What are the responsibilities and job description for the Vice President, Digital, Customer and Commercial Platforms position at The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection?
Join the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection: Where Every Voyage is a Symphony of Luxury
Embark on an extraordinary journey with the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, an exquisite extension of the renowned Ritz-Carlton brand, dedicated to redefining ultra-luxury hospitality at sea. As a "Lady or Gentleman" of our esteemed team, you'll be entrusted with the art of delivering the impeccable "Gold Standards" that have made the Ritz-Carlton an epitome of excellence across the globe.
The Essence of Excellence: The Gold Standards
The Gold Standards are the bedrock of the Ritz-Carlton experience, setting us apart in the industry and establishing a legacy of unparalleled service. These standards embody the values and culture that define our brand, and serve as the compass guiding our every endeavor.
The Employee Promise
At The Ritz-Carlton, our Ladies & Gentlemen are the most important resource in our service commitment to each other and our guests.
By applying the principles of trust, honesty, respect, integrity, and commitment, we empower and nurture talent to the benefit of each individual and the company.
The Ritz-Carlton fosters a culture where all are valued, quality of life is enhanced, individual aspirations are fulfilled, and The Ritz-Carlton Mystique is strengthened.
Join us on a journey where every day is a testament to the highest standard of luxury and service. Apply now and be part of an unparalleled legacy in hospitality.
Essential Functions
Success In This Role Will Be Measured By
Embark on an extraordinary journey with the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, an exquisite extension of the renowned Ritz-Carlton brand, dedicated to redefining ultra-luxury hospitality at sea. As a "Lady or Gentleman" of our esteemed team, you'll be entrusted with the art of delivering the impeccable "Gold Standards" that have made the Ritz-Carlton an epitome of excellence across the globe.
The Essence of Excellence: The Gold Standards
The Gold Standards are the bedrock of the Ritz-Carlton experience, setting us apart in the industry and establishing a legacy of unparalleled service. These standards embody the values and culture that define our brand, and serve as the compass guiding our every endeavor.
The Employee Promise
At The Ritz-Carlton, our Ladies & Gentlemen are the most important resource in our service commitment to each other and our guests.
By applying the principles of trust, honesty, respect, integrity, and commitment, we empower and nurture talent to the benefit of each individual and the company.
The Ritz-Carlton fosters a culture where all are valued, quality of life is enhanced, individual aspirations are fulfilled, and The Ritz-Carlton Mystique is strengthened.
Join us on a journey where every day is a testament to the highest standard of luxury and service. Apply now and be part of an unparalleled legacy in hospitality.
Essential Functions
- Lead Digital Transformation Execution
- Lead the execution of the company’s digital transformation initiatives across customer-facing platforms and services.
- Drive modernization of digital capabilities to support a seamless, scalable, and premium customer experience.
- Translate product strategy and business priorities into technology delivery plans, platform roadmaps, and engineering execution.
- Ensure customer-facing technology platforms are designed to support growth, agility, and continuous innovation.
- Own Digital, CRM, and Reservation Platform Engineering
- Oversee the engineering, enhancement, and operational performance of:
- Digital platforms (web, mobile, guest-facing digital services)
- CRM platforms and related customer technologies
- Reservation and booking platforms - led by an integrated domain owner; commercial priorities (inventory, fares, availability) are set by Revenue Management, and the platform integrates with the RM / pricing system owned in Product
- Ensure these platforms are reliable, scalable, secure, and integrated end to end.
- Drive simplification and rationalization of fragmented customer technologies where needed.
- Deliver an Integrated Customer Platform Ecosystem
- Ensure strong integration and orchestration across digital, CRM, and reservation platforms to support a connected customer journey.
- Partner with Enterprise Platforms & Integration, Data & Analytics, and Product leaders to deliver cohesive capabilities across the ecosystem.
- Eliminate gaps between front-end experiences and backend transactions, customer, and operational systems.
- Ensure alignment with enterprise integration patterns, APIs, and event-driven architectures in partnership with Enterprise Platforms & Integration.
- Establish Engineering and Platform Excellence
- Build and lead high-performing engineering and platform teams across multiple customer technology domains.
- Establish modern engineering practices, including API-first design, platform scalability, DevOps, CI/CD, and operational readiness.
- Promote strong technical architecture, design discipline, code quality, release management, and system observability.
- Ensure solutions are built for reliability, performance, and maintainability over time.
- Drive adoption of platform engineering principles to enable reusable services, scalability, and faster delivery across customer-facing systems.
- Drive Operational Reliability and Service Performance
- Own platform performance, availability, and stability across all customer-facing systems.
- Partner with Infrastructure, Managed Services, Security, and QA teams to ensure high service quality and operational resilience.
- Define and track KPIs and SLAs related to platform uptime, performance, defects, release stability, and customer impact.
- Ensure customer platforms are designed to operate effectively across both shoreside and shipboard environments, including constraints related to connectivity, performance, and synchronization. The shipboard technology estate itself is owned by a separate function; this role partners to ensure continuity across the boundary.
- Lead Vendors, Partners, and Delivery Execution
- Oversee strategic delivery partners, system integrators, and platform vendors supporting digital, CRM, and reservation technologies.
- Ensure strong governance across delivery, quality, velocity, and cost.
- Drive vendor accountability and ensure third-party delivery aligns with architectural, operational, and business expectations.
- Build a Strong Leadership Team and Operating Model
- Lead and develop the senior leaders responsible for Digital Technologies, CRM Technologies, and Reservation Systems.
- Foster a platform-oriented, engineering-led, customer-centric culture focused on accountability and business impact.
- Build an operating model that supports efficient collaboration with Product, Data, Enterprise Platforms, Infrastructure, and Shipboard Technology teams.
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related field required.
- 12 years of progressive experience in technology leadership, with significant experience in digital platforms, customer technologies, and large-scale transformation.
- Minimum of 5 years in a senior technology leadership role with responsibility for complex delivery teams and business-critical platforms
- Proven success leading engineering and platform delivery teams across multiple integrated technology domains.
- Demonstrated experience leading digital transformation initiatives and large-scale technology programs
- Experience managing integrated technology environments involving digital, CRM, and transactional or booking-related platforms
- Strong understanding of system integration, platform modernization, and operational excellence.
- Demonstrated experience leading cross-functional teams, managing partners/vendors, and operating at executive level.
- Master’s degree preferred
- Experience in hospitality, travel, cruise, luxury services, or similarly customer-intensive industries.
- Familiarity with high-availability, service-critical environments.
- Experience working across globally distributed or hybrid delivery models.
- Exposure to customer data, personalization, and AI-enabled platform evolution.
- Strong technology and engineering leadership
- Deep understanding of digital transformation and customer platform ecosystems
- Broad understanding of platform architecture, systems integration, application delivery, and operational support
- Platform thinking with an execution-oriented mindset
- Ability to lead both strategy translation and operational delivery
- Strong stakeholder management and executive communication
- High accountability, technical credibility, and delivery discipline
Success In This Role Will Be Measured By
- Delivery of digital transformation initiatives aligned to business priorities
- Stability, scalability, and performance of digital, CRM, and reservation platforms
- Improved end-to-end customer platform integration and reduced fragmentation
- Faster and more reliable technology delivery
- Strong engineering team performance and leadership maturity
- Measurable improvements in customer experience, platform quality, and operational resilience
- Contribution to measurable business outcomes including customer engagement, conversion, and operational efficiency