Key Skills

Job Description

*Must be based anywhere in Western Europe ABOUT TRANSCEND CRUISES Welcome aboard the future of river cruising. Transcend Cruises is redefining the group experience with a purpose-built, tech-enabled ship designed specifically for tailored group needs. Every sailing is a full-ship charter, giving meeting planners, incentive houses, corporate buyers, tour operators, agencies, consortia, and event producers unmatched customization, exclusivity, branding control, flexible venues, custom itineraries, and all-inclusive hospitality. POSITION OVERVIEW The Vice President, Europe MICE & Trade is a senior commercial leader responsible for building Transcends presence, distribution, and charter revenue across Europe. This is a genuinely pan-European mandate. The role is not defined by a single language bloc or sub-region such as DACH, Benelux, or the UK. It requires a leader who already carries relationships, credibility, and market instinct across the breadth of Europe, and who can extend that reach into new territories as Transcend grows. This is not a role for someone who waits for inbound interest or manages an inherited book of business. The VP must have a demonstrated history of and desire for building a territory from nothing: identifying the right partners, opening doors that were previously closed, and converting an unaware market into a producing one. Transcend is looking for an entrepreneurial commercial leader who is energized by building a new market for a revolutionary brand: the fully chartered river ship as a private, branded venue for groups. The VP will operate as both strategic architect and frontline revenue generator, owning prospecting, complex sales cycles, proposal strategy, negotiation, contracting, and executive-level relationships across both the MICE and trade channels. This role reports to the Head of Sales. CORE RESPONSIBILITIES 1. Pan-European Revenue Generation & Pipeline Ownership ◆ Develop and execute a European MICE and trade sales strategy spanning corporate, agency, incentive, association, tour operator, consortia, and event channels across all major European markets. ◆ Build and maintain a qualified pipeline of full-ship charter opportunities sourced directly and through trade partners across the continent. ◆ Originate, develop, negotiate, and close multi-night charter contracts and trade distribution agreements aligned with company revenue and deposit goals. ◆ Maintain quarterly contracted charter targets by territory and provide clear visibility into revenue timing, probability, and risk. 2. Territory Development & Category Creation ◆ Build Transcends presence in territories where the brand has limited or no existing footprint, applying a proven method for opening new markets from the ground up. ◆ Position Transcend beyond traditional cruise or hotel buyout alternatives, framing the ships as private floating venues for high-impact events and charter inventory as a premium trade product. ◆ Identify buyers and trade partners whose goals align with Transcends exclusivity, flexibility, and experiential impact, even when they are not actively searching for a cruise solution. ◆ Build and test new messaging, prospecting angles, partnership models, and sales plays that expand the addressable European market and challenge preconceived notions about what a river cruise charter can be. 3. Trade & Strategic Relationships ◆ Build and convert a high-value network of MICE agencies, incentive houses, tour operators, wholesalers, consortia, GSAs, DMCs, and corporate event teams across Europe. ◆ Cultivate senior-level relationships across corporate meetings, incentive travel, association events, and the broader European luxury and river cruise trade. ◆ Represent Transcend at priority European trade shows, hosted buyer programs, conferences, and road shows as a credible, respected face of the brand. ◆ Identify and structure partnership opportunities with agencies, tour operators, and brands that produce recurring, repeatable charter demand across multiple territories. 4. Sales Execution, Reporting & Accountability ◆ Execute consistent prospecting across the assigned territories through direct outreach, industry networking, trade show presence, and in-person meetings. ◆ Manage the complete sales lifecycle from lead generation and qualification through proposal, negotiation, contract execution, and internal handoff. ◆ Maintain CRM integrity with timely, accurate activity, opportunity, next-step, stage, and revenue data. ◆ Track pipeline progression, conversion, booking windows, forecast accuracy, and quarterly contracted revenue performance by territory. ◆ Deliver regular written sales reports suitable for leadership review. 5. Brand Leadership & Market Education ◆ Serve as a leading voice for Transcend across the European MICE and trade markets, translating the charter-only river model into a compelling first-choice proposition. ◆ Educate agencies, tour operators, and corporate buyers on private ship access, branding control, flexible meeting space, custom itineraries, and elevated onboard hospitality. ◆ Partner with Marketing on European sales collateral, campaigns, hosted buyer briefings, and trade show materials. ◆ Provide market feedback to Sales leadership, Account Management, and Shipboard Operations on buyer needs, competitive positioning, pricing, and regional feasibility. 6. Presence & Representation ◆ Represent Transcend at the highest levels of the European travel, MICE, and cruise industries, carrying the credibility and professional bearing that a premium, invitation-only brand requires in every room. ◆ Act as a trusted, senior presence with executive buyers, trade principals, and industry leadership, reflecting well on Transcend at every trade show, client meeting, and industry function. QUALIFICATIONS ◆ 10+ years of senior-level experience in MICE sales, incentive travel, luxury travel trade, tour operations, cruise, or corporate events, with a genuinely pan-European scope. ◆ A demonstrated, verifiable history of building a territory or distribution network from scratch and growing it into a material revenue channel, not simply managing an existing book of business. ◆ Deep, established relationships across MICE agencies, incentive houses, tour operators, wholesalers, consortia, and corporate meeting departments spanning multiple European markets, not confined to DACH, Benelux, or the UK. ◆ Proven ability to originate, develop, negotiate, and close high-value B2B contracts with complex sales cycles. ◆ Demonstrated ability to sell an innovative or category-defining product where buyers and trade partners must be educated, inspired, and guided toward a new way of thinking. ◆ Multilingual capability across major European languages strongly preferred, given the breadth of the territory. ◆ Strong understanding of the meeting planning, incentive travel, and travel trade distribution ecosystem across Europe. ◆ Highly disciplined CRM user with strong reporting, forecasting, pipeline management, and executive communication skills. ◆ Entrepreneurial mindset with the resilience and commercial urgency required to build a market rather than inherit one. ◆ Willingness to travel extensively across Europe for trade shows, client meetings, FAM trips, and site inspections. ◆ Right to work and travel freely across the European Union and United Kingdom. LEADERSHIP PROFILE The ideal candidate is a relationship-driven rainmaker with deep, authentic roots in European MICE and trade, an innovative category builder who creates demand rather than waiting for inquiries to arrive. This person has already proven, in a prior chapter, that they can walk into a market with nothing and leave it with a functioning, revenue-producing network of partners. They are commercially disciplined, comfortable with ambiguity, and motivated by the scale of building something new across an entire continent rather than defending an existing territory. Given the seniority of the audience this role engages, the successful candidate carries themselves with the polish, composure, and professional presence expected of someone representing a luxury brand at the highest levels of the industry, in boardrooms, on trade show floors, and at the head of the table with the buyers and principals who define this market. COMPENSATION Transcend Cruises offers a competitive executive compensation package, including base salary and performance-based commission. SUCCESS IN THIS ROLE ◆ Contracted MICE and trade charter revenue growth across multiple European territories ◆ Qualified pipeline growth, velocity, forecast accuracy, and conversion performance ◆ Demonstrated expansion into new European territories beyond Transcends current footprint ◆ New demand created from buyers and trade partners not previously considering cruise charters or hotel buyouts, and the repeatable partnerships that sustain it WHY JOIN TRANSCEND This is a rare opportunity to build a European MICE and trade sales platform from launch phase through fleet expansion. As Transcend enters realized revenue and prepares for new-build delivery, the Vice President, Europe MICE & Trade will directly influence company growth, market positioning, and category awareness across the continent that defines this segment of travel. If you are ready to build the European market for a category-defining group travel company and introduce corporate buyers and trade partners to a new model for private events and charters on Europe's rivers, we invite you to apply. Transcend Cruises is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to fostering an inclusive and equitable workplace where all individuals are respected and empowered to contribute.

Core Responsibilities

The Vice President will lead pan-European revenue generation by developing and executing sales strategies across MICE and trade channels. They are responsible for building a new market presence, managing complex sales cycles, and cultivating high-level industry relationships.

Requirements

Candidates must have over 10 years of senior-level experience in MICE, incentive travel, or luxury cruise sectors with a proven track record of building territories from scratch. Strong negotiation skills, an entrepreneurial mindset, and the ability to travel extensively across Europe are essential.