Overview
Role Summary: The Go-To-Market Director (Central) serves as the commercial engine and strategic architect for Merlin’s Central North America market. This role carries full accountability for driving revenue growth, market share expansion, and sustained visitation performance across a diverse and high-profile portfolio of attractions. Acting as the orchestrator of integrated commercial strategy, the Director unifies all growth levers—performance marketing, brand storytelling, pricing, partnerships, digital commerce, and distribution—into a cohesive, insight-led approach that delivers measurable impact. This is a market-sh shaping position where the successful candidate will be expected to outperform the market, elevate brand presence, and unlock new opportunities across family and leisure segments—ensuring Merlin not only competes, but leads.
Key Responsibilities
- Define and lead a bold, market-leading go-to-market strategy across a multi-site Midwest/Central portfolio, delivering significant revenue and EBITDA growth.
- Champion commercial excellence by aligning regional strategies with global priorities and brand ambition.
- Serve as the senior voice for market growth, shaping competitive positioning and unlocking new demand channels including OTAs, trade, MICE, and education sectors.
Integrated Planning & Execution
- Lead end-to-end GTM planning, integrating pricing, promotions, media, creative, partnerships, and digital commerce.
- Deliver campaigns that balance brand impact with commercial performance, ensuring clear ROI and measurable outcomes.
- Embed a customer-first, data-driven approach to all GTM initiatives.
Commercial Optimization
- Partner with Revenue Management and Digital teams to maximize pricing strategy, conversion, and channel performance.
- Drive the successful launch of new attractions, seasonal activations, and lifecycle marketing programs.
- Identify and implement innovative commercial strategies that accelerate growth and deepen guest engagement.
Team Leadership & Collaboration
- Build and lead a high-performing, commercially focused team, fostering a culture of creativity, accountability, and results.
- Act as a connector across the business, ensuring seamless collaboration between marketing, operations, finance, digital, and brand teams.
Guest & Market Insight
- Leverage consumer insights, market trends, and competitive intelligence to shape winning strategies.
- Champion the voice of the guest, ensuring experiences and campaigns resonate with both local and international audiences.
- Continuously adapt strategies to reflect evolving visitor behaviors and market dynamics.
Critical Interfaces
This role operates at the center of a highly matrixed, global organization, influencing and partnering across key functions:
- Cluster & Property GMs: Align on targets, commercial calendars, and execution priorities
- Brand & Creative Teams: Ensure global consistency while driving local relevance
- Revenue Management: Optimize pricing, yield, and promotional effectiveness
- Digital & eCommerce: Drive conversion, customer journey optimization, and lifecycle engagement
- Insights & Strategy: Leverage analytics to inform decisions and measure impact
- Operations & Guest Experience: Align commercial plans with on-site delivery and capacity
- Finance: Own forecasting, ROI modeling, and performance tracking
- PR & Communications: Integrate earned media and reputation strategies
- Partnerships & Distribution: Expand reach through strategic alliances and trade channels
- Product & Experience Development: Lead go-to-market launches for new experiences and innovations
Qualifications & Experience
- Proven leadership experience in go-to-market, commercial strategy, or growth roles within consumer-facing industries (e.g., entertainment, travel, retail).
- Demonstrated success delivering revenue growth and market share gains through integrated, multi-channel strategies.
- Deep expertise across brand marketing, performance marketing, pricing, distribution, and customer acquisition.
- Experience leading cross-functional teams within complex, multi-site environments.
- Strong understanding of regional market dynamics and global visitor trends.
Skills & Competencies
- Strategic & Commercial Excellence: Sharp commercial acumen with a relentless focus on growth and results; ability to translate strategy into measurable outcomes.
- Leadership & Influence: Inspirational leader with strong stakeholder management and influencing skills at senior levels.
- Executional Agility: Thrives in a fast-paced environment, balancing global consistency with local nuance; data-driven decision making with creative thinking.
Leadership Behaviours
- Soulfully Curious: Seeks new perspectives, challenges thinking, and continuously learns to drive better outcomes.
- Results Focused: Owns outcomes with accountability, setting ambitious goals and delivering against them.
- Extraordinary Teammate: Collaborates openly, builds trust, and contributes to collective success across the organization.
- Develops People: Invests in others, fostering growth, capability building, and long-term talent development.
Benefits
Competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package, including PTO, health plans, global attraction access, life insurance, and opportunities for continued growth within a global organization.
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