JOB DESCRIPTION

View Vacancy – SSR – Travel Trade Manager, Saudi Arabia (HEO)

The British Government is an inclusive and diversity-friendly employer. We value difference, promote equality and challenge discrimination, enhancing our organisational capability. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. We do not discriminate on the basis of disability, race, colour, ethnicity, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, age, veteran status or other category protected by law. We promote family-friendly flexible working opportunities, where operational and security needs allow. The FCDO operates an agile workforce and to facilitate this, you may be required to undertake other duties from time to time, as we may reasonably require.

Job Category

Other British Government Departments (Partners across Government, including UK Visas)

Job Subcategory

Visit Britain

Job Description (Roles and Responsibilities)

The British Embassy Riyadh has a vacancy for Travel Trade Manager, job grade Higher Executive Officer (HEO), under VisitBritain (VB). This is for a fixed term contract of one (1) year with a possibility of renewal depending on operational requirements.

Based in the British Embassy in Riyadh, this role will lead on the development and execution of VisitBritain’s travel trade engagement strategy in Saudi Arabia. The role will have a focus on leading key account engagement with KSA travel trade partners and prominent UK industry stakeholders.ing best opportunities for VisitBritain, as well as development and distribution of UK products and tailoring programmes accordingly to ensure Britain product is being sold to the right customer at the right time.

In addition, the role will liaise closely with the aviation lead at the British Embassy Riyadh and local Consular representatives, identifying opportunities to promote airline initiatives such as inaugural flights and route development.

Roles and responsibilities:

Strategic understanding and profiling of the market

• Lead and deliver the travel trade business plan for Saudi Arabia with a focus on growing new business, product development and increasing sales value.
• Maintain and grow relationships with travel trade partners through a robust Key Account Management (KAM) program, ensuring all engagements are recorded in a fully profiled database (CRM).
• Use an evidence-based approach to identify and prospective KSA travel trade partners, ensuring VB’s strategic objectives are met.
• Identify UK destination and product gaps within partner programmes and implement a strategic plan to grow product within partner programmes. Closely monitor competing destinations B2B and B2C activities and make recommendations to ensure the UK maintains its competitive advantage.

Aviation-airline liaison

• Manage airline accounts operating in Saudi Arabia with routes to Britain.
• Identify new areas for business development and opportunities to support airline promotional activities.

Strategic interventions with partners: Travel trade, UK industry, and Public Diplomacy Partners

• Coordinate priority key accounts, implementing strategic interventions to increase the promotion and sales of Great Britain. Activities include but not limited to:
  • Agent training/workshops
  • Educational (FAM trips)
  • Sales missions
  • Travel trade events
  • High-quality market intelligence
  • B2B communications (newsletters, WhatsApp etc.)
• Build strong relations with VisitBritain’s destination partners, UK industry and DMCs.
• Build strong relations with Public Diplomacy Partners (PDPs) and be the first point of contact for our partnersin the British Embassy in Riyadh, British Council, Department of Business and Trade (DBT), and UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI).
• Provide support to the Senior Manager GCC and London Travel Trade team.

The above list is not exhaustive, and the jobholder will be required to be flexible as specific responsibilities could change in the future, and this would be at the discretion of the line manager or head of section. The jobholder will be required to travel to Dubai regularly as well as to the UK.

Key behaviours required:

• Communicating and Influencing – Communicate purpose and direction with clarity, integrity and enthusiasm. Respect the needs, responses and opinions of others.
• Delivering at Pace – Take responsibility for delivering timely and quality results with focus and drive.
• Working Together – Form effective partnerships and relationships with people both internally and externally, from a range of diverse backgrounds, sharing information, resources and support.

Essential qualifications, skills and experience

• Solid experience in sales and/or commercial background with a thorough understanding of tourism or related sector.
• Experience of key account management in the KSA market, together with strong negotiation, influencing, and representational skills.
• Strong customer focus and ability to deliver quality service.
• Proven experience in the development and delivery of travel trade engagement programmes including the coordination/project management of travel trade events, missions, fam trips, workshops etc.
• Sound knowledge of Britain’s tourism offering (destinations and product) and network of contacts across travel trade in KSA.
• Team player who can work on their autonomously as well as cross-collaborate with teams and stakeholders in multiple locations.
• Excellent communication skills in Arabic and English, both verbal and written.
• Excellent organisational skills, including ability to organise and prioritise workload.
• Proven track record of experience with database and CRM systems.
• Strong IT skills and well-versed in the use of Microsoft Office applications (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams).

Required behaviours

Communicating and Influencing, Delivering at Pace, Working Together

Application deadline

16 November 2025

Grade

Higher Executive Officer (HEO)

Type of Position

Full-time, Fixed Term

Working hours per week

35

Duration of Post

12 months

Region

Middle East & North Africa

Country/Territory

Saudi Arabia

Location (City)

Riyadh

Type of Post

British Embassy

Number of vacancies

1

Salary Currency

SAR

Salary

20,460.00

Type of Salary

monthly

Start Date

15 December 2025

Other benefits and conditions of employment

Eligibility:

• The British Embassy provides visa sponsorship. The British Embassy will be able to employ you on the condition that we are able to obtain the required residence and work permit in Saudi.
• If you already have the right to work and reside in Saudi (iqama), you will be required to transfer your visa under the Embassy”s sponsorship.

Working hours and remuneration:

The Embassy aims to offer an attractive working environment and remuneration package for this role.

Monthly salary details:

• Base Salary – SAR 15,968.00
• Housing Allowance – SAR 3,992.00 (subject to eligibility) *
• Travel Allowance – SAR 500.00 (subject to eligibility) *
• Total – SAR 20,460.00

*Allowances are not payable to staff who receive official provision for such expenditure in some other form. Spouses/ Dependants of UKBS officers working at the Embassy are not eligible to Housing or Travel Allowance.

No accommodation nor relocation expenses are payable in connection with this position.

This position is for a fixed term contract for one (1) year. The British Embassy Riyadh employs Country Based Staff in line with Saudi Labour Law. Local law specifies that contracts must be issued for a fixed period (one year). Contracts for full time positions are renewable at the end of the term.

This position is full-time, based on 35 hours per week. Normal working hours for the Embassy are from 08:00 to 15:00 from Sunday to Thursday, with core working hours from 10:00-15:00. Core working hours is the period of the day that employees are required to be at work. The working day outside of the core hours is a flexible period, which allows employees to choose when they work, subject to operational needs.

Flexible working arrangements may be considered based on operational requirements and agreement with the line manager, and in line with FCDO and Embassy policies.

The successful candidate will be subject to a 90-day probationary period.

The successful candidate will be required to transfer their iqama under the Embassy”s sponsorship.

This position is subject to VisitBritain’s Terms and Conditions and may differ from the Embassy’s Terms and Conditions.

Additional information

How to apply:

Please ensure that your application is authentically written based on your own experiences. If AI tools are used, their usage must only be limited to specific tasks such as ensuring formatting consistency and keyword relevance. The core content, personal narratives, and responses to behaviour and skill-based questions must genuinely reflect your professional journey, experiences, and achievements. We place great importance on originality and individual effort throughout the application process. Any form of plagiarism will result in immediate disqualification.

Interested candidates must include with their online application form

• an updated Curriculum Vitae (CV) and
• a covering letter/ motivation essay stating how you meet the requirements of the role.

Applications that do not include this information will not be considered.

The closing date for applications is at 23:55 KSA local time on 16 November 2025.

Applications received after the stated deadline will not be considered.

Internal candidates (i.e., those who are currently employed by the British Embassy Riyadh/ British Consulate General Jeddah) applying for this position should consider informing their current line manager upon submission of their application.

Process:

The recruitment process, including security clearance, is expected to take around 2-3 months. The security clearance process includes checks available in country and in the UK, dependant on the security level required for the role and the candidate’s profile and UK footprint. You may experience some delay in the progress of this recruitment campaign, and we are working hard to minimise any disruption.

Appointable candidates who were unsuccessful at interview may be placed on a ‘reserve list’. If during the reserve period of twelve (12) months the same or a largely similar role becomes available, that role may be offered to the second or subsequent candidate.

The start date mentioned in the advert is tentative start date and the successful candidate will be required to undergo security-vetting procedures. Any offer of employment will be subject to the candidate achieving suitable clearances and reference checks.

The FCDO operates an agile approach to delivery. To facilitate an agile workforce, you may be required to undertake other duties from time to time as we may reasonably require. The British Embassy is an equal opportunities employer, dedicated to inclusivity, a diverse workforce and valuing difference. Staff recruited locally by the British Embassy is subject to terms and conditions of service according to local Saudi Arabia employment law.

Please be aware that you will only be able to apply to vacancies for Country Based Staff roles with the British Government through this official tal.net site (operated by Oleeo). Jobs may be advertised on third party websites, however our adverts will always link back to the official tal.net site. If you complete and send an application through any other site, we will not receive it.

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: No requirements