Vice President, Digital Channels @ HER

ABOUT US

Herschend is the world's largest family-owned themed attractions company, with thousands of passionate hosts collectively entertaining 15 million guests each year.

The heart of Herschend's success has long been the world-renowned hospitality that is rooted in our DNA. We call it Heartspitality®. It is a unique culture that blends our ethos of Leading with Love and our purpose of Bringing Families Closer Together by Creating Memories Worth Repeating® to create real impact and joy that spreads through our hosts to our guests and out into our communities.

Herschend's portfolio includes beloved family entertainment brands across North America, including theme parks, water parks, resorts, aquariums, attractions, touring entertainment, and immersive experiences.

As an equal-opportunity employer, we strive to provide environments where every host, guest, and partner feels welcome, valued, and loved. We firmly believe that words and actions matter, which is why all individuals are to be treated equally and with respect.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Vice President, Digital Channels is responsible for the enterprise strategy, performance, governance, and continuous improvement of Herschend's guest-facing digital channels, including all websites, mobile applications, email, and SMS outbound communications. This executive leads the teams and operating model responsible for digital revenue, conversion, merchandising accuracy, purchase-journey optimization, experimentation, and channel performance across Herschend's portfolio of businesses. This role is accountable for enterprise revenue generation and decisions influencing more than $500 million in annual admissions and related guest revenue.

The Vice President will establish clear, single-point accountability for digital channel outcomes and will partner closely with Property Marketing, Brand, Revenue Management, Insights & Analytics, Technology, Engineering, Operations, Guest Services, Legal, and Finance. The role is accountable for translating enterprise growth priorities and property needs into a prioritized digital roadmap, scalable standards, measurable releases, and improved guest experiences that increase revenue, engagement, and long-term customer value.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Enterprise Digital Channel Strategy: Develop and lead a multi-year strategy and roadmap for websites, mobile applications, email, and SMS across the enterprise. Define the role, objectives, standards, investment priorities, and performance expectations for each channel. Establish the portfolio operating model that balances enterprise consistency with appropriate property-level flexibility and local relevance.

• Digital Revenue and Conversion: Own digital channel revenue, conversion, and commercial performance across the portfolio. Lead efforts to improve the path from guest intent through completed transaction for daily tickets, season passes and memberships, mobile food ordering, and ancillary products. Ensure channel decisions are evaluated using revenue per session, conversion, attachment, per-capita revenue, and profitability measures.

• Website Channel Leadership: Provide executive oversight for the strategy, merchandising, content experience, conversion performance, accessibility, and operating standards of all Herschend websites. Establish consistent purchase-entry and product-presentation practices, ensure pricing and promotional accuracy, and prioritize website enhancements using guest behavior, commercial value, and measured opportunity.

• Mobile Application Leadership: Lead the strategy and performance of Herschend mobile applications, including revenue generation, conversion, activation, pre-visit planning, transaction capabilities, and in-park digital engagement. Establish portfolio standards and priorities while accommodating the distinct needs of each property and guest journey.

• Email and SMS Channel Leadership: Lead enterprise performance of email and SMS outbound channels, including delivery of lifecycle communications, promotional messaging, triggered programs, deliverability, contact strategy, personalization, accuracy, consent, and revenue attribution. Ensure channel plans are coordinated with PSC marketing teams, property marketing calendars, pricing priorities, and customer lifecycle strategies.

• Digital Product and Purchase Journey: Own the business product roadmap for digital experiences and translate guest pain points, channel opportunities, and commercial priorities into a sequenced enhancement backlog. Partner with Technology teams on platform priorities, release planning, quality assurance, and production readiness. Drive a consistent and measurable path to purchase across the portfolio, including product selection, configuration, upsell and cross-sell, cart, checkout, and transaction completion.

• Digital Merchandising and Promotions: Set enterprise standards for how tickets, passes, lodging, bundles, promotions, and ancillary products are presented and sequenced across digital surfaces. Partner with Revenue Management, Brand, Marketing, Creative, Legal, and property teams to ensure every offer and price change is accurate, compliant, compelling, and launched on time.

• Experimentation and Optimization: Establish the enterprise experimentation authority, governance, intake process, prioritization model, and testing cadence for website, mobile application, email, and SMS improvements. Build a disciplined culture of testing in which hypotheses, primary metrics, guardrails, results, and decisions are documented and shared. Scale validated improvements across the portfolio.

• Measurement and Performance Management: Partner with Insights & Analytics and Technology to define digital metrics, instrumentation requirements, reporting standards, and channel dashboards. Ensure funnel events and channel outcomes are measurable and reconciled to financial results. Deliver a recurring executive view of digital performance that identifies what changed, why it changed, and what action is required.

• Guest Experience, Trust, and Compliance: Ensure digital channels provide intuitive, reliable, accessible, secure, and brand-aligned guest experiences. Partner with Legal, Privacy, Information Security, and Guest Services to maintain appropriate standards for consent, data use, accessibility, terms, incident response, and guest communications.

• Operating Model and Governance: Establish clear decision rights and accountability across Property Support Center and property teams. Implement common intake, prioritization, service-level, publishing, release, and escalation processes. Define which digital elements are standardized enterprise-wide, configurable within guardrails, or locally owned by properties.

• Leadership and Team Development: Build and lead a high-performing, multi-disciplinary organization spanning channel management, lifecycle marketing, digital merchandising, digital product management, user experience, experimentation, analytics, and property enablement. Develop talent, clarify accountabilities, plan succession, and foster a culture of speed, evidence-based decisions, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

• Strategic Partnerships and Investment: Manage key agency, platform, and technology relationships supporting digital channels. Develop business cases and investment recommendations for capabilities that improve revenue, guest experience, productivity, scalability, and enterprise value. Ensure external partners are accountable to measurable outcomes, service expectations, and Herschend standards.

EXPERIENCE & EDUCATION

• 15+ years of progressive experience in digital commerce, digital product management, lifecycle marketing, CRM, ecommerce, digital experience, marketing technology, or related fields.

• Proven success in a senior leadership role with enterprise-wide accountability for multiple digital channels and measurable commercial outcomes.

• Demonstrated experience leading websites, mobile applications, email, and SMS in a complex, multi-brand or multi-location consumer business.

• Experience creating and executing digital product roadmaps, conversion programs, experimentation programs, and lifecycle engagement strategies.

• Experience partnering with Technology and Engineering teams on platforms, integrations, releases, data instrumentation, and operational support.

• A Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Digital Commerce, Computer Science, Product Management, Analytics, or a related field is required.

• An MBA or other advanced business, marketing, or technical degree is strongly preferred.

SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS

• Deep expertise in digital channel strategy, ecommerce, conversion optimization, lifecycle marketing, digital product management, and customer journey design.

• Strong commercial and financial acumen with the ability to connect channel decisions to revenue, profitability, customer value, and enterprise growth.

• Demonstrated ability to govern a portfolio of websites and applications while balancing enterprise standards, brand needs, and property autonomy.

• Expertise in email and SMS strategy, segmentation, triggered journeys, deliverability, consent, measurement, and promotional execution.

• Experience with experimentation, A/B testing, funnel analytics, merchandising, personalization, digital analytics, and performance dashboards.

• Working knowledge of content management, ecommerce, CRM and marketing automation, mobile application, analytics, and business intelligence platforms.

• Exceptional strategic thinking and prioritization skills, including the ability to translate broad opportunities into sequenced, executable roadmaps.

• Strong executive presence and communication skills with the ability to influence senior leaders, property teams, technical partners, and external agencies.

• Proven ability to build high-performing cross-functional teams and establish clear accountability in a matrixed organization.

• Strong judgment regarding guest experience, brand consistency, accessibility, privacy, security, and operational risk.

• Must be able to work effectively in a highly collaborative, relationship-based culture.

• Willingness to travel as required to theme park, water park, resort, attraction, and other business operations.

• Ability to manage multiple enterprise priorities simultaneously and deliver results under tight deadlines.