Sales Director, UK & Emerging Markets
- Application Deadline: Feb. 9, 2026
- London
- Hybrid
About The Role
We are seeking an experienced Sales Director to lead and deliver our commercial strategy across the UK and Emerging Markets within EMEA. This is a senior leadership role with full ownership of regional sales performance across B2B and B2C, responsibility for key strategic partnerships, and a mandate to grow market share through both existing and new routes to market.
You will act as a senior commercial leader and external ambassador for the business, working closely with executive stakeholders while leading and developing a high-performing regional sales team.
Key Responsibilities
- Own, develop, and deliver the sales strategy across the UK and Emerging Markets (B2B & B2C)
- Lead, motivate, and develop a high-performing regional sales team, fostering a collaborative and results-driven culture
- Build and maintain senior-level relationships with strategic partners, agencies, and distribution networks across the region
- Drive effective budget management, forecasting, and ROI optimisation with key partners
- Identify and develop new market opportunities, partnerships, and routes to market to expand regional footprint
- Work closely with Marketing, Revenue Management, and Product teams to ensure aligned go-to-market execution
- Represent the company at industry events, trade shows, and partner forums across the UK and EMEA
- Act as a subject-matter expert internally, anticipating market, commercial, and regulatory challenges and recommending improvements to processes, products, or services
Leadership & Impact
- Operate with significant autonomy, setting goals and determining approaches to critical commercial initiatives
- Lead cross-functional and department-level projects
- Influence senior internal and external stakeholders on matters of strategic importance
- Make decisions with a direct and material impact on company performance, revenue, and long-term growth
Work with great people
Skills & Requirements
Skills & Competencies
- Exceptional communication and influencing skills, with the ability to operate credibly at executive level
- Proven senior sales leadership experience within Travel, Cruise, Hospitality, or Leisure
- Strong commercial acumen, including contract negotiation, pricing strategy, and margin management
- Data-driven mindset, confident using insights and analytics to guide strategy and decision-making
- Inspirational people leader with a track record of building, coaching, and retaining high-performing teams
- Strategic thinker able to translate vision into clear, executable sales plans
- Excellent stakeholder management skills, both internally and externally
- Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, changing environment with a hands-on leadership approach
Experience & Qualifications
- Degree-educated or equivalent relevant experience
- 10+ years’ experience in a senior sales or commercial environment
- Demonstrable experience leading and scaling sales teams
- Experience working across international businesses and markets
- Existing B2B relationships and sector connections highly advantageous
- Experience within Cruise, Travel, or Leisure sectors desirable
- Strong experience using Power BI or similar tools to review and drive performance
- Knowledge of Salesforce CRM desirable but not essential
Personal Attributes
- Results-driven with a balanced mid- to long-term strategic outlook
- Strong sense of ownership and accountability
- Able to shape departmental strategy and align operational goals accordingly
- Encourages collaboration across teams and with external stakeholders
- Motivates others through clear goal-setting and continuous feedback
What we offer:
- A dynamic and inclusive work environment where your ideas are valued
- Opportunities for professional and personal development
- Staff rates on our ships for you and your family
- Hybrid working arrangements, minimum 2 days in the office to support work-life balance
- A competitive benefits package
Great Place to Work
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Our team operates across many different roles all over the world. Each person makes an important contribution to deliver guest-centric and memorable experiences.
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At the heart of Hurtigruten is a passion for exploration and travel. It’s shared by our team who seek out the remarkable in order to inspire guests and each other.
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Our team has an unrelenting quest for improvement — for our business, our guests, the places we visit and their communities, and the planet as a whole.
About the company
Hurtigruten is one of the world’s great journeys, sailing and caring for the Norwegian coast since 1893. We are proud to be a national icon for generations of Norwegians and to have a special place in the hearts of our guests from around the world.
Our Original voyages connect 34 coastal communities. It is the classic way to travel the Norwegian coast as a local and has rightly become known as ‘The World’s Most Beautiful Voyage’.
To mark our 130-year anniversary, we launched an exclusive range of Signature cruises. These premium sailings showcase our favourite places of Norway’s coast with several hours spent in each port.
Quick overviewWe've been caring for our coast for 130 years and want to do whatever we can to help protect it for another 130 years and more. We’re creating sustainable travel experiences, striving to keep our footprint small and impact lasting.
Single-use plastic banHurtigruten was the first major travel company to have removed single-use plastic from its entire fleet and our hotels.
Hurtigruten FoundationThe Foundation specialises in the conservation of endangered species, fighting against marine and plastic pollution.
EmissionsCurbing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is crucial if we are to keep global warming in check. We know that the travel industry has work to do reducing its impact on the climate, so we’ve set out ways we can make a real difference by focusing on concrete, measurable solutions.
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