Commercial Strategy Manager

About the role

We’re looking for a Commercial Strategy Manager to join the newly created Transformation & Commercial Strategy team at Edinburgh Airport. This is a senior position that will play a key role in developing the airport’s future commercial strategy, supporting the Head of Transformation & Commercial Strategy and wider Commercial team to design and execute a strategic vision for the next phase of Edinburgh Airport’s growth.   

The airport is at a really exciting point in its history as we look ahead to annual passenger numbers increasing to over 20 million by 2030 and even more beyond. To satisfy this growth, the footprint of the airport will expand across almost every area.

The Transformation & Commercial Strategy team will be laser-focused on ensuring that the major capital projects underway to deliver this transformation provide high quality space, in the right place and at the right time, to maximise the offering available to our diverse and growing passenger base. The team will also take the lead on exciting new commercial initiatives.

We’re looking for agile, enthusiastic individuals who are excited about joining a high-performing team with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to shape the future of an iconic national asset. This role is primarily based at Edinburgh Airport, with occasional travel as required to support commercial development activities.

What you’ll be doing

The Commercial Strategy Manager will support the Head of Transformation & Commercial Strategy to define the evolution of the passenger offer and bring this to life for the airport’s many and varied partners, including (but not limited to) the following:

Category Strategy Development

• Create distinct strategies for each commercial sub-category (e.g. restaurants, bars, speciality retail, duty-free) that define the optimal mix, space allocation and customer offer
• Ensure strategies reflect passenger segmentation, dwell time and flight profiles to optimise allocation of space and provide an offer for every passenger ‘mission’
• Identify opportunities to grow passenger spend through innovation, premiumisation, promotion of Scottish / local brands and experiential concepts

• Actively engage with the concessions market to build awareness and excitement around the extent of the opportunities that Edinburgh Airport’s transformation will bring
• Develop compelling concession propositions that clearly articulate the Edinburgh passenger profile, forecast growth and commercial potential
• Support the Retail & Surface Access team in designing competitive bid processes by shaping concession strategies, evaluation criteria and commercial models
• Lead market sounding exercises with passengers, prospective concessionaires and brands

Business Case Development

• Collaborate with the Commercial Strategic Analytics team to develop revenue forecasts and business cases that support investment decisions
• Assess the merits of different concession structures to maximise long-term value
• Provide clear recommendations on the appropriate commercial models for each category, reflecting the balance of commercial risk and opportunity
• Produce strong materials to support the Head of Transformation & Commercial Strategy in securing business and shareholder support for recommendations
• Support the wider Transformation & Commercial Strategy team with identification and business case development in relation to new commercial initiatives

Stakeholder Collaboration

• Develop a strong internal network, with a particular focus on teams whose buy-in will be critical to bringing strategies to life (e.g. Projects, Retail & Surface Access, Property)
• Collaborate with external partners to validate and gain support for strategies
• Develop a close working relationship with the Commercial Projects Lead – Transformation to ensure that category strategies can be practically embedded within layout / zoning strategies
• Work closely with the Marketing function and external agencies to develop marketing materials that will generate excitement about the scale and extent of upcoming opportunities
• Prepare clear strategy papers and recommendations that can be presented to Executive leadership and governance forums
• Present to senior level forums, including Executive Committee, Commercial Review Committee and Board Sub-Committees as appropriate
• Develop strong external relationships with business partners, stakeholders and peers within the wider Vinci group and with counterparts at other UK and international airports

What we’re looking for

The Commercial Strategy Manager role is particularly well-suited to candidates with a management consulting and / or travel retail strategy background, with the ideal candidate ticking most of the following boxes:

• A positive and tenacious attitude with an unwavering passion for success
• Demonstrated ability to develop clear, compelling strategic narratives that translate complex commercial analysis into concise, decision-ready materials
• Highly proficient in creating high quality presentation decks that are structured, visually appealing and tell a clear story
• Experience building strong internal and external relationships, ideally including experience engaging the market (brands / operators)
• Excellent analytical skills, with the ability to synthesise large volumes of data into insight-led stories, clearly articulating the “so what”
• Exceptional presentation delivery skills, with demonstrable confidence presenting to a range of audiences
• An excellent communicator with the ability to influence and align stakeholders through clear, well-structured communication
• Demonstrable experience identifying, developing and delivering new business initiatives with a creative eye to bring forward new and relevant ideas
• Highly experienced using full package of Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
• A problem solver who enjoys finding the solution in every problem
• A team player who can collaborate with other departments and stakeholders, and enjoys working with others to achieve a common goal
• Educated to degree level or equivalent

If your experience ticks some of the boxes but looks slightly different to what we’ve listed here, we encourage you to still apply. You could add something we didn’t know we needed.