategy and develops concepts that directly respond to consumer insights, understands white space to innovate, and defines what’s next in terms of the vacation experience while strengthening the equity of the brand. This person will also lead and influence cross-functional teams across the organization to gain alignment and gain buy-in from executives. The ideal candidate will possess a combination of strategic and creative thinking as well as strong analytical, written and verbal communication, storytelling, and presentation skills. This role requires that the candidate have a proven track record of leading teams through ideation and design of guest experience products.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree required; MBA preferred
8+ years business, product/brand marketing or strategy experience
8+ years of experience in the hospitality/consumer product
Past management experience leading multiple teams
Strong creative thinking with ability to develop innovative ideas and creative problem solutions
Ability to apply strong analytical, conceptual and strategic thinking
Experience developing strategic framework and design experience concepts
Ability to grasp the complexities of the business to effectively translate that into a strategy
Ability to analyze data and research results to make recommendations
Able to manage and prioritize multiple projects simultaneously
Experience in managing internal and/or cross functional teams
Ability to assemble, lead and influence cross functional teams to develop strategies that include input and buy-in from all stakeholders
Proven ability to collaborate with others, plus the ability to build strong and sustainable relationships, and the capability to interact with all levels of the organization
Willingness to take personal initiative
Deep knowledge and extensive track record in leading teams in the development of vacation experience concepts
Strong business acumen
Strong storytelling and presentation skills, experience presenting to executive leadership
Candidate must possess strong written and oral communication skills, including the ability to communicate effectively at the senior most executive levels of a company
Attention to detail and follow-through
Strong key computer skills (Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook)

Responsibilities

Lead a team of professionals responsible for concept development and innovation.
Define strategy of concepts creation to be grounded in consumer insights and latter up to the brand promise.
Create process for the development of innovative ideas that surprise and delight and create for differentiated and superior experiences.
Partner with the Consumer Insights & Analytics leadership to align on learning and research plans and overcome barriers in order to strengthen the equity of the brand and deliver exceptional consumer experiences supporting Celebrity’s long-term strategy.
Identify clear short and long-term concept development roadmaps and strategies.
Partner cross functionally to gain alignment on concepts and strategic vision/direction.
Foster a highly collaborative cross functional team, where cross-discipline dynamic communication is paramount to success. Partner with newbuild, operations, strategy, analytics, and product development, to socialize design guidelines and strategic vision.
Design and establish seamless approval process with senior leadership, marketing, operations, and architects.
Build and develop the critical thinking and concept development skills of team members.
Develop audit tools and processes to ensure concepts keep their essence and magic over time.
Ensure concepts are marketable, drive satisfaction and revenue.
Build consistency of signature concepts across the fleet.
Identify synergies across projects to maximize resources and create best in class experiences.
Take approved concept strategies and business cases and own them through launch — breaking them into detailed, actionable plans and driving cross-functional execution to achieve the north star vision as fully as possible.
Leads all aspects from experience ideation, development, documentation, and execution with cross-functional partners including, but not limited to, Design, Operations, F&B, Entertainment, Onboard Revenue, Revenue Management, Marketing, Finance, Procurement, Legal, etc.
Create guest experience briefs and playbooks (in the form of detailed presentations) outlining the detailed guest journey and direction on each component needed to bring the vision to life. Creative thinking, strong storytelling, attention to detail and a data-driven approach are essential the successful delivery of this work.
Serves as the primary source of the product vision and requirements for leadership, partners and stakeholders, ensuring they have a deep understanding of the indented guest experience.
Partner with our cross-function teams to define the requirements needed to deliver the ambition and ensure every need to support the experience is being accounted for throughout the development execution.
Work with our partners to assess the operational, technical and financial feasibility of the product, identify solutions to address any feasibility challenges, and drive the forums and material creation to gain alignment on the way forward – balancing experience, operations and business needs.
Identify opportunities throughout the development process to further the products being created.
Lead the documentation, review and approvals of briefs and any support material throughout the development process.
Understands and delivers to the project management framework such as communicating changes and updates or priority shifts to cross-functional teams while keeping their direct management up to speed on progress with regular pro-active check points.
Work closely with operations and design teams on run-of-show events to showcase programming and ensure the guest experience will be delivered in line with the product vision.
Collaborate with Marketing, Public Relations, and Revenue Management to ensure the latest information is accurately depicted in the brand’s communication and systems.
Establish startup plans and training materials to ensure each concept/experience is flawlessly executed.
Tracks and monitors startup plans by developing training materials, SOPs or playbooks to ensure each concept/experience is flawlessly executed onboard our ships.
Ensure onboard and onshore product delivery is consistent with the vision and playbooks of new products.
Own and manage the product and experience audit and post-delivery success monitoring of new products and experiences.
Lead the efforts to ensure the product standards, practices, and experience design guidelines of the product are consistent across the brand.
Defines success criteria for products and experiences and coordinates post-delivery audit of the product through metrics and KPI. Willing to travel up to 20% of time onboard ships or shipyard.
Support the process and governance for guest facing product changes in line with the Operational Excellence standard assigned to Product Development.
Responsible for all aspects of personnel management (e.g., hiring, training, and development) of direct reports, if any.
Enhance and evolve the Product Development team direct reports, if any, by coaching and developing the required skills, roles, and responsibilities needed to concept and execute experiences for the brand.