Business Development Manager, Partnerships; Bókun

London, UK

The Tripadvisor Group connects people to experiences worth sharing, and aims to be the world’s most trusted source for travel and experiences. We leverage our brands, technology, and capabilities to connect our global audience with partners through rich content, travel guidance, and two-sided marketplaces for experiences, accommodations, restaurants, and other travel categories. The subsidiaries of Tripadvisor, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRIP), include a portfolio of travel brands and businesses, including Tripadvisor, Viator, and The Fork.

Bókun, a fast-growing subsidiary of Tripadvisor Inc., is a leading reservation system and channel management platform for tours and activities operators globally that enables them to streamline their back-end operations and connect to an ecosystem of online travel agents to grow their business. At Bókun, we are committed to delivering innovative solutions that empower our clients to grow their businesses and enhance customer experiences.

As a key player in travel technology, Bókun combines the agility of a startup with the stability of a publicly traded organisation.

We’re growing our Partnerships team and looking for a driven, closer-first Business Development Manager to join our existing partnerships team.

This is a sales role first. You’ll build relationships and close commercial agreements with partners across Bókun’s full partnerships portfolio — rather than owning one narrow programme. You’ll be equally comfortable pitching and negotiating with a founder running a five-person tour operator and a director at an enterprise OTA, and confident owning a deal from first conversation through to signed contract.

Because we’re a small, high-ownership team, you’ll move fluidly across partnership types as priorities shift, and you’ll have real input into how our wider commercial approach and partnerships process evolve — not just execute against what already exists.

New business & deal-closing:

• Build and run your own pipeline of prospective partners across Bókun’s partnership types, from first outreach through negotiation to signed contract.
• Lead meetings and negotiations with partners and stakeholders at every seniority level — from founders to enterprise decision-makers — and close agreements that drive measurable value for Bókun.

Relationship growth (once a deal is signed):

• Maintain and grow the commercial relationships you build, ensuring partners stay engaged and continue to deliver value for Bókun.
• Track and report your pipeline and closed business against clear sales targets.

Cross-partnership & infrastructure:

• Flex across all partnership types as priorities shift — this is not a single-programme role.
• Contribute to improving our commercial templates, negotiation playbook and partnerships process more broadly.

• At least 5 years of business development / sales experience, ideally in SaaS, marketplaces, or travel technology — a proven track record of sourcing and closing your own deals, not just managing existing ones.
• Confident and polished presenting, pitching and negotiating with stakeholders at every seniority level, from founders to C‑suite/director‑level executives.
• Strong contract negotiation skills — comfortable owning commercial terms through to signature.
• A genuine hunter: motivated by building pipeline and closing, not solely by managing what’s already signed.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication and negotiation skills, with near‑native business English.
• Nice to have: experience in the tours & activities / experiences industry.
• Nice to have: understanding of how two‑sided marketplaces work (balancing supply and demand sides) — deep reseller‑programme or API/connectivity knowledge is not required and can be learned on the job.
• Comfortable working in a small, fast‑moving team where priorities shift and you’ll be asked to cover ground outside your core remit.
• Other European languages are a plus.
• A strategic thinker with strong analytical and problem‑solving capabilities; self‑motivated and able to work independently in a fast‑paced environment.
• Demonstrated ability to use AI tools to improve efficiency,…