Director, Loyalty

The Director, Loyalty is responsible for all facets of Porter’s VIPorter loyalty program, including the program’s competitive positioning, benefits structure, membership growth and engagement, revenue generating partnerships including co-brand credit card, program revenue growth and overall program profitability. The Director is a key contributor to Porter’s expansion of airline partnerships, with a focus on leveraging partnerships to improve the value of VIPorter.    

The core focus of this role is leading the partnership revenue functions of the program as Porter’s passenger base expands by 5x with the addition of up to 80 Embraer E195-E2 aircraft and the introduction of new business and leisure destinations across North America. The Director will develop the earn and redeem partnership revenue business plan and product road map, including the introduction of a new co-brand VIPorter credit card and the expansion into new program revenue sources, including air partnerships, non-air partnerships, points conversion and points purchase. 

The Director must have a well-established track record demonstrating strong business acumen, ability to build compelling business cases for investment, strong team building skills, partnership negotiation skills, a background in loyalty and customer analytics and a digital-first approach to problem solving and in driving member engagement and support. 

To fulfill this mandate effectively, the Director works closely with key functional areas such as revenue management, call centre and customer relations, marketing, digital, technology, communications, and finance. The Director also plays an important role interacting with and managing several external parties, including market research organizations, travel and non-travel marketing partners, bank partners, loyalty partners and a variety of other providers. 

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

The Director, Loyalty is responsible for the following functions: 

• Oversees the VIPorter loyalty program and has ultimate accountability for growing the program’s revenues, ensuring a strong competitive position with target market segments and optimizing the program’s profitability by managing the levers of selling price per point, cost per point, breakage, membership growth, program penetration, member engagement and partner use. 

• Models, builds and maximizes the value of Porter’s co-brand credit card. Ensures the card is well positioned and promoted in the market to drive new card members and card usage.

• Sells to and grows the portfolio of loyalty partners and optimizes the profitability of each partnership. In collaboration with the Manager, Loyalty, develops and executes marketing programs in support of each partnership 

• Provides strong leadership and mentoring to a team of highly skilled marketing and loyalty professionals, developing high-potential individuals for succession or rotation to other areas of the airline

• In collaboration Manager, Loyalty, Porter’s Business Intelligence, Revenue Management, builds key metrics and reporting capability to monitor program revenue growth, by revenue source, and overall program profitability

• In collaboration with Porter’s Digital and Technology teams, develops business cases and provides business requirements for digital and mobile investments that supports revenue growth, partnership usage, membership engagement and provides member support

• In collaboration with Porter’s Airline Partnerships team, expands VIPorter’s earn/redeem opportunities across other airline networks and manages the ongoing balance of trade between programs to maintain VIPorter program health

• Provides leadership to the Manager, Loyalty, who is responsible for the day-to-day management of the program, marketing the program, growing and retaining members, loyalty engagement campaigns, growing the Premium member population and providing member support 

• Has ownership and accountability for the VIPorter P&L

• Carries out such other duties or special projects as assigned by the EVP & Chief Commercial Officer

• Provides business updates to Porter’s executive leadership team, as requested.

BEHAVIOURAL COMPETENCIES:

• Concern for Safety: Identifying hazardous or potentially hazardous situations and taking appropriate action to maintain a safe environment for self and others.

• Teamwork: Working collaboratively with others to achieve organizational goals.

• Passenger/Customer Service: Providing service excellence to internal and/or external customers (passengers).

• Initiative: Dealing with situations and issues proactively and persistently, seizing opportunities that arise.

• Results Focus: Focusing efforts on achieving high quality results consistent with the organization’s standards.

• Fostering Communication: Listening and communicating openly, honestly, and respectfully with different audiences, promoting dialogue and building consensus.

• Exemplifying Integrity: Treating others fairly, honestly, and respectfully, furthering the integrity of the organization and its relationships of trust with team members and the broader community.

• Inspiring Others: Energizing and inspiring others to strive for excellence and commit to common goals and purposes, creating a sense of self-efficacy, resilience, and persistence in followers.

• People Leadership: Assuming a leadership role in helping others achieve excellent results.

• Leading Change: Recognizing the need for change, being open to new ideas and methods, and championing transformational change within the organization and beyond.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• A university degree in Business, Economics, Marketing, Finance or a similar field, MBA preferred

• 10+ years of relevant work experience required, at least 4+ years in the loyalty space with a focus on revenue generating partnerships. Knowledge of the Financial Service space preferred

• Working knowledge of the airline, travel, and/or loyalty industries 

• Working knowledge of consumer behavior and customer segmentation

• Strong presentation and story-telling skills required

• Strong understanding of loyalty program mechanics and applied experience in delivering solutions that drive engagement and frequency

• Proven analytical and problem-solving abilities. Experience with Tableau, SQL, MS Excel, and/or similar data management and reporting platforms

• Proven track record of successfully working in a cross-departmental team environment and delivering results on time and on budget

• Highly developed interpersonal skills with a strong ability to forge long-lasting relationships

• Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination

DIRECT REPORTS:

• Manager, Loyalty

• Account Executive, Loyalty Partnerships

LOCATION: Toronto (Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport - YTZ)