Global Retail Strategy Manager Expedia London

Job Description: • 2-minute read •
As part of the Retail function, the Global Retail Strategy Manager will be responsible for managing global Retail initiatives within the Hotels.com business.
Hotels.com Global Retail Strategy team identifies, structures and executes strategic initiatives across the merchandising, affiliates and business development functions of Hotels.com. The Global Retail Strategy Manager is a critical role in the team owning and driving few of those initiatives.
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In this role the candidate will be responsible for developing and implementing retail initiatives that align with the goals of the overall business and drive significant growth. The candidate will work with a broad number of stakeholder teams within Hotels.com, Expedia Inc. and external partners which provides a good opportunity to gain a thorough understanding of the retail function at one of the fastest growing travel companies. The role will actively coordinate with/influence other functional team members (Product, Marketing, Email marketing, Affiliates partners teams, etc.) to research and provide insights, develop action plans to resolve issues, and track overall progress of these key initiatives. This role will have regular and frequent interaction with the senior leadership across the Hotels.com organization. This position will have an immediate impact and be given the ability to grow and advance in an exciting, fast paced online travel company. The role will report directly to the Director, Global Retail Strategy in London.
The candidate must excel in all areas of strategy development and execution, including project management, business analysis, problem solving, executive communication and consensus building.
General Responsibilities
Structure and execute strategic initiatives by identifying opportunities, developing work plans, gathering and synthesizing relevant data and developing final recommendations.
Key areas of focus will be:
Own and drive multiple key initiatives within merchandising and business development functions that align with the strategic priorities of Hotels.com
Conceive of and drive innovation within merchandising through competitive benchmarking, primary and secondary research, data analyses and more
Identifying how promotional levers can be used to drive growth and profitability across our channels and worldwide point of sale
Optimizing the global mix and cadence of promotional activities to drive sales growth and profitability
Driving forward the Product Test & Learn program as it relates to Retail functions
Perform quantitative and qualitative analysis of existing merchandising and affiliates performance and initiatives critical to the ongoing growth of the company and translating them into actionable insights
Provide financial modeling support for analyzing potential growth or business improvement opportunities, as well as the development of long-range strategic plans
Develop and maintain strong working relationships with other functional groups within Expedia Inc.
Clearly communicate findings and recommendations from initiatives to senior management and to the broader organization
Requirements
Several years post university experience with experience post graduate school (MBA preferred; Experience with a top tier strategy consulting firm strongly desired)
Ability to work independently, drive projects forward and being goal oriented
Strong attention to detail, good organization skills, and ability to manage multiple projects
Proven track record of creative and structured approach to problem solving
Strong analytical and financial skills to develop complex business issues with minimum supervision
Ability to develop recommendations based on a thorough understanding of detailed implementation requirements and risks and execute them to completion
Solid judgment and decision-making skills
Advanced level knowledge of Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint and demonstrated experience in modeling, analysis, and presentation creation
Passionate and driven team player
Solid interpersonal skills (externally and internally at all levels)
Good communication and presentation skills and the ability to communicate clearly complex issues at all levels of the organization
Familiarity with e-commerce business a plus
Key Behaviors for Success in the Role
Desire and ability to learn quickly
Having a strong sense of ownership and responsibility of the initiatives and driving them forward
Results orientation that is balanced between both long-term objectives and short-run performance
Ability to work effectively in a lean, entrepreneurial, global and highly matrixed environment
Self-starter with a sense of urgency
Passion and tenacity for solving problems through creativity and resourcefulness
Comfortable dealing with uncertainty by creating structure and prioritizing effectively
Direct and transparent approach to communication