Product and Operations Manager

A successful villa company based in shop premises along an award-winning High Street in North London is looking for an experienced Product and Operations Manager to manage relationships with suppliers in key geographical locations. Reporting to the Managing Director, the successful candidate would manage the Product and Operations activities of the company and would have worked/would be working within a similar position preferably within the travel industry.

The ideal candidate will be confident in using their knowledge of the travel and tourism industry to maintain and build a commercially successful product portfolio. Major requirements of the role include: planning and managing key projects focused on growing the Authentic Villa Holidays brand and developing further the Croatian Villas brand, hitting product targets across all brands and destinations and managing all product and operations activity including availability updates, arrival instructions and supplier communication. This is a result-orientated position.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage and lead the Product Department.Creating and maintaining supplier relationships
• Tactically negotiate contracts and rates ensuring all prices remain competitive. You will be contracting new properties across a range of destinations to meet quality, quantity and revenue-based targets.
• Pro-actively search for new villa owners/partners to work with.
• Responsible for contracting of other products and holiday programmes (car hire, boat rental, yoga holidays, group holidays etc).
• Analysing, develop, diversify, expand and strengthen the Authentic Villa Holidays product portfolio including carrying out a feasibility study to develop new markets.
• Produce a rolling 6, 12 and 18 month plan for Product Development for new countries and regions. This needs to be updated monthly.
• Carry out research and present new destinations backed up with figures and statistics.
• Responsible for co-ordination of new destinations.
• Produce reports on a weekly and monthly basis.
• Maintain and update contracts, products and supplier details on in-house systems.
• Loading product including writing copy, sourcing and editing images and maintaining full accuracy across descriptions, pricing etc.
• Oversee photography of properties and areas for product marketing.
• Able to delegate and oversee the work of other permanent/temporary or contracted staff whether they work on site or offsite
• Work closely with the sales team including training, updating and assisting with any queries.
• Involvement with newsletters, leaflets and e-marketing including social media to ensure optimum product exposure
• Negotiate promotions, early booking discounts, seasonal offers, value ads/tactical offers, securing marketing funds, tie ins with tourist boards and other complementary businesses.
• Ensure all product is presented accurately and at least once a year, every detail on each product page is thoroughly checked to ensure any changes have been updated.
• Conduct Competitor analysis for marketing and price parity.
• As part of a boutique shop, product promotion within the shop will be required.

Reporting and Targets

• Meet set targets on a daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis and produce figures and reports on a similar basis.
• Financial analysis reports to be carried out on every out of office trip.
• Action to be taken in under-performing areas

Operations

Overseeing and Managing the following operational duties.

• Updating and maintaining availability.
• Pre-departure administration including creating and dispatching customer itineraries, vouchers and driving instructions.
• Liaising with the reservations department for after-sales support for customers and suppliers.
• Amending and reissuing customer documentation where required.
• After-sales support for customers and suppliers.
• Data entry.

PR

• Work with marketing to liaise with journalists /social media contacts and prepare product/offers for potential inclusion in media/promotion or organize a journalist trip.
• The High Street is very active in the promotion of the street to the local and wider community and you would be required to assist with promotion of the street where applicable to Product.

This above list is not exhaustive

Periodically there will be a requirement to work during the evenings/weekends to attend events, conferences, overseas trips

Skills and Experience

• Dynamic Individual
• Previous experience in a product role within the travel industry.
• Creative writing, editing and proof-reading skills.
• Strong MS Excel experience
• Enthusiastic with a self-motivated outlook.
• Natural networker and communicator on email and phone and in person
• Commercially astute, curious with proven negotiating skills, preferably gained within the villa industry.
• Must be able to produce relevant original well written copy quickly as well as come up with eye catching sales headlines. Excellent verbal and written skills
• Highly numerate with strong analytical and administrative skills.
• Has the ability to maximise all given opportunities
• Driving license is essential, as is the ability to travel to European destinations.
• Accuracy and attention to detail essential
• Proven ability to multitask and work well under pressure.
• Graduate calibre, ideally Degree qualified
• Able to bring contacts for key destinations within our portfolio. – Desirable
• Photography skills including photo editing. – Desirable

This is a fantastic opportunity for a motivated Product and Operations Manager with travel industry experience to join a highly regarded villa holiday lettings company during the next stage of its growth. Foreign travel is an essential element of this role, as the position requires regular contracting, photography and product sourcing trips abroad.

Interested?

To apply to this role, please send your covering letter and CV by email to tara@authenticvillaholidays.com