As the UK's largest independent travel agency, Hays Travel specialises in providing good value, quality holidays alongside excellent customer service. We work with all leading suppliers and can package holidays that include hotels, flights, cruises, tours, attraction tickets, and more.
Cruise is a successful and award-winning travel agency specialising in cruise holidays, providing expert service and exceptional cruise experiences to destinations around the world.
We are looking for an enthusiastic and commercially minded Assistant Commercial Manager – Cruise to support the Commercial Manager in driving sales performance, developing supplier relationships, and maximising commercial opportunities across the business. This is an excellent opportunity for an individual with cruise and travel industry experience who is looking to further develop their commercial management skills.
- Support the Commercial Manager in negotiating commercial agreements with suppliers, including overrides, marketing contributions, tactical offers, and staff incentives.
- Assist in monitoring trading performance, identifying opportunities, and supporting the implementation of commercial strategies.
- Help secure competitive pricing and exclusive offers to maximise sales and profitability.
- Support the development and execution of supplier campaigns, product launches, and promotional activity.
- Build and maintain strong relationships with supplier partners.
- Participate in regular supplier meetings and market trend discussions, sharing key insights with the wider team.
- Work closely with Sales, Product, and Marketing teams to maximise supplier-funded opportunities and achieve departmental objectives.
- Support the coordination of sponsorship opportunities for company conferences and events.
- Resolve supplier-related branch queries, including commission issues, pricing discrepancies, and operational concerns.
- Assist in reviewing and improving departmental processes and procedures.
- Develop a strong understanding of the group's trading divisions and support cross-functional collaboration.
- Provide guidance and day-to-day support to Commercial Executives and other team members where required.
- Conduct coaching sessions and provide feedback to support colleague development.
- Assist with the management of the department's daily operations and workload planning.
- Deliver exceptional customer service to both internal and external stakeholders.
- Participate in training and development activities to enhance personal and professional growth.
- Complete administrative and reporting duties accurately and efficiently.
- Support ad hoc projects and business initiatives as required.
- Proficient in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint.
- Experience using reporting tools and internal business systems.
- Strong file management and organisational skills.
- Effective email and diary management skills.
- Confident web navigation and online research skills.
- Previous travel industry experience, ideally within cruise, commercial, product, or supplier-facing roles.
- Strong knowledge of cruise products, suppliers, and industry trends.
- Experience building and maintaining supplier or stakeholder relationships.
- Previous supervisory or mentoring experience would be advantageous.
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
- Good negotiation and influencing abilities.
- Commercial awareness and understanding of sales performance drivers.
- Highly organised with the ability to manage multiple priorities.
- Positive, proactive, and solution-focused approach.
- Strong stakeholder and relationship management skills.
- Excellent teamwork and collaboration skills.
- Passion for delivering exceptional customer service.
- Results-driven with strong attention to detail.
- Good numerical and analytical skills.
- Ability to communicate effectively with colleagues at all levels of the business.
- Undertake any other duties appropriate to the role.
- Comply with all company policies and procedures, including Health and Safety requirements.
- Treat all colleagues, customers, and suppliers with dignity and respect.
- This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of duties and responsibilities but reflects the main requirements of the role.
About Us
As the UK’s largest independent travel agency, Hays Travel specialises in providing good value, quality holidays, alongside excellent customer service. We work with all leading suppliers and can package holidays that include hotels, flights, cruises, tours, attraction tickets, and more. We have over 470 Branches throughout the UK and our Head Office based in Sunderland, is home to tour operator teams, finance, marketing, people/HR and IT, plus many more. We have been operating for over 40 years, and continue to grow each year.
Our values
Our SMILE values are embedded in to our company and ensure our teams work strongly together. You and all of our colleagues will ensure that the Hays Travel values are demonstrated at all times.
Supportive
Motivational
Innovative
Loyal
Excellent
What it’s like to work for us?
Whichever location or department you work in, our people are always at the heart of everything we do. We offer a range of training programmes to help you progress personally and professionally, as we know the benefits of promoting and rewarding our hardworking colleagues are extremely important.
Of course, it's not all about work. We're very sociable and there are always lots of team nights-out and company parties. Plus, there are opportunities to travel abroad on educational trips, and you can also take advantage of our colleague discount when booking your own holidays.
Hays Travel is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all colleagues. As an accredited employer provider of apprenticeships, we undertake basic checks through the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) to ensure the safety of our apprentices for relevant roles.
