Manager, Travel Partners

AAA Mountain West Group • Walnut Creek, CA

2d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Manager, Travel Partners oversees core travel partnerships, including tour and cruise providers, as well as emerging partnerships across destination, hotel, airline, and other growth-opportunity sectors. Reporting to the Director, Travel Product & Partnerships, the Manager drives annual business outcomes, executes partner initiatives, and maximizes partnership investments in alignment with organizational performance goals. The role works with internal teams such as Sales, Travel Marketing, and Operations, as well as external creative agencies, to oversee partner relations, campaign execution, and cooperative promotional strategies. The Manager also supervises assigned Product Specialists and supports effective operations and team productivity.

This is a hybrid role requiring three days per week onsite at the Walnut Creek, California office.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field or equivalent work experience.
• At least 5 years of experience in a service environment with project management and operations experience.
• At least 2 years of experience in the travel industry.
• At least 2 years of direct people-management experience.
• Background managing travel-provider partnerships across airlines, hotels, tour operators, and cruise lines, with expertise in enhancing end-to-end member travel experiences.
• Strong analytical skills, including the ability to identify market trends, interpret data, and translate insights into marketing tactics that support sales goals.
• Strong interpersonal, negotiation, written, and verbal communication skills, including the ability to maintain professional partner relationships and present to all management levels.
• Demonstrated people-management ability, including improving team productivity and fostering a collaborative work environment.
• Ability to adapt to industry changes, evolving vendor partnerships, and shifting member demographics.
• Proficiency with standard business tools, including Microsoft Office Suite.

Nice To Haves

• Eight or more years of dedicated project-management experience.
• Prior experience in the cruise or hospitality sectors.
• Four to six years of experience in the travel sector.

Responsibilities

• Manage day-to-day operations and annual strategic plans for priority and emerging travel partnerships across tour, cruise, hotel, airline, and destination categories.
• Identify partnership positioning opportunities and cooperative investments across product verticals.
• Collaborate with the Director of Partnerships to onboard destination partners and manage ongoing partner relationships.
• Develop cooperative marketing, brand-awareness, and member-benefit promotional opportunities to drive results from partner investments.
• Coordinate with Travel Marketing on partner needs, upcoming offers, marketing agreements, and override opportunities.
• Develop promotional offer ideas for internal and external use.
• Work with fellow Product Managers to identify multi-category promotional opportunities within larger campaigns.
• Conduct quarterly business reviews and monthly meetings with key preferred and emerging partners to review marketing execution, sales figures, campaign opportunities, agent incentives, and pain points.
• Maintain regular communication with priority partners and internal stakeholders to maximize financial returns, meet Club goals, and fulfill supplier agreements.
• Participate in cross-functional teams with Sales, Travel Marketing, and Operations to deliver strategic partnership objectives.
• Manage and direct the daily responsibilities of assigned Product Specialists to support effective execution and team productivity.
• Track priority partner sales reports and annual override projections, monitor KPIs, and deploy upcoming promotions.
• Prepare and present regular project status reports to stakeholders, including senior management.
• Monitor the competitive landscape and recommend partnerships and growth opportunities that support organizational goals.

Benefits

• Opportunity to participate in a discretionary annual incentive plan or other incentive plans, depending on position.
• 401(k) with a dollar-for-dollar company match up to 6% of eligible earnings per pay period.
• Medical, dental, and vision benefits.
• Wellness program.
• Paid holidays.
• Paid time off accrued monthly.
• Depending on position, an additional 24 hours per year for volunteer activities.
• Free AAA Classic Membership.
• AAA product discounts.
• Tuition reimbursement program.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager