SwimTrek is the worlds leading open-water swimming experiences company operating in locations worldwide. This key role involves managing the in-life products and supplier relationships that create unforgettable experiences to meet and exceed guest expectations and deliver on business strategy.Product ManagerAs Product Manager, you will play a critical role in coordinating and overseeing all components required for the business to sell and deliver seamless swimming holiday experiences. Working closely with our Suppliers, Operations, Customer Service and Commercial teams, you will be responsible for creating, nurturing and managing our supplier relationships, securing accommodation, boats and any third party extras for our in-life product trips. Ensuring you are negotiating competitive rates, managing allocations to meet demand and capacity plans, confirming trip itineraries, and extra trip components, ensuring relevant service level agreements and contractual terms are agreed and in place and all suppliers meet health & safety standards, with relevant operating and licencing documentation. You will also work with suppliers to resolve any quality issues to enhance current and future guest experiences to ensure they deliver against a set of criteria and propose any changes to maintain this.This role requires strong supplier management and negotiation skills, adherence to planning timelines, a keen eye for detail and focus on delivering high-quality, safe, and cost-effective quality open water Swimming Holidays.The principal key responsibilities of the role are:Supplier Relationships & Commercial Management Build and maintain strong relationships with key suppliers securing long-term partnerships, through regular communication, collaboration, improving service delivery, and performance reviewsNegotiate favourable rates, terms, special offers, room allocations, and added-value benefits from suppliers to enhance our product offering and remain competitive.Define clear and concise supplier contractual terms and service level agreements and manage the production of relevant contracts obtaining supplier sign off, maintaining internal record tracking.Lead and own on effective two-way relationships with assigned supplier partners, and support on others across the Product team.Ensure product vision and strategic priorities are communicated to existing suppliersEquip suppliers with necessary knowledge and expectations regarding service delivery to meet the business and clients requirements.In consultation with Commercial team challenge the supplier cost base and agreement terms and generate improved rates for tactical activity.Support the control and management of commitment risk and supplier pre-payments.Utilise product insights to support maximising yield, identify opportunities, and mitigate risks.Trip Planning & Operational supportAct as a key point of contact for supplier-related operational challenges, pre/during and post travel, working closely with the operations delivery team, customer team and suppliers.Monitor supplier service levels and resolve issues that may impact guest experience.Assist with supplier-related incidents, ensuring swift resolution and future risk mitigation.Oversee the planning and refining of trip itineraries, ensuring all components are seamlessly integrated for on-sale and operational delivery.Ensure efficient inventory management, room allocations, requests and hand-backs.Health & Safety ComplianceEnsure all suppliers adhere to relevant legal and regulatory requirements regarding safety, data privacy, and sustainability.Ensure all suppliers meet the companys health & safety and quality standards, conducting on-site audits where required.Ensure all supplier agreements include necessary safety and liability provisions.Address any safety concerns, complaints or problems arising from supplier services and find solutions to mitigate customer disruption. Quality Assurance & Continuous Improvement Putting the customer at the heart of all decisions to deliver outstanding service and product quality, with a view to improving levels of customer referral and retention.Monitor & Report on Supplier Service Levels and acting from guest and guide feedback to maintain quality and drive supplier performance improvement, in a timely manner.Define consistency in quality and customer experience through quality criteria for each type of product component.Supporting the resolution of customer complaints around failure in supply chain service levels.Act as an escalation route and communication channel for colleagues and suppliers, ensuring all risks and issues are addressed in a timely and collaborative fashionDeliver product compliance with safety & sustainability criteria as defined with Operations.Ensure Suppliers invoices are provided in the correct format, assisting with the reconciliation process to ensure that they are paid on timeCollaborate with stakeholders to increase supplier communications, and process automation.Support with schedule of annual planning of inspection trips and networking events, setting objectives, creating buying opportunities, and quality reviews and assigning responsibilities to be executed on trips. Product Development and ManagementWork with stakeholders on existing in-life products to continuously offer the best guest travel experiences and meet changing demand;Ensure that trip descriptions, information and system set-up are factually correct and up to date.Ensure that all work is conducted to critical path deadlines in order to deliver on milestones.Implement responsible tourism practices by creating travel experiences that are respectful of local cultures, economics and the environment.Build trips that promote cultural heritage support local businesses and minimise environmental impact through waste reduction and energy efficiency measures.Ensure wealth distribution is spread as wide as possible within the communities we work within;Introduce ancillary products and services to increase revenue and margin per passenger.Provide teams with updates and training to ensure a consistent delivery of the product proposition throughout the customer journey.Manage and update internal supplier and product databases to ensure all information is current and accurate Product Strategy & Planning Develop a clear understanding of the product strategy and programme plan and the role that in-life products play.Define, develop, and deliver an innovative Supplier Relationship Management framework and roll outIdentify supply chain cost and revenue drivers and translate that knowledge into a strategy for optimising total supply chain cost.Review and categorise the supplier base to determine the appropriate level of relationship management effort applied to each.Work with the Commercial team on capacity planning for bed and other inventory to deliver on the programme planCreate proposals and deliver business cases for sign off on additional ancillary revenue opportunitiesSupport the continued improvement of the businesss procurement processes and practices by creating best practice foundations to support scalability.Manage and develop positive strategic relationships with tourist boards. Product Research & Analysis Understand needs of targeted markets and that product components are appropriateUndertake ongoing analysis of the product & service quality data for continuous improvement across the supply chain and ensure it continues to meet changing needs.Support the business with market research, competitive analysis, potential supply chain leads for future opportunities.Assisting at events, as required.The list of responsibilities should not be considered exhaustive. You may be required to undertake various other duties as reasonably required. Skills and AbilitiesEssentialFriendly and enthusiastic personalityExcellent verbal & written communication skills and ability to demonstrate flexibility and initiativeAbility to build professional relationships with people from a range of backgrounds and cultures adapting the message accordinglyStrong negotiation and influencing skills with suppliers from a variety of different countries, cultures backgroundsCommercially astute and able to demonstrable contractual knowledgeTo be able to manage, and make key quality management decisionsExpertise in building long-term, trusted relationships with suppliersAble to travel overseas and be flexible with working hours.Excellent problem-solving skillsAbility to self-manage and motivateAbility to adapt to changing prioritiesAbility to prioritise workloads against tight time framesKeen attention to detailProven track record in procuring travel products and servicesPassionate about sports/adventure travel.DesirableTo be able to speak a foreign language.A swimmer who is open to Open water swimmingIf you feel that you are the right person for this position and that you can bring the required skills to the role, Please email your CV with a cover letter describing; if price is the major factor in SwimTrek customer choice? by Sunday 23 February to careers@swimtrek.com.
Job Title
Product Manager