Director, Destination & Economic Development - Hybrid - Calgary Or Edmonton

Work. Wonders.

Travel Alberta is the destination management organization of the Government of Alberta. We promote Alberta as a desirable place to travel, live, work, play, invest and learn. If you're passionate about helping this incredible province prosper and want to be part of an award-winning organization with strong corporate values, energetic team members and a great culture, Travel Alberta is the destination for you. Our work directly and indirectly benefits our province, driving visitation and revenue, diversifying the economy, providing jobs, encouraging economic investment, and enhancing quality of life for Albertans and their communities by working with businesses throughout the province, we capitalize on Alberta’s breathtaking landscapes and world-class hospitality to develop memorable experiences for visitors to enjoy, in all regions, year-round.

Get inspired - come and be a part of this amazing organization.

Position Summary -

As the Director, Destination & Economic Development you will work collaboratively with a wide range of industry stakeholders, multiple departments of the Government of Alberta and your fellow team members at Travel Alberta to collectively drive the design and lead elements of comprehensive regional development plans, collaborate and strategize with communities on how to diversify their local economies through tourism, and collaborate with the Director, Tourism Investment & Commercial Partnerships on the effective delivery of Travel Alberta’s industry investment programs. Foremost, the Director must be capable in their abilities and experience to balance both economic and community development through a tourism focus to ensure Alberta’s visitor economy benefits both Albertans and visitors alike.

Building, maintaining, and leveraging strong relationships with a diversity of stakeholders, the Director is accountable for the day-to-day development and collaborative execution of regional destination development plans that support the province’s goal of doubling the size of Alberta’s visitor economy by 2035. Stakeholder engagement includes private operators, destination marketing organizations (DMOs), municipalities, Indigenous communities and operators, elected officials, industry associations, economic development officers, land managers and more.

Furthermore, the Director leads a team of seven regionally focused Destination Development Managers reporting to them in support of this work. The Director also works closely with fellow Travel Alberta colleagues, and a roster of vendors with expertise in the field of destination development strategy and planning to fulfill the unit’s obligations. In addition, the Director and their team works in partnership with the Director, Industry Investments & Commercial Partnerships to support the development of business cases (including proformas) for specific investment opportunities that are either new or enhanced for accommodations, transportation, and visitor experiences across the province.

The Director is also accountable for their team’s consultation and coaching to private operators, communities, industry associations and other stakeholders through Travel Alberta’s ‘Business Growth Services’ programs that aim to create industry capacity while strengthening the competitiveness of Alberta’s visitor economy. Given this position is a key senior representative and company ambassador, therefore they will always need to have the highest level of professionalism and discretion.

Contributions & Accountabilities

Planning & Execution

• Identify commonalities among multiple complex tourism ecosystems to support collaboration and the exchange of information between stakeholders
• Assimilate insights and learnings from all regions of the province and identify common and unique issues to be addressed to advance product development, experience offerings, tourism policy and economic diversification
• Collaborate with internal team members and multiple levels and departments of the Government of Alberta to identify and address solutions to key destination development barriers
• Works closely with Manager of Destination Development Strategy to understand implications of relevant programs, processes, and issues related to Government of Alberta and Government of Canada land-use, environmental, labour, immigration, transportation, infrastructure and economic development policies that affect tourism investment opportunities
• Build strong alliances with stakeholders and other funders to increase collaboration and foster alignment with Travel Alberta’s strategic direction
• Identify and initiate research studies needed to inform regional development plans
• Identify and manage niche product strategies for the province, including management of select industry partnerships
• Develop, deliver and manage progress of regional destination development plans and strategies aligned to the organization’s priorities with specific focus on tourism development zones
• Support the Director Tourism Investment & Commercial Partnerships by working with Destination Development Managers to assess business plans of private operators and viability of investment proposals
• Demonstrate strong written and oral communication skills, encouraging exchanges of information that foster knowledge and understanding

Investment Program Support & Administration

• Contribute to the development of strategies and terms of investment models to optimize the program operations each year
• Hold Destination Development Managers responsible for working with the Director Tourism Investment & Commercial Partnerships on the program delivery including industry engagement/outreach, application assessment, recommendations, and close-out analyses
• Support the day-to-day management of Travel Alberta’s investment programs, including:
• Works closely with Manager of Destination Development Strategy to understand implications of relevant programs, processes, and issues related to Government of Alberta and Government of Canada land-use, environmental, labour, immigration, transportation, infrastructure and economic development policies that affect tourism investment opportunities

Capacity Building & Business Growth Services

• Develop and manage an education and training program that addresses the knowledge/skills required by industry operators that elevate and promote their visitor experience and grow internal capabilities – includes contracting of third- party solutions and measuring performance

Team Leadership & Performance Reporting

• Manages and provides leadership to multiple direct reports
• Responsible for special projects and other duties as assigned by the Chief Commercial Office, including preparation for Travel Alberta’s Board and reporting on MOUs
• Responsible for reporting quarterly and annual results to the department/unit scorecard and annual report
• Active participation in the design of the annual department/unit scorecard
• Facilitate connections with regional and with national and international partners and works with Travel Alberta senior leadership to represent the organization in a variety of industry, institutional events, and/or committees, to promote the organization’s destination and development strategy.
• Provide strategic and day-to-day coaching, performance management (including personal scorecards) and identification of developmental opportunities in of Destination Development Managers
• Co-manage monthly and quarterly budget processes including review and forecasts, as well as recommendations on in-the-year adjustments to drive optimal ROI and achieving unit scorecard targets
• Represents Travel Alberta at meetings/presentations with stakeholders, municipal governments, the GOA and other tourism bodies, including providing up-to-date information on organizational strategy, priority initiatives, markets and current research and insights
• Contribute to development and status review of annual operations risk plans
• Travel within the province is expected with the possibility of out-of-province travel

Who You Are

• You bring a comprehensive understanding of the visitor economy ecosystem ranging from accommodations, attractions/experience providers, convention centres, transportation providers, tourism distribution systems, destination marketing and management organizations, communities and traveler behaviors
• We kindly thank you agency partner, we will NOT require support to fill this role. We kindly request no phone calls nor emails.
• You naturally document and track progress of your team’s performance and are comfortable working in CRM tools
• You have a proven track record to synthesize facts, both structured and unstructured information, and use a broad set of communications modalities (slides, briefing notes, public presentations) to engage both internal colleagues and external stakeholders
• You have an investor mindset and demonstrated ability to be a critical thinker by considering multiple perspectives and come to concise decisions that may not always please all parties – you’re very comfortable saying “no” for the right reasons especially when it comes to investments and achieving ROI outcomes
• You have strong project management skills that reflect your ability to prioritize multiple tasks seamlessly with excellent attention to detail and achieving deadlines
• You build productive working relationships quickly with both internal colleagues and external stakeholders – it simply comes natural to you no matter the stakeholder ranging from tourism operators, government officials, elected officials, and communities
• You are a proven people leader having led a team and strive to get the best out of everyone while enabling each team member to contribute to the goals of the team and organization
• You have a minimum of 5 to 7 years in a senior leadership role with financial responsibilities and budget management of $3M+
• You bring a balance of experience in both the private/public sector focused on business development, grant/investment program management, and government policy and regulatory processes with tourism development
• You hold a Bachelor’s degree in business management, tourism, or a related field with an equivalent contribution of education and experience with a particular focus on economic development

Powered by JazzHR

0eaf6fEPrt