Job Description
Your Team: Times Media has recently launched an exciting new retail travel operation: Times Holidays. Our mission is to help discerning travellers find the world’s best holidays through expert opinion and exclusive offers. We are a growing, entrepreneurial team within News UK, dedicated to bridging the gap between our world-class editorial recommendations and premium travel experiences for our readers and subscribers.
Your Role: As the Head of Product, you will hold a key leadership position within the Travel team, reporting directly to the Director of Travel. You will take full ownership of defining and implementing the product strategy for our entire retail operation, ensuring we deliver a best-in-market roadmap that drives growth. This is a rare opportunity to shape a new brand from the ground up, ensuring our holiday offerings meet ambitious revenue targets while staying true to the prestige of our titles.
Day to day You Will
1. Create and drive a compelling product and supplier proposition that aligns with our unique brand identity.
2. Manage the planning and delivery of the retail product strategy, including sourcing new partners and hitting performance targets.
3. Oversee the P&L for the product proposition, including setting budgets, forecasting, and ensuring all key metrics are achieved.
4. Curate holiday products that meet the specific needs of our audience and reflect the high standards of our editorial teams.
5. Lead and inspire a team of product experts, fostering a collaborative environment where everyone can reach their full potential.
6. Share insights on competitors and customer trends across the business to keep our growth focused on the traveller.
7. Evaluate destination performance regularly to identify new opportunities for growth and conversion.
8. Maintain an ongoing dialogue with marketing and editorial teams to provide commercial input for campaigns and new content.
What we're looking for from you
9. PQE or significant leadership experience in product development or trip creation within the travel industry (tour operations).
10. Commercial acumen to deliver product strategies effectively within a scaling business environment.
11. Proven ability to lead and inspire a team to reach their goals while identifying and bridging skill gaps.
12. Deep understanding of the online travel market and current international travel trends.
13. Strong analytical skills with the ability to use data to influence commercial decisions and marketing performance.
14. Excellent communication skills to build rapport easily with internal stakeholders and external partners.
15. An entrepreneurial mindset with a proactive approach to identifying new business opportunities.
16. High levels of organisation with a focus on detail, particularly when managing budgets and forecasting.
If you think you have what it takes but don’t tick every requirement on the list, please do apply. We recognise that considering someone’s potential as well as their experience is a great way to hire. We want to hear from people who have a passion to learn and develop.
News UK is one of the leading media businesses in the UK and Ireland. Our newsbrands include The Times, The Sunday Times, The Sun, The Sun on Sunday and The TLS. Our national broadcast brands include talkSPORT, Times Radio and Virgin Radio UK, and we have market-leading local stations across Ireland. Our world-famous brands provide news, analysis, opinion and entertainment to almost 40 million people each month. Spanning print and pixel, audio and video, events and experiences, our multi-format brands are home to a plurality of opinion, representing the diverse communities we serve. Driven by passion, guided by principles and acting with purpose, we exist to promote a fair society, freedom of speech and a little bit of fun. Rethinking continually the business of storytelling, we represent, reflect and reach the nation, telling the stories that matter.
At News UK, we embrace a hybrid work model, currently requiring a minimum of three days per week in the office. This approach fosters collaboration, innovation, and team spirit within our workspace. Certain roles may necessitate additional in-office days; please discuss this with your recruiter for specific requirements.
Life at News Driven by passion, guided by principles and acting with purpose. We represent, reflect and reach the nation, telling the stories that matter. We inform our audiences so that they can make decisions based on trusted information.
We represent, reflect and reach the nation, telling the stories that matter most. To ensure these stories resonate with as broad an audience as possible, it is essential that our organisation reflects the diversity of the people we reach. Whether through age, gender, ethnicity, disability, social class or sexuality, we are committed to representing the rich variety of voices that make up our society. And we champion a culture where everyone has the opportunity to contribute and thrive as we continue to innovate and drive long term sustainable growth. This is done through our Diversity Strategy.
At News UK, we take pride in our exceptional employee-led networks that bring together individuals with shared interests and create a vibrant sense of community. We believe our networks play a vital role in fostering a collaborative and supportive work culture at News UK. Groups that we support include the African & Caribbean Network, Parents and Carers, and LGBTQ+ group News Is Out, and the Apprentice Society.
Benefits Some of our benefits include:
17. Private medical insurance including coverage for pre-existing conditions
18. Discounted gym memberships, free ClassPass at Home, weekly in person/ virtual exercise classes
19. ‘Bikes for Work’ and ‘Electric Car’ scheme
20. Up to 60% discount on Harper Collins books
21. Maternity leave up to 18 weeks full basic salary & paternity leave up to 2 weeks
22. Access to exclusive events and competitions with exciting brands such as talkSPORT, Virgin Radio UK & The Times. Weekly virtual panel chats with top journalists and celebrities
23. Access to wellbeing benefits such as EAP, physio/massage and counselling
24. A generous pension scheme with employer contributions of up to 5%
25. Wide range of training available, plus full LinkedIn Learning access
26. 25 days holiday, plus bank holidays and up to 4 volunteering days per year
We want to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to perform to their best when applying for a role. If you would like to receive any information in a different way or for us to do anything differently to support you to apply for any of our roles please contact us on careers@news.co.uk.
About The Candidate
About The Company