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Explore Asheville · 11 hours ago

Community & Partner Engagement Manager

Asheville, NC

Full-time

Onsite

Mid Level

$59K/yr - $70K/yr

4+ years exp

Explore Asheville is the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority focused on promoting the area to travelers. They are seeking a Community & Partner Engagement Manager responsible for building and maintaining relationships with travel and hospitality partners, leading engagement and retention efforts, and ensuring effective communication across stakeholders.

HospitalityLeisureMarketingTourismTravel

Responsibilities

Build and maintain strong, trust-based relationships with travel, hospitality, and tourism-adjacent partners across Buncombe County

Serve as a visible presence in the community through outreach, meetings, events, and industry gatherings

Engage community stakeholders and partners to understand needs, challenges, and opportunities related to travel, hospitality, and destination management

Actively recruit new partners and support their integration into the partner ecosystem

Lead partner recruitment and retention efforts in collaboration with the Partnership Coordinator

Support the onboarding experience for new partners, ensuring awareness of organizational resources, benefits, and engagement opportunities

Collaborate with internal teams to connect partners to relevant programs, communications, and initiatives

Contribute to the development and refinement of partner engagement strategies that respond to evolving industry and community needs

Contribute to the development and refinement of partner-facing materials, including onboarding resources, engagement communications, and feedback tools, in collaboration with internal teams

Plan and manage partner-focused social, networking, and recognition events that strengthen relationships and foster connection

Ensure events are inclusive, relationship-driven, and aligned with engagement objectives

Coordinate venues, vendors, logistics, and communications related to engagement-focused events

Collaborate with internal teams to ensure consistency with organizational priorities and brand standards

Lead partner listening and feedback efforts, including the development, deployment, analysis, and synthesis of an annual partner survey, and translate findings into actionable insights to inform engagement strategies and programming

Identify trends, insights, and opportunities emerging from partner and community engagement

Share insights with department leadership and internal teams to support informed decision-making

Oversee and maintain partner policies related to business and event listings on ExploreAsheville.com, updating guidelines as new business categories and offerings emerge

Provide direction, guidance, and support to the Partnership Coordinator on ongoing partner data management and quality assurance

In collaboration with the Partnership Coordinator, design and evolve the partner onboarding journey, including orientations, training materials, and extranet resources

Promote partner awareness and effective use of extranet tools and resources to support engagement, accuracy, and self-service

Work collaboratively across the Partnership & Destination Management team to support aligned engagement efforts

Coordinate with Public Information and Partner Operations staff to ensure consistent partner-facing communications

Support cross-department initiatives that rely on strong partner and community relationships

Represent Explore Asheville/BCTDA at community and industry meetings, events, and forums as appropriate

Accountable for the day-to-day workload, contributing to a cohesive, effective, and accountable team in consistent alignment with Explore Asheville’s values

Actively participate in team meetings and initiatives

Lead and/or participate in meetings/planning/initiatives to support strong workplace culture and successful performance/execution of organizational strategy

Elevate and solve issues, support change, and ensure the maintenance of productive processes

Represent Explore Asheville/BCTDA at meetings and industry functions and before the public. This may include making presentations to a wide range of groups

Qualification

Community engagementPartner relationsEvent planningMicrosoft Office SuiteCRM systemsFeedback synthesisInterpersonal skillsCommunication skillsOrganizational skills

Required

Bachelor's degree with a minimum of 4 years of experience in community engagement, partner relations, economic development, travel and hospitality, or a related field -OR- any combination of education, coursework, and/or technical training necessary to meet position requirements

Demonstrated experience building and sustaining professional relationships across diverse stakeholder groups

Experience planning and executing engagement-focused events and convenings

Strong interpersonal, communication, and organizational skills

Ability to synthesize feedback and translate insights into action

Appreciation for Buncombe County's travel and hospitality community and broader community context

Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite; experience with CRM systems preferred

Preferred

Experience with CRM systems preferred

Benefits

Paid Time Off program with 19 days to start

11 annual paid office holidays

Employer-provided medical, dental, vision, life, short-term disability and long-term disability insurance

401k with a company match

Employee wellness benefits

Company

Explore Asheville

Asheville is a thriving mountain city featuring a funky and eclectic downtown, 30-plus art galleries downtown alone, a burgeoning culinary scene, a thriving live music scene and, of course, the awe-inspiring scenery of the Appalachian Mountains.

Founded in 1983

Asheville, North Carolina, USA

11-50 employees