Associate Director- Travel
Department: Travel
Employment Type: Full Time
Location: PURPLE London
Job Title: Associate Director, Travel
Location: London
Department: Lifestyle, EMEA
Reports to: Head of Operations (dotted line to Executive Vice President)
Role Overview
The Associate Director - Travel is the senior lead for Travel within PURPLE's Lifestyle division. This role exists to set the standard for travel PR excellence across the agency: leading the Travel team, acting as senior client services lead on key accounts, driving new business growth, and serving as PURPLE's internal and external authority on the global travel landscape. This is a specialist leadership role. You will be an expert in travel communications - deeply embedded in the industry, fluent in its commercial realities, and trusted by senior media, opinion leaders and clients alike. At the same time, you will thrive in PURPLE's broader, cross-cultural environment, collaborating across fashion, culture, design, F&B, property and wellbeing to deliver richer, more ambitious work. This is an ideal role for someone who wants to remain a specialist in their field while stepping into a leadership position within a globally connected lifestyle agency.
Key Responsibilities
Core Responsibilities
1. Travel Practice Leadership
o Lead and grow PURPLE's Travel offering within the Lifestyle division.
o Set the vision, tone and standards for travel client work - creatively, strategically and operationally.
o Be the agency's go-to expert on global travel trends, media dynamics, destinations, hotel brands, operators and owners.
o Work closely with senior Lifestyle leadership to shape the long-term growth of the Travel sector.
2. Team Leadership and Development
o Line manage and mentor the Travel team, ensuring high performance, motivation and progression.
o Build a strong, collaborative culture within the team, aligned to PURPLE's values.
o Ensure teams are well-resourced, well-trained, and delivering consistently excellent work.
o Play an active role in recruitment, onboarding and talent development for travel specialists.
3. Senior Client Leadership
o Act as senior client services lead on key travel and hospitality accounts.
o Own senior client relationships, providing trusted counsel at C-suite and founder level.
o Lead strategic planning, campaign development and high-stakes delivery moments.
o Ensure work is commercially effective, culturally relevant, and creatively distinctive.
4. Media and Opinion Leader Relations
o Maintain deep, senior relationships with international travel media, editors, writers, broadcasters and cultural opinion leaders.
o Shape and place standout travel stories that go beyond listings and launches.
o Advise clients on reputation, positioning and long-term narrative building.
o Spot emerging media and creator opportunities early and translate them into impact.
5. New Business and Growth
o Play a central role in new business development for travel and hospitality clients.
o Lead or co-lead pitches in collaboration with Business Development, from strategic framing to final presentation.
o Support cross-sector pitches where travel thinking strengthens the overall offer.
o Help identify white-space opportunities, priority prospects, and new revenue streams.
6. Cross-Agency Collaboration
o Work closely with other specialists (fashion, culture, F&B, property, wellbeing, VIP, entertainment) to deliver integrated thinking.
o Contribute travel expertise to wider agency initiatives, IP development and thought leadership.
o Champion a culturally intelligent, internationally minded approach to communications.
Skills, Knowledge and Expertise
* PURPLE is recognised as a serious, credible player in global travel PR, not just lifestyle-adjacent.
* Clients see you as a strategic partner, not just a service lead.
* The Travel team is high-performing, confident, and developing strong future leaders.
* New travel business is won on the strength of insight, relationships and strategic clarity.
* Travel thinking elevates the wider Lifestyle offer and vice versa.
Skills & Experience
* Essential 8-10 years' experience agency-side in a specialist travel PR agency.
* Proven experience leading teams and senior client relationships.
* Deep understanding of the global travel and hospitality industry.
* Strong, established relationships with senior international travel media and opinion leaders.
* Excellent strategic thinking and written communication skills.
* Commercially astute, with experience contributing to growth and new business.
* Desirable
o Experience working across multiple international markets.
o Exposure to luxury, high-end hospitality, real estate or owner-operator models.
o Experience collaborating across disciplines (fashion, culture, design, F&B).
o Confidence presenting to senior clients and pitching in competitive environments.
Cultural Fit
This role requires someone who embodies the Lifestyle's teams values in practice, not theory:
* Wants to win - ambitious, driven, and outcome-focused.
* Obsessed with their craft - genuinely passionate about strategy and ideas.
* Curious beyond their job - plugged into culture, media, and the wider world.
* Cares about the work - high standards, detail-driven, and proud of what they produce.
* Great to be around - thoughtful, socially intelligent, and collaborative.
* Glass half full - solutions-led, constructive, and energising.
* Relationship-rich - building trust quickly and contributing positively to the culture.
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