Head of Product

VakantieDiscounter is the leading online travel agency in The Netherlands and has grown its revenue 50 times in the past 10 years. The company is ready to expand internationally and thus there is an opportunity for a Head of Product to lead the team of Product Owners and take full responsibility for the future of the website. This is a unique opportunity for an e-commerce-savvy people manager with a growth mindset to take the customer experience to the next level.

About VakantieDiscounter

The VakantieDiscounter is an online travel agency from the Benelux and was founded over 20 years ago. From 2009 to 2019, the company has grown from EUR 4M to over EUR 200 M in revenue. At the moment, VakantieDiscounter is embarking on an internationalization journey, starting with Germany and further expanding into several other countries in Europe.

The company is continuously focused on innovative improvements and quality, not only with regards to the platform but also in terms of channels to reach and support the customer. The ever-present goal is to make it easier and more comfortable for the customer to select a nice holiday.

The vibrant VakantieDiscounter office, with an international team of 90 people, is located on the Amsterdam canals in the center of the city. The organization is flat, democratic and based on trust, and employees have a lot of freedom in achieving success through their own preferred approach.

The market

VakantieDiscounter is the largest online travel agency in The Netherlands and cooperates with brands such as TUI, Thomas Cook, Corendon and competes with online players like Prijsvrij, Sunweb, and Pelikaan.

In 2017, the VakantieDiscounter brand was sold to Otravo. Although part of Otravo group, which has other brands including vliegtickets.nl, WTC.nl, flygstolen.se, greitai.it, and travelgenio.com, VakantieDiscounter is a stand-alone company and works fully independently.

The vacancy: Head of Product

The Head of Product is part of the management team of VakantieDiscounter, together with the heads of Finance, IT, Supply, Operations, and Marketing, and leads a team of 5 Product Owners. These Product Owners are engaged in web development, supplier connections, data science, back office, while the Head of Product is responsible for the website.

For the planned international growth, the Head of Product will also further expand the Product team, establishing a well-oiled machine with the primary purpose of offering the customer the smoothest customer journey possible.

The Head of Product is responsible for designing the process and creating the roadmap for the future of the website, aligning with internal stakeholders along the way. This also requires a vision as to where to take the website, considering the ever-changing needs of customers and suppliers. From a technical point-of-view, the Head of Product acts as a project manager on innovations. Close cooperation with the Head of Marketing and the CTO is expected.

The Head of Product has the chance to grow in seniority through the company’s international growth and the further expansion of the product team. This is an exciting time to join the Dutch leader in online travel and take the core of its business – the website – to the next level, internationally.

Candidate profile

Experience

• Experience in high-traffic e-commerce
• 10-15 years of work experience
• Experience in scaling an online business
• International / cross-border experience
• Experience with agile

Skills

• An easy-going, down-to-earth personality
• A ‘getting things done’ attitude
• People’s manager & team player
• Sound understanding of analytics tools
• Curious and focused on the future
• Fluent in English

VakantieDiscounter works with Top of Minds to fill this vacancy.
Contact Martine Francken at martine@topofminds.com for more information.