Destination Manager - Nederburg Brand Home at The Heineken Company

Key Responsibilites:

Destination Vision and Strategy

• Develop the vision for the destination and lead the implementation of the strategy.
• Manage any Capex project.
• Define the annual business plan, aligned with brand strategy, growth objectives and hospitality and leisure trends.
• Communicate the destination strategy to all stakeholders and lead the implementation of the plan with broad initiatives & quantified action plans.

Hospitality Excellence and Team Management

• Create and manage a strong internal core team to drive the destination strategy.
• Embed values and behaviours.
• Foster a culture of excellence in customer experience and hospitality including the setting, training, monitoring and evaluation of standards.
• Manage and ensure capability building and succession planning for the team.
• Create seamless, memorable guest journeys that drive revenue through exceptional experiences.
• Ensure precision and excellence across all restaurant experiences, cellar door operations, events, and other brand activities.

Business Growth

• Build sound strategies and practices to grow the business.
• Explore new opportunities to expand the bottom line – maximising all revenue streams including retail/brand goods, F&B, events etc .
• Develop innovative ideas for experiences based on marketing strategy, messaging, and business objectives.
• Own and drive sales through the Direct to Consumer (DtC) channel.
• Ensure the Destination P&L target is achieved, and manage the Income statement to ensure a commercially profitable and sustainable business.

Creative Input

• Be a student of consumers, trends, competitors, and culture. Listen, learn, and mine insights that direct the destination and experiences into amazing places.
• Identify consumer trends and benchmarking of competitive destinations to deliver against strategy.
• Work with agencies, content creators and stylists, to develop appropriate material to execute the destination business plan.
• Conceptualise and develop activation strategies to achieve consumer engagement and create memorable experiences.
• Provide inspiration for the team in creative sessions.

Digital

• Develop the online presence of the destination, through e-commerce and social media.
• Develop an ongoing brand/visitor relationship through CRM: implement the optimal consumer engagement journey for the Destination from pre- to post-use data to provide brand feedback, innovation, and messaging and create meaningful relationships with our visitors.
• Ensure that the website and shop are up to date and reflect our brand identity. 

Stakeholder Engagement

• Represent and champion Nederburg within the internal network and to external stakeholders.
• Ensure that Nederburg is part of the local community, overseeing the site team to ensure a strategic, mutually beneficial approach to leverage opportunities.
• Drive group visits, develop promotional partnerships (local and national), and ensure the destination is represented at appropriate trade fairs, expos, etc
• Provide support in the absence of the winemakers by being the face of the brand for the execution of localised events, public relations/customer initiatives as well as activities to ensure the brand remains top of mind with our sales teams.

Education & Experience:

• A relevant tertiary qualification.
• Suitable wine qualification (WSET 2 or CWA Certificate)
• At least 5 years in a similar role with customer-facing experience (sales, marketing, tourism or hospitality).
• Established network within the wine and tourism industry will be beneficial.
• Exceptional leadership and people management skills, and ability to lead diverse teams.
• Excellent communication skills on all levels.
• Excellent presentation skills and the ability to adapt to different groups and their needs.
• Excellent social skills.
• Superior financial acumen skills to manage the budget and monthly income statement to optimise profit.
• Strategic thinking.
• Good problem-solving ability.
• Awareness of and interest in current trends.
• Digitally competent with proven track record in social media management.
• Experience in design and concept development, with a keen eye for aesthetics.
• Flexible; the ability to quickly change priorities and adapt to a fast-changing environment.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment with a focus on continuous improvement.