What are the responsibilities and job description for the Incentive Planner position at World Travel Inc.?
World Travel Inc.
Job Description: Incentive Experience & Destination Coordinator
As an Incentive Experience & Destination Planner, you will support the day-to-day execution and logistical delivery of high-end corporate incentive travel programs. This mid-level role focuses on turning high-level experiential designs into organized reality, acting as a crucial bridge between meeting operations, top-tier vendors, and VIP attendees. You will manage complex attendee registration activity, track program milestones, coordinate directly with local Destination Management Companies (DMCs) and other suppliers, and ensure that every individual attendee journey is seamless and flawless.
Key Responsibilities
Logistical Coordination & Vendor Management
- DMC Liaison: Act as the primary operational contact for local Destination Management Companies (DMCs) to confirm timelines, vehicle manifests, and activity sheets for group excursions.
- Sourcing Support: Coordinate initial site-sourcing data, build comprehensive venue matrices for senior team review, and organize property collateral. [1]
- On-Site Operational Support: Deploy on-site to assist with event execution, manage local vendor handoffs, coordinate transport logistics, and solve live event updates seamlessly.
Program Administration & Tracking
- Timeline Oversight: Maintain project boards (Asana/Trello), tracking milestone deadlines across design, billing schedules, and sourcing stages.
- Budget Tracking: Track event expenditures, organize incoming vendor receipts, cross-check line-item invoices against master agreements, and escalate variances.
Candidate Profile
Qualifications & Experience
- Professional Experience: 2–4 years of hands-on experience supporting corporate events, incentive travel programs, group travel logistics, destination experiences, hospitality operations, or related meeting and event functions. Experience should include coordinating multiple workstreams, managing deadline-driven deliverables, and supporting programs with executive, VIP, or high-performing attendee audiences.
- Incentive Travel & Destination Knowledge: Demonstrated understanding of the unique expectations associated with premium incentive programs, including destination research, arrival and departure flows, activity coordination, gifting or amenity support, dine-arounds, off-site excursions, and elevated guest service standards.
- Vendor & Partner Coordination: Experience working with hotels, resorts, DMCs, transportation providers, activity vendors, restaurants, production partners, or other destination-based suppliers. Able to gather requirements, confirm details, track commitments, document changes, and maintain clear communication between internal stakeholders and external partners.
- Registration & Attendee Data Management: Strong ability to manage attendee information with accuracy and discretion, including registration lists, rooming lists, travel manifests, dietary needs, activity selections, special requests, and change tracking. Prior experience with Cvent or similar registration platforms is highly preferred.
- Project Coordination Skills: Proven ability to maintain project timelines, milestone trackers, task lists, status updates, and program documentation across multiple stakeholders. Comfortable using tools such as Cvent, Canva, PowerPoint, or comparable project management and spreadsheet platforms.
- Budget & Invoice Support: Working knowledge of basic event budget tracking, purchase order support, invoice reconciliation, vendor receipt organization, and variance identification. Able to flag discrepancies and escalate financial questions to the appropriate team member.
- Communication & Client Service: Polished written and verbal communication skills with the ability to interact professionally with senior leaders, internal teams, vendors, and high-level attendees. Must be able to provide clear updates, anticipate questions, and represent the program team with confidence and discretion.
- On-Site Execution Readiness: Ability to support live program delivery in a fast-paced environment, including vendor check-ins, transportation coordination, attendee troubleshooting, signage or materials support, hospitality desk coverage, and real-time problem solving.
- Travel Flexibility: Ability to travel domestically and internationally up to 25–35% for site inspections, planning meetings, and on-site program execution. Must be comfortable working extended hours during travel programs, including early mornings, evenings, weekends, and schedule shifts as needed.
Preferred Qualifications & Attributes
- Luxury or Premium Hospitality Exposure: Experience supporting upscale corporate programs, luxury hotel environments, incentive trips, executive retreats, reward travel, or high-touch guest experiences.
- Extreme Attention to Detail: Exceptional capacity for organizing complex logistical data points, identifying gaps, maintaining accurate records, and ensuring attendee-facing details are complete and consistent.
- Proactive Problem Solving: Calm, solutions-oriented approach to shifting timelines, supplier changes, weather impacts, attendee needs, and other live-event variables.
- Global Mindset: Comfort working across destinations, cultures, time zones, currencies, and international supplier expectations. Prior experience with passports, visa, customs, or international arrival logistics is a plus.
- Collaborative Work Style: Ability to partner effectively with senior experienced designers, event managers, sourcing teams, finance contacts, creative partners, and on-site operations teams.
Certifications that will set you apart from other candidates:
- Certified Meeting Professional (CMP): Broad meeting and event management credential demonstrating knowledge across event strategy, logistics, budgeting, risk management, stakeholder management, and supplier coordination.
- Certificate in Meeting Management (CMM): Advanced-level meetings and events designation that reflects strategic meeting management, leadership, business planning, and program oversight capabilities.
- Certified Incentive Specialist (CIS): Incentive travel credential from SITE designed for professionals building foundational expertise in incentive program design, motivation, and the business value of incentive travel.
- Certified Incentive Travel Professional (CITP): SITE certification designed for mid-level incentive travel professionals with deeper experience in planning, operating, and evaluating incentive travel programs.
- SITE Specialty Certifications: Relevant continuing education in areas such as incentive travel program management, risk readiness, wellness integration, psychology of incentive travel planning, or selling to the incentive market.
- Certified Special Events Professional (CSEP) or similar event industry credential: Helpful for candidates with broader live event, experiential design, or special event execution experience.
Salary : $65,000 - $85,000