The West Midlands Growth Company is seeking a Tourism Industry Lead to support the delivery of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and prepare for the many visitors expected from across the UK and Commonwealth. Birmingham 2022 is a golden opportunity for both the West Midlands and the UK. With a third of the world’s population tuning in, it is a chance to show that the UK is open for international business, support economic recovery from COVID-19 and provide a shop window for the UK’s cultural leadership and economic engine.
The Tourism Industry Lead role includes the management of a contract with a successful training provider to to train and prepare staff in local customer-facing businesses to be first-class ambassadors and provide a high-quality welcome to the many visitors the region expects to attract from across the UK and the Commonwealth. This role is fully funded from December 2021 – March 2023.
Key responsibilities and activities include:
- Project management for the Business and Tourism Programme Business Readiness and Mobile Visitor Information Point work packages
- Management of the relationships and contracts with the successful service providers and destinations
- Management of the budget for these work packages, including, where necessary, procuring additional services to support the delivery of each project (e.g. Communications) and working alongside the contracted service where necessary to manage project-specific deliverables
- Reporting, on an agreed regular basis, to the Head of Tourism, BATP Tourism Working Group and the other Programme reporting groups as required on programme delivery, key milestones and outputs and providing evidence of success as required by DCMS and WMCA
- Build strong cross-functional relationships to ensure a collaborative approach and drive for combined programme activity (e.g. Partner teams within WMGC and the Games Organising Committee)
- Close work with internal teams to achieve successful outcomes in the following areas: marketing and communications, research, monitoring and evaluation, social value and sustainability
- Support the wider tourism team in ensuring that the programme complements and supports other core tourism activities within the business.
The ideal candidate will have:
- At least 3 years’ visitor economy/tourism or service sector experience
- Professional qualification or relevant degree, or equivalent experience
- First-class project and contract management skills
- Excellent practical communication, relationship building and management skills
- Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and manage multiple projects
- Excellent problem solving skills and ability to produce creative solutions
- Excellent track record of working with or in the visitor economy, visitor information, service or training sectors
- Experience of working in multi-stakeholder/delivery partner environment
View the full job description and person specification here >>
How to apply: Please email Jane Spearman with your CV and covering letter, detailing why you think you would be right for the role.
About West Midlands Growth Company: The West Midlands Growth Company aims to boost tourism to the heart of England – an area which covers the West Midlands region and is home to favourite visitor destinations such as Birmingham, Coventry and Stratford-upon-Avon. Not only does the region have great experiences for visitors, with many centred around its unique network of waterways, it is also hosting some key international events over the coming years. These include the historic city of Coventry being the UK’s City of Culture and the buzzing metropolis of Birmingham hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2022.
