Director, Destination Development

Journey with us! Combine your career goals and sense of adventure by joining our exciting team of employees. Royal Caribbean Group is pleased to offer a competitive compensation & benefits package, and excellent career development opportunities, each offering unique ways to explore the world.

About Us

Royal Caribbean Group is the world’s largest cruise line, having a record-breaking year and launching not one but TWO brand new ships in 2024, including a brand-new class of ship in Icon of the Seas! It couldn’t be a more exciting time to join a global business that is blazing a trail in the travel industry right now.

With our 3 brands Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises & Silversea we have ships in South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and several North American markets beyond our headquarters in Miami, FL. We cover the globe. No matter where our guests want to go, Royal Caribbean Group has a ship that can deliver a world-class vacation.

At Royal Caribbean Group we never rest on our laurels; we constantly strive to improve our work and be at the forefront of the industry. The work that we do is exciting, challenging, and innovative. You get to work both independently and as part of a collaborative and dynamic international team. We are passionate, we are innovative, and we are unstoppable.

This influential leader is responsible for identifying, implementing, and executing strategic development projects and opportunities for EMEA and APAC regions in coordination with Destination Development [DD] and Royal Caribbean Group [RCG] Leadership. The candidate will be accountable for coordinating complex infrastructural projects and securing external approval of the development of projects on behalf of RCG, as well as internal RCG approvals. The candidate will oversee the relationship of a subset of our existing JV partnerships, plan and execute Board of Directors meetings, and ensure the entities maintain RCG guest experience standards. Strong written and verbal communication skills are crucial, as this individual will be tasked with (1) liaising with colleagues from multiple departments and among varying levels of management across the Company to track down key information needed to advance projects, (2) writing memos and preparing executive presentations summarizing information, and (3) leading presentations and negotiations with global corporate and country leaders.

About the role

Essential Duties and Responsibilities: 

• Develop commercial and other business strategies to meet the strategic port development needs of RCG. The Director, in coordination with DD Leadership, will support the execution of commercial strategies by managing relationships with key internal and external stakeholders across the geographical region. The Director will interact with port authorities, trade associations, and other brands in the industry regarding port development issues. Strategic thinking, coordination, communication, negotiation, and business vision are paramount skills to success in this role. The Director will gather intelligence and find win-win opportunities for the partners and governments in the geographic locations that are core to ensuring RCG’s long-term success. 
• Manage infrastructural projects along the phases, from pre-feasibility studies to definitive designs, including RFPs in different geographical areas. The Director will guide local consultants and expert teams required for the execution of projects, including engineers and architects, evaluate the feasibility, viability, and financial sustainability of the project, and interact with local authorities to understand and analyze potential obstacles and risks in the administrative path for obtaining required authorizations. Periodically report on status of advancement of port projects.
• Interact with various internal and external stakeholders to gather critical information to drive projects to completion, including but not limited to Legal, Deployment, Financial, Accounting, Corporate Capital, Destination Development Strategy, Treasury, Government Relations, Corporate Public Affairs, Corporate Communications, Product Development, Marine Operations, and Port Operations to obtain internal alignment and all RCG corporate approvals ahead of document execution.
• Communicate the strategy and deal details to the various RCG stakeholders to ensure preparation, review and execution of various legal documents to memorialize deal negotiation agreements. Exhibit an ability to evaluate various types of legal contracts to extract synthesized key information necessary for negotiations or strategic discussions. 
• Manage assets and implementation in existing JVs. Upon delegation from DD Leadership, the Director will participate in the Board of Directors of that specific entity and will contribute to the management of the asset in coordination with DD Leadership and Corporate Finance. The Director will contribute to providing guidance to local General Managers and Finance teams and local consultants for the application of high-standard management policies and reporting.
• Create and strengthen positive relationships with ports, destinations, government officials, and travel industry partners.
• Provide daily direction and focus while taking the steps necessary to increase market share, pier availability, new terminal capacity, and new business.
• Travel, meet, and engage key stakeholders within the destinations to listen, understand, and assist in addressing the existing challenges. Travel is expected up to 50% each month, depending on a project and business needs.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EDUCATION

• BA/BS Minimum.
• English advanced level. Italian and Spanish are a plus.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience with an international cruise line, development of port infrastructure, development of other infrastructures in EMEA and APAC regions.
• Outstanding oral and written communication, consensus-building, and presentation skills.
• Strong organizational skills and an ability to work independently in a multi-cultural fast-paced environment with multiple projects and priorities. 
• Ability to lead a team and influence individuals of varying levels of management.
• Task-oriented and reliable with an ability to report on status updates and anticipated timelines. 
• A global thinker familiar with different countries and cultures is essential. 
• Ability to read, analyze, and interpret financial reports, general business periodicals, contracts, legal documents, and technical reports.
• Existing network of contacts and established business relationships.
• Strong entrepreneurial spirit.
• Highly motivated and self-initiating

FINANCIAL/QUANTITIVE RESPONSIBILITIES

The business development pipeline will total approximately $1B in port investment projects, including key homeports, key destinations, and private destinations. Potential partnerships and joint agreements may range around $100M-$300M per project. 

Lead (1) overseeing assets and joint ventures under management for the region, including but not limited to review of Board of Director materials and annual financial statements, (2) review and interpret financial models and financial statements, (3) ensuring compliance with annual budgets and forecasts.

INTERNAL/ EXTERNAL RELATIONSHIPS

• Local leadership & other regional offices
• Shared services regionally & Miami based
• Corporate finance and legal
• Marine, Supply chain, Government Relations, Port Operations, Guest Port Services
• Revenue Management
• Deployment Strategy and Deployment
• International government and port officials

Wide range of consultants: engineers, architects, legal firms, financial consultants, accountants, among others.

Come join the team – Journey with us, succeed with us, grow with us.

We know there’s a lot to consider. As you go through the application process, our recruiters will be glad to provide guidance, and more relevant details to answer any additional questions.

Thank you again for your interest in Royal Caribbean Group. We’ll hope to see you onboard soon.

It is the policy of the Company to ensure equal employment and promotion opportunity to qualified candidates without discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, sexuality, gender identity or expression, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Royal Caribbean Group and each of its subsidiaries prohibit and will not tolerate discrimination or harassment.

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