Sr Dir Product Innovation

ABOUT US

Royal Caribbean International is known for driving innovation at sea and has continuously redefined cruise vacationing since its launch in 1969. Each successive class of ships is an architectural marvel and pushes the envelope of what is possible on a cruise ship. Onboard, the global cruise line has debuted countless industry “firsts” – such as rock climbing, ice skating and surfing at sea – to capture the imagination of families and adventurous vacationers alike. Throughout, guests sail on exciting itineraries to some of the world’s most popular destinations and enjoy Royal Caribbean’s friendly and engaging service.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Based in Miami, FL the Sr. Director of Product Innovation will have two primary areas of responsibility: (a) defining long-term guest strategy and scope development driven through insights across the entire Guest and Employee experience (b) leading product innovation by providing leadership over the team that ideates, concepts, and tests new products and programming by evaluating and leveraging sea and land trends. This role will lead a high performing team that collaboratively works across various cross-functional business unit executives (VPs+) to help create, develop, and communicate the strategic and conceptual intent of the guest experience.

The Sr. Director will lead product and experience strategy as well as product innovation and concept development efforts for Royal Caribbean International (RCI) globally to recommend an optimal future guest experience, continuously revolutionize the vacation experience, and influence executive leadership decisions. This includes leading the strategy, scope development, concept development, and innovation process to directly respond to consumer insights, understand the white space and competitive landscape to innovate, and define the future of the vacation experience while strengthening brand equity. The scope of the role will encompass RCI Newbuilds, RCI Fleet Modernization, Private Destinations, and other Fleetwide strategies focused on maximizing total enterprise value and the guest experience.

Provide direct leadership over highly skilled professionals, including various directors, senior managers and managers. Focus on driving satisfaction and choice by establishing best in class brand development process and lead cross functional teams across the organization as well as externally to gain alignment and buy-in to meet the long-term marketability and strategic goals of Royal Caribbean International. The role will require a significant level of collaboration with Product Strategy & Analytics, Product Development, Consumer Insights, Marketing, Revenue Management, Onboard Revenue, Destination Development, Deployment & Itinerary Planning, Hotel Operations, Newbuild, Digital and IT leadership, and the Executive Committee.

The ideal candidate will have the unique combination of strategic and analytical skills with creativity and a relentless spirit of innovation. This role requires a deep understanding of guest behavior and ability to analyze large amount of data from various sources to craft meaningful insights to improve the experience for Guests and Employees and pave new ground for the brand and cruising industry.

This leader requires the ability to direct and develop teams that imagine the impossible, ideate when the solution is not readily available and be unreasonably aspirational in revolutionizing the vacation experience for our Guests and Employees through innovation. Expected to solve tough business problems, the Sr. Director will need high levels of drive and expansive experience in developing strategic frameworks, simplifying complex subjects, creative problem solving, and innovation.

• Ability to assemble, lead and influence cross functional teams to develop strategies that include input and buy-in from all stakeholders
• Global experience, and the ability to work within a multicultural environment
• Strong storytelling and presentation skills, experience presenting to executive leadership
• Strong business acumen
• Able to see interdependencies of various functions and bring them together for common goals
• Ability to analyze data and research results to make recommendations
• Ability to apply strong analytical, conceptual, and strategic thinking
• Ability to grasp the complexities of the business to effectively translate that into a strategy
• Experience developing strategic framework and design experience concepts
• Visionary, able to conceptualize innovations for our product and translate into actionable strategy
• Strong creative thinking with ability to develop innovative ideas and creative problem solving
• Able to manage and prioritize multiple projects simultaneously
• Willingness to take personal initiative
• Attention to detail and follow-through

QUALIFICATIONS
 

• Responsible for the management and forecasting of the RCI Product Development department’s consumer research expenses.
• Provides strategic vision and concept direction for all new and renovated ships and private destinations, including RCI’s Newbuild order book totaling $20B+ over the next 10 years; RCI’s ongoing fleet modernization portfolio; and the $1.0B+ and growing Private Destination portfolio.