Director, Partner Relationship (IT)

Kensington Tours is an award-winning luxury tour operator offering tailor-made, private-guided experiences to the world’s most extraordinary destinations. Our brand promise is ‘to create the experience that changes the life’, and with our growth plans, we are looking for passionate and highly motivated sales professionals with travel experiences to be part of our fun, collaborative, and engaging team. 

To learn more about Kensington Tours, visit kensingtontours.com 

Job Summary

As a member of the Technology leadership team, the Partner Relationship Director will be the gatekeeper and owner for partner-sourced technology services, ensuring processes are defined and leveraged, and that all product deliverables are prioritized and communicated according to best practices, while managing a KPI and SLA framework to ensure accountability and value for money.  The ideal candidate will have demonstrated in previous roles a combination of technical expertise, project management skills, and excellent communication and relationship building abilities.

The Partner Relationship Director will report to the Vice President, Information Technology. This is a hybrid role, combining flexible remote work with set in-office days at Kensington Tours’ downtown Toronto office.

Responsibilities

Client Engagement:

• Serve as the primary point of contact for business stakeholders, being the keeper of the product development / innovation funnel   
• Understand client needs and requirements, and translate them into actionable tasks for technology partners
• Lead prioritization and planning of technology partner deliverables, organizing and chairing engagement sessions that refresh the funnel and keep stakeholders updated on a regular basis
• Fully understand the business strategy and objectives, as well as staying up to date on the respective product roadmap(s) of our partners, ensuring alignment between business need and partner deliverables
• Proactively identify technology requirements and business enablement opportunities, collaborate with IT and business stakeholders in discovery and options analysis, and guide business case development that maximizes ROI

Partner Management:

• Develop and maintain project plans, schedules, and budgets that ensure effective use of partner services (product features and innovation), specifically tied to business priorities
• Coordinate with internal teams to ensure delivery milestones are met on time and within scope
• Manage aspects of joint projects with partners, ensuring execution on shared deliverables including change management, communications and testing

Collaboration and Communication:

• Work closely with the engineering, product, and DevOps teams to ensure alignment on goals, priorities and deliverables
• Facilitate communication between internal teams and external stakeholders to ensure clear understanding and expectations
• Keep stakeholders up to date on requirements, design, development, testing and release activities, exercising good judgment on when to involve various team members

Relationship Management:

• Build and maintain strong relationships with clients and partners to foster long-term collaboration
• Gather feedback from clients to inform product development and continuous improvement including those as measured by key partner KPIs and SLAs
• Uncover new potential partners and initiatives, maintaining strong relationships aligned with our strategy
• Act as an IT trusted advisor to business stakeholders for strategic business planning, business decisions and implementation of initiatives with an IT component.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience as a Sr Manager or Director in product development, software engineering, program management or other delivery-based role
• Bachelor in Engineering or Computer Science is desirable 
• Proficiency in Excel, PowerPoint and MS Office Suite is required.
• Data visualization tools and Agile based development tools including Jira, Lucidchart or equivalent is considered asset
• Proven experience managing complex technical projects and delivering successful outcomes.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to explain technical concepts to non-technical audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to build and maintain relationships with clients and partners.
• Strong problem-solving skills and a proactive approach to addressing challenges.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a collaborative team in a fast-paced environment.
• Extensive experience in Sales / Customer Service and/or Travel industries with a focus on Customer Experience and Product Delivery, preferably in a high-growth and fast-paced SaaS environment
• Proven ability to prioritize and consistently achieve results
• Creativity and Innovation: Seeks new and better ways of doing things, generates original and imaginative ideas or solutions
• Experience in Process/Project Management
• Ability to negotiate and manage positive outcomes within an environment of competing interests.

We are committed to providing employment accommodation in accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. If you require accommodation due to a disability at any stage of our hiring process, please advise us when completing your application.

We thank all candidates for their interest however only those selected for an interview will be contacted.