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We are working with CityPASS in their search for a VP of Ecommerce in Victor, Idaho — just 26 miles from Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Before you stop reading, click here. It’s extremely accessible, and with a small amount of luck, you might bump into some people you know on the world famous ski lift just down the road.
Basically, you’d be living here:
Dude! You should be PAYING to work here! This is one of the most GANGSTER VP Ecommerce jobs ever!
CityPASS, the nation’s leading seller of bundled attraction tickets, is seeking a VP of Ecommerce to develop and implement a comprehensive online strategy to grow qualified site visits, market CityPASS attractions and products, create and deliver an exceptional user experience and increase online and total CityPASS sales.
The VP of Ecommerce will lead a team of qualified professionals to build upon the current mature online strategy to ensure continued sales growth and increased marketing exposure. This VP will work with CMO and Director of Internet Marketing to develop CityPASS’ digital advertising and search strategies. Additionally, the VP of Ecommerce will work closely with the marketing and web teams to ensure that CityPASS’ site is compelling, aligned with the brand, and optimized for conversion.
The position is responsible for collaborating with the web, marketing and technology teams to develop and execute a mobile strategy to ensure that CityPASS is maximizing mobile growth opportunities, delivering an exceptional mobile experience to the firm’s users and working within the constraints of access control at CityPASS attractions.
Additionally, the VP of Ecommerce will oversee CityPASS’ international online initiatives to ensure online growth and translated experiences in key international markets. Additionally, the new VP will collaborate with Director of Social Media to develop strategies to promote CityPASS and its partner attractions to increase customer satisfaction, engagement and sales. Finally, the new VP will use tools such as Google Analytics, SpeedCurve, CloudFlare, CityPASS BI Engine, Optimizely, Foresee Research results and KPI metrics to identify opportunities for improvement and additional growth.
HARRY’S COMMENTS: I’m not sure exactly where to begin this commentary. This is a fantastic company run by very nice people in a gorgeous place. The client was extremely forthcoming about their needs, and my personal notes for the two-hour kickoff call exceed 9 pages in 10-point type. Pretty much whatever you want to know, I can tell you.
(As long as you’re qualified for the position.)
CityPASS is an attraction marketing company and it markets attractions to consumers around the world. The company is family owned, with the 2 cofounders having started the company from scratch nearly 18 years ago. Despite the fact that CityPASS’ gross revenues exceed $100 million, the firm has never taken outside capital and it remains profitable to this day. The hiring manager for this position is CEO, Megan Allen, who has worked her way up from the bottom of the organization over a 15 year career. Megan has touched every function in the company, and she knows the business inside and out. She’s awesome.
The best way to understand CityPASS is to watch this video. You can turn off the subtitles by clicking the “CC” button at the bottom of the viewer.
CityPASS has an extremely interesting (read: “smart”) revenue model, which I can explain on the phone. CityPASS ticket books are sold both online and at participating attractions, and I have specific numbers on revenue percentages per sales channel; average order value, and conversion rates for tablet, mobile, and the website.
Every one of my clients has at least one major challenge to growing their business — which is why they come to EcommerceRecruiter.com in the first place. CityPASS’ most pressing challenge is in finding new ways to continue growing their online business. After several years of double-digit online growth in both visits and sales, CityPASS is seeing some maturation. The folks at CityPASS believe their biggest areas for continued growth are in three main areas …
- The Mobile Space – Mobile represents 42% of CityPASS’ total site visits, but mobile sales aren’t keeping pace. CityPASS has a mobile experience and a mobile voucher in one city, with plans to expand to all cities, but they see enormous opportunity in determining ways to increase mobile conversions on the current mobile site. They also need help leading the development and implementation of an overall mobile and mobile app strategy.
- International Visits – 36% of CityPASS’ traffic is international, and given the strength of the site’s translation capability there is a great opportunity to further penetrate markets like China, Europe, and Latin America where mobile significantly influences ecommerce growth.
- A Sophisticated Marketing Strategy – CityPASS’ new VP of Ecommerce will work with the firm’s CMO, designers, and developers to help create a more emotionally compelling experience to entice travelers to buy CityPASS booklets, ideally when they are still in the planning phase of their trip. In addition to helping to develop a compelling experience, this VP must grow the number of qualified visits to the site.
CityPASS is by no means a small company, but it could be massive. The United States welcomed a record 70 million international visitors last year, a five percent increase over 2012. Nearly all of those visitors need stuff to do when they get here.
Additionally, according to Euromonitor, the number of domestic USA tourism trips is expected to increase by 8% over 2012-2017. The total number of domestic trips (business + leisure) is expected to reach almost 1.1 billion in 2017, with leisure trips increasing by 9% over the five-year period.
I had no idea the volume of travel was so heavy! Which means that on pretty much every conceivable level, this gig with CityPASS will rock your world on three levels …
- FUN? Check! These are amazing people who don’t take themselves too seriously despite the fact that they have an outrageously successful business to run. Furthermore, this job is based in one of the most beautiful areas of North America.
- FUTURE? Check! Forrester research has long maintained that the 5 most important trends driving commerce growth are mobile, social, local, global, and cloud. With this VP level role at CityPASS, you will be waist deep in each of these as you take the company to the next level.
- FINANCE? Check! This position will pay an extremely attractive salary. I can’t get into it here, so you’ll just have to trust me on this one. My firm will handle 15-20 VP level ecommerce searches this year, and this role is definitely at the high end of the scale. You won’t be disappointed. Lift tickets WILL be within your means.
View Harry Joiner’s profileEssential Functions
- Create and manage the implementation of an annual citypass.com strategic plan and budget. Review and analyze expenses on a quarterly basis.
- Work with Director of Internet Marketing to ensure that search and PPC strategies are optimized and performing well
- Work with Director of Internet Marketing to develop international search strategy
- Work with Developers and Designers to oversee overall design and performance optimization strategy for CityPASS
- Work with Director of Social Media to oversee web content and satisfaction
- Work with Developers to oversee CityPASS translation strategy and updates
- Work with Developers to prioritize testing plan and assist with evaluating results
- Monitor analytics data weekly and identify successes or issues
- Track and report monthly/bi-monthly visit and sales results and trends
- Work with individual team members to define and execute their roles as it relates to accomplishing the overall CityPASS online strategy
- Ensure that team members have the necessary resources and support to accomplish goals, including staying current with online trends and best practices
- Conduct weekly meetings with team members to ensure project efficiency
- Host weekly web meeting to inform and collaborate as a team
- Track, analyze and share online competitor presence and strategies
- Attend and report to monthly department head meeting
- Keep company informed of changes to the website that pertain to their department
- Perform annual web team performance reviews
- Attend conferences and webinars and stay current in terms of latest practices and trends in web, mobile and travel technology
UPDATE: THIS SEARCH IS CLOSED.
PS – If you’re thinking about changing jobs this year (through us or anyone else), you might want to check out this post on why even TOP candidates get rejected.
