Description
:
Business Development Manager – Strategic Accounts & Incentives
Diageo Brand Homes Scotland
Team: Scotland Brand Homes Business Development
Level: 5A
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland (Edinburgh Park)
Full time / Permanent
ABOUT US
Diageo’s Scotland Brand Homes are a diverse portfolio of world-class visitor experiences across Scotland. Following a £185 million investment in Scotch whisky tourism, we opened Johnnie Walker Princes Street in the heart of Edinburgh and transformed our distillery experiences, including Talisker, Lagavulin, and The Singleton. More recently, this has included the reopening of the iconic ‘ghost’ distilleries Brora and Port Ellen.
Our purpose is to celebrate life, every day, everywhere, and our Brand Homes bring this to life through unforgettable experiences rooted in craftsmanship, heritage, and innovation.
Whisky tourism is Scotland’s number one visitor activity, attracting over 2 million visits annually. Our experiences play a critical role in recruiting new consumers into both our brands and the wider Scotch whisky category.
With ambitious growth plans, we are focused on increasing premium visitation and expanding our global reach. A key part of this growth will come through strengthening our presence within the travel trade and unlocking new demand via intermediary partners.
Our Business Development team plays a critical role in this, driving demand through travel trade, incentive agencies, and strategic partners, and ensuring Diageo’s Brand Homes are positioned as must-sell experiences within the global tourism landscape.
As part of this next phase, we have recently launched Scotland Distilled, our dedicated trade-facing brand, bringing together the full strength of our portfolio into a single, compelling proposition for the travel trade. It will play a central role in how we engage partners, showcase our experiences, and accelerate growth across the portfolio.
ROLE PURPOSE
This role is responsible for positioning Scotland Distilled as a preferred offering for travel trade partners in leisure and business tourism, driving incremental revenue through repeat bookings, higher-volume partnerships, and expanded portfolio engagement across key accounts.
The role is accountable for driving incremental sales and premium visitor growth by owning and developing the global incentive travel segment, alongside managing and growing a portfolio of key travel trade accounts.
Operating as a commercial owner, the role balances specialist segment leadership (Incentives) with strategic account management, combining proactive business development with long-term account growth to deliver sustainable revenue.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Commercial Ownership & Strategy
1. Own and evolve the travel trade and incentive strategy, identifying new growth opportunities and shaping the direction of the segment
2. Take full commercial ownership of segment and account performance, using data and insight to optimise revenue, improve conversion, and refine strategy
3. Take ownership of key commercial decisions across accounts and segment strategy, operating with a high degree of autonomy
4. Maintain accurate forecasting and pipeline reporting, ensuring clear visibility of future revenue and alignment with business targets
5. Influence product development, pricing, and packaging to ensure the offer meets the needs of travel trade partners and supports commercial growth
6. Lead reporting and present strategic updates to senior and executive stakeholders, providing clear insight on performance, pipeline health, and growth opportunities
7. Act as a market expert, bringing insight on industry trends, competitor activity, and customer needs to shape strategy
Business Development & Pipeline Ownership
8. Drive new revenue growth by proactively identifying, targeting, and converting high-value partners across DMCs, incentive agencies, and corporate travel planners
9. Build and manage a robust, forward-looking pipeline, consistently generating demand and prioritising high-value opportunities
10. Develop compelling, insight-led propositions by packaging experiences across the portfolio, owning opportunities end-to-end from initial engagement through to conversion and follow-up to drive new and incremental business.
11. Leverage Scotland Distilled as the primary trade-facing platform to engage partners and unlock new business opportunities
Key Account Management & Growth
12. Own and grow a portfolio of strategic travel trade accounts, developing and executing structured account plans to drive long-term revenue growth
13. Lead regular account reviews, ensuring clear actions, performance tracking, and measurable outcomes
14. Drive repeat business, increased spend across the portfolio, and deeper account partnerships
15. Lead commercial negotiations with key partners, structuring agreements that deliver long-term value while protecting premium positioning
Leadership, Collaboration & Market Presence
16. Lead cross-functional teams to deliver strategic priorities, setting clear direction, driving accountability, and ensuring successful execution across the business
17. Influence and manage senior internal stakeholders through strong communication and executive-level reporting, aligning priorities and securing support to unlock opportunities and deliver key partnerships
18. Establish and embed structured ways of working, bringing clarity to priorities, improving effectiveness, and enabling consistent, high-quality delivery
19. Act as a leader within the function, bringing teams on the journey, building engagement, and driving a more proactive and commercially focused approach
20. Build the visibility and credibility of Scotland Distilled within the travel trade, representing the business at trade shows, sales missions, and industry events, and using it to showcase the portfolio through FAM trips, events, and partner engagement
WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE
21. Building a strong, conversion-focused pipeline across priority incentive markets, creating consistent demand and high-quality opportunities
22. Driving significant growth across a defined portfolio of key travel trade accounts, increasing share of wallet and repeat business
23. Successfully developing and embedding Scotland Distilled as a recognised and valued trade-facing proposition within inbound tourism to Scotland
24. Building strong, effective relationships across internal teams, aligning stakeholders to deliver against commercial priorities and ensure a seamless end-to-end experience
25. Demonstrating leadership across the business, influencing ways of working, bringing clarity to priorities, and driving a more proactive, commercially focused approach
26. undefined
ESSENTIAL EXPERIENCE
27. Proven experience (minimum five years) in a Business Development Management, Account Director, or Senior Sales role within travel trade, MICE (with a strong incentive focus), or tourism
28. Demonstrated success in developing and growing strategic accounts, driving measurable revenue growth and long-term partnerships
29. Strong track record of winning new business and building a high-quality pipeline, with the ability to convert opportunities into commercial outcomes
30. Proven ability to enter a role and rapidly generate pipeline through an established industry network and existing market relationships
31. Experience working across intermediary partners such as DMCs, incentive agencies, tour operators, or corporate travel planners
32. Comfortable operating in a commercially driven, target-led environment, with ownership of revenue, pipeline, and performance
CAPABILITIES
33. Strategic Thinking : Builds clear, structured plans for segment and account growth, using data and insight to inform decisions and prioritisation
34. Business Development & Drive : Proactively creates opportunities, generates demand, and builds momentum, rather than relying on inbound activity
35. Relationship Leadership: Develops deep, multi-level partnerships and effectively manages senior stakeholders, both externally and internally
36. Influence & Stakeholder Management : Confident influencing without authority, aligning cross-functional teams and engaging senior stakeholders through clear communication and executive presence
37. Storytelling & Selling : Translates experiences and brand propositions into compelling, insight-led commercial opportunities
38. Ownership & Accountability : Takes full responsibility for performance, pipeline, and outcomes, operating with a high degree of autonomy
39. Change & Leadership Mindset : Drives improvements in ways of working, brings structure to ambiguity, and leads others through change with clarity and engagement
Flexible Working Statement:
Flexibility is key to our success. Talk to us about what flexibility means to you, so that you’re supported to manage your wellbeing and balance your priorities from day one.
Rewards & Benefits Statement:
We recognise and value performance, offering our people a highly competitive Rewards and Benefits package including:
Diversity statement:
Our purpose is to celebrate life, every day, everywhere. And creating an inclusive culture, where everyone feels valued and that they can belong, is a crucial part of this.
We embrace diversity in the broadest possible sense. This means that you’ll be welcomed and celebrated for who you are just by being you. You’ll be part of and help build and champion an inclusive culture that celebrates people of different gender, ethnicity, ability, age, sexual orientation, social class, educational backgrounds, experiences, mindsets, and more.
Our ambition is to create the best performing, most trusted and respected consumer products companies in the world. Join us and help transform our business as we take our brands to new heights and build new ones as part of shaping the next generation of celebrations for consumers around the world.
Feel inspired? Then this may be the opportunity for you.
If you require a reasonable adjustment, please ensure that you capture this information when you submit your application.
Recruitment Scam Warning
Worker Type :
Regular
Primary Location:
Edinburgh Park
Additional Locations :
Job Posting Start Date :
2026-05-12