Destination Services Procurement Lead

About Kuoni Tumlare

At Kuoni Tumlare, we deliver truly inspiring and innovative solutions and experiences that create value both for our Partners and Society at large. Our wide portfolio of products and solutions is built on 100+ years of destination management experience.

Our solutions include series tours, technical visits, educational tours, Japanspecialist travel consulting, as well as meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions. Our product portfolio includes MyBus excursions at destinations as well as guaranteed departure tours devised and delivered by our Seat-in-Coach specialists, Europamundo (EMV) and MyBus Landcruise.

We cater to a wide range of customer needs in close collaboration with our trusted suppliers and powered by our team of destinations experts - enabling us to make a real difference to the world.

About the Business

Our Destination Management services form the core of our business. Together with our destination experts, our sales and account management teams generate business by partnering with our customers (Tour Operators, Travel Agencies) to shape exciting itineraries suited to their traveler’s needs. We take care of everything from ground support, hotel bookings, sightseeing, restaurants, and local guides; all while providing 24/7 customer support so that travelers from over 50 countries can enjoy memorable travel experiences worry free.

About the Role

The Destination Services Procurement Lead  is responsible for sourcing, contracting and managing services across assigned destinations, ensuring adequate capacity, high quality standards, competitive pricing and operational reliability. The role also provides direct people leadership to a team of three DS Procurement professionals, ensuring clear priorities, workload allocation, performance management and team development. 

The role owns the commercial relationship with suppliers and partners and contributes to the achievement of company targets by optimizing costs and contractual conditions, securing access to critical services and developing a reliable and competitive supplier portfolio aligned with business and market requirements.

Key activities:

• Contract services in line with market plans, contracting guidelines and agreed timelines 

• Develop and maintain a reliable network of suppliers and local service providers, ensuring adequate coverage by destination, language and market requirements

• Ensure sufficient capacity and availability to support both series and ad hoc business, proactively identifying gaps and alternative solutions 

• Manage procurement and contractual arrangements for all services, ensuring alignment with booking procedures, operational requirements and supplier conditions

• Ensure accuracy, completeness, competitiveness and compliance of all contracted services and related information in company systems 

• Monitor supplier performance, proactively addressing quality issues and implementing corrective actions in cooperation with Operations and Customer Service

• Regularly review contract utilization, supplier allocation and non-contracted service usage, identifying opportunities to improve portfolio coverage and cost efficiency 

• Negotiate competitive rates, payment terms, cancellation conditions, supplements and other commercial conditions, supporting margin optimization and company targets

• Identify and develop alternative suppliers and contingency solutions for destinations or services with limited availability or operational risk 

• Collaborate closely with Operations and Planning on supplier allocation, capacity planning and entrance requirements, ensuring alignment between the contracted portfolio and operational demand 

• Support Sales and internal stakeholders with destination and supplier expertise, identifying solutions for specific market or client requirements 

• Build and maintain effective relationships with suppliers and local partners, fostering long-term cooperation and continuous improvement 

• Contribute to the development of new products and opportunities related to cultural attractions, guided services and destination experiences 

• Lead, coach and develop a team of three DS Procurement professionals, setting clear objectives and supporting individual development 

• Plan and allocate team workload and priorities, ensuring contracting deadlines, operational requirements and business priorities are met 

• Monitor team performance through regular one-to-ones, feedback and performance reviews, fostering accountability, collaboration and continuous improvement 

• Ensure consistent procurement standards, processes and ways of working across the team, acting as escalation point for complex supplier, operational or commercial matters 
  
   

Complexity:

• Management of categories characterized by limited capacity, seasonal demand and high operational dependency 

• Management of a broad and diverse network of individual guides, associations, attractions, transports, restaurants and local suppliers across multiple destinations 

• Need to anticipate capacity shortages and secure alternative solutions, particularly in high-demand destinations and peak periods 

• Management of critical entrances subject to availability constraints, booking windows, cancellation policies and changing supplier procedures 

• Balancing commercial objectives with operational reliability, quality requirements and market-specific needs 

• High level of coordination with Operations, Planning, Sales and Customer Service 

• Requires solid destination knowledge and the ability to react quickly to operational or supplier-related issues 

• People management responsibility for a team of three DS Procurement professionals, balancing team development with category and operational priorities 

• Availability to travel up to 25% 

Knowledge , Skills , Personal Characteristics:

• 5 years of experience in contracting, procurement, operations, product management or supplier management in the travel industry 

• Solid knowledge of destination services; experience with guide services, attractions or entrance management is an advantage 

• Proven negotiation and supplier management skills, with the ability to build agreement with stakeholders at all levels 

• Ability to manage capacity, availability and operational constraints across multiple destinations

•  Well-developed analytical skills, covering supplier performance, contract utilization and cost analysis 

• Ability to identify operational risks and develop alternative sourcing solutions 

• Well-developed organizational and planning skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines 

• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills in English (additional languages are a plus) 

• Ability to work effectively across Procurement, Operations, Planning, Sales and Customer Service 

• Previous people management or team leadership experience, with the ability to coach, develop and motivate team members 

• Good IT skills, including Microsoft Office, relevant operational and contracting systems, AI tools and BI/reporting tools 

• Focus on results, with a proactive and solution-oriented approach 

• Clear and effective communicator

• Approachable and collaborative

• Commercially minded

• Highly organized

• Motivated and proactive

• Accountability for own area of responsibility

• Pragmatic and solution-oriented

• Flexible and adaptable

• Ability to anticipate issues and identify alternatives

• Able to work autonomously and to manage concurrent deadlines

• Works collaboratively with others

• Passion for travel and destination

What We Offer: 

·       Opportunity to work in an international environment.

·       Diverse & Inclusive culture.

·       Learning and training opportunities for growth.

·       Dedicated Employee Engagement Activities.

·       Flexible & Hybrid Working.

·       Compensation Range (Annual Gross Salary): €55.000 - €60.000