Travel Edge is the largest luxury-focused travel agency in North America with over 750 advisors, planners and travel experts specializing in Leisure, Corporate & Events travel. At Travel Edge we believe in the power of travel, our people, the technology they use, and giving back to the communities in which we operate. Our luxury advisors are at the core of everything we do and specialize in air, hotel, cruise, tours, and VIP travel, where our Corporate Travel Consultants are the experts in providing tailored, full-service travel management solutions to our business clients.
We are a team of travel curators who genuinely believe that any travel—whether it is a flight or a once-in-a-lifetime tour—expands people’s horizons. We sell the world, but we don’t sell pre-packaged vacations. Every trip is thoughtfully curated and personalized to match our customers’ needs. They are looked after by real people, professionals in their field who we proudly call Personal Travel Designers. Our Designers love to travel, are entrepreneurial, and care about the little details that make every trip special.
They lead fascinating lives anchored in constant education. They forge lasting relationships with their customers, members of the industry and find themselves part of a strong community.
Job Description
Based in North America (ideally Toronto), the Vice President, Travel Edge Retail will lead and oversee all aspects of our retail operations, driving growth and profitability. The VP, Travel Edge Retail will be responsible for the end-to-end sales operations, including the opening of a store, training, technology, client experience, and employee engagement. The ideal candidate will have solid experience in strategic leadership, sales team management, retail store operations, and the ability to create and lead high performing teams within a lean, start up, entrepreneurial environment.
Key Responsibilities
Sales Leadership and Management
- Set clear sales targets and performance metrics, and drive accountability across the team, while fostering a culture of excellence, collaboration, and continuous improvement
- Achieve sales training objectives by developing, implementing, and managing ongoing sales training programs that enable staff to achieve their potential and drive productivity, quality, employee engagement, satisfaction, and retention results.
- Develop and implement sales strategies and promotional activities to drive store traffic and sales
- Partner with Marketing, build a rhythm that allows for repeat customers to form the backbone of the business
Operations and Store Management
- Oversee the planning and execution of store openings, including site selection, store design, and staffing.
- Drive down the cost of acquiring new accounts for the business;
- Work collaboratively with sister companies within Navigatr division, where the opportunity arises/demands
- Collaborate with the marketing team to execute local marketing campaigns and promotions.
- Ensure effective visual merchandising and store layout to enhance product presentation and drive sales.
Technology
- Leverage retail technology and data analytics to optimize sales processes and store operations.
- Explore and implement new tools and systems that can enhance sales performance and customer engagement.
Customer Centric
- Monitor performance and customer feedback, making data-driven decisions to enhance service delivery and operational efficiency.
- Analyze customer feedback from various sources to quickly identify opportunities for improvement with the development of a project plan/roadmap for achievement.
- Lead and drive a customer focused culture, in collaboration with other key functional partners, to drive efficiencies and improve customer experience.
- Use NPS and other customer feedback to gain insights on how to improve the customer experience and ensure the overall effectiveness of the team with the goal of driving innovation and continuous improvement.
- Work closely with multi-level customer contacts (sales team, vendor partners, client, agent) to answer questions, resolve problems and recommend corrective actions where needed to address escalated situations.
Financial Management
- Develop and manage departmental budgets in partnership with Finance and Strategy team
- Develop strategies to drive revenue growth
- Implement cost control measures to improve profitability without compromising quality or operational efficiency.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree and/or associated industry or related business experience.
- 10+ years progressive leadership experience with demonstrated ability to drive revenue growth, streamline operations and improve profitability.
- Management experience leading cross-functional teams. Ability to collaborate and enable teams to work toward a common goal, both internally and externally.
- Experience in a premium/luxury service business. Ability to bring a clear sense of style and brand consistency to our premium and luxury product.
- Demonstrated experience working with external partners / suppliers to drive sales and revenue growth.
- Demonstrated ability to think strategically yet maintain contact with day-to-day performance.
- Proven track record of executive leadership experience in the travel industry, with a strong emphasis on business development, strategic planning, and operational management.
- Deep understanding of travel trends, market dynamics, and competitive landscape.
- Empathetic and effective change agent, who shares information openly, broadly and deliberately in a collegial and engaged environment.
- Not risk averse, ability to try new approaches, accept and acknowledge areas for improvement, refine and iterate
- Exceptional interpersonal, communication, and negotiation skills.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
- Demonstrated ability to inspire and motivate teams to achieve ambitious goals.
- Strategic thinker with a results-oriented mindset and a passion for excellence.
Cultural Fit:
- Thrives working in a technology and KPI-driven organization.
- Able to thrive in an entrepreneurial environment with ambiguity.
- Highly functional in a fast paced, constantly changing workplace - building plans through iterations from learning on what’s working and not working.
- Hands on with high energy, an entrepreneurial spirit, and a positive attitude.
- Low ego and a team player.
We thank all candidates for their interest however only those selected for an interview will be contacted.
