Senior Lead, Expedition Operations

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Senior Lead, Expedition Operations

Journey with us! Combine your career goals and sense of adventure by joining our incredible team of employees at Royal Caribbean Group . We are proud to offer a competitive compensation and benefits package, and excellent career development opportunities, each offering unique ways to explore the world.

We are proud to be the vacation-industry leader with global brands — including Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea Cruises — the most innovative fleet and private destinations, and the best people. Together, we are dedicated to turning the vacation of a lifetime into a lifetime of vacations for our guests.

Royal Caribbean Group’s Silversea Cruises brand has an exciting career opportunity for a full-time Senior Lead, Expedition Operations on the Destination Development Team reporting to the AVP, Expedition Operations.

This position will work onsite in either Miami, Florida or Monaco, depending on the selected candidate's place of residence.

Agency and Third-Party Submissions: Please note this is a direct search by the Company, and applications through agencies and other third parties will not be accepted, nor will fees be paid for unsolicited resumes. Any unsolicited resumes will be considered the Company's property.

Position Summary:

Expedition Operations, Permitting and Compliance, is Silversea's global authority and program owner for expedition permitting, regulatory compliance, destination access, stakeholder engagement and related governance. The role ensures that all permits, licenses, permissions, certifications, environmental and protected-area approvals, memberships, reporting obligations and operating authorizations required for expedition voyages are identified, secured, maintained, implemented and retained.

This is broader than permit administration. It carries end-to-end operational and financial accountability, executive advisory responsibility, and strategic external engagement. The role establishes the controls, systems and visibility required to protect lawful destination access, published itineraries, guest experience, commercial performance, and Silversea's reputation. It must identify and elevate risks early, removing single points of failure and providing practical, commercially realistic solutions.

The position continuously monitors regulatory, environmental, political and community developments and conducts due diligence for new destinations, activities, communities, protected areas, aircraft operations and operating concepts. It is a primary liaison with authorities, regulators, Indigenous organizations, destination stakeholders and industry bodies, and represents Silversea in relevant forums including IAATO and AECO.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Global Permitting, Compliance and Voyage Lifecycle

• Own Silversea's global expedition permitting and compliance program, with accountability from early itinerary review and application through approval, operational implementation, post-voyage reporting, renewal and archival.
• Maintain complete oversight of permits, licenses, approvals, authorizations, certifications, memberships, operating conditions and compliance obligations across all operating regions.
• Ensure applications and supporting materials are accurate, complete, quality checked and submitted within required lead times; establish clear ownership, approval gates and escalation thresholds.
• Translate permit conditions and operating restrictions into clear instructions, distribute them in time and verify acknowledgement by relevant shoreside and shipboard teams.
• Coordinate required voyage, industry and regulatory reporting with the onboard Executive Committee; ensure follow-up submissions are accurate, approved, timely and retained.

Regulatory Intelligence and Operational Feasibility

• Monitor and interpret legislation, environmental and protected-area rules, Indigenous operating requirements, maritime and aviation requirements, government policy, stakeholder expectations and other regulatory change affecting current or future operations.
• Maintain expert knowledge of current operating areas, build timely knowledge for proposed destinations, and maintain a forward-looking regulatory calendar and horizon-scanning process.
• Conduct regulatory and permitting feasibility assessments for new destinations, communities, activities, infrastructure, aircraft operations and expedition experiences, identifying approval pathways, consultations, constraints, lead times, conditions and post-operation obligations.
• Advise Deployment, Product Development, Itinerary Planning, Port and Marine Operations and leadership on destination readiness, access risk, decision deadlines and commercial implications; recommend whether proposals should proceed, be modified, require further consultation or be reconsidered.

Governance, Risk and Records

• Design, own and continually improve global permit management, document-control and tracking framework covering applications, dependencies, milestones, approvals, renewals, conditions, reporting, costs and record retention.
• Establish quality assurance, peer review, verification, audit and escalation controls to prevent omissions, incomplete submissions, missed deadlines, version failures and unclear ownership.
• Maintain risk registers and conduct scheduled audits of active and future voyages, permit files, conditions, reporting obligations and records.
• Lead investigations into failures, near misses and process breakdowns, documenting root causes, corrective actions, owners and completion dates; develop contingency or alternative operating plans where access is uncertain.
• Maintain a secure, accessible and auditable central repository for decisions, applications, correspondence, approvals, conditions, reports, payments and supporting records, with disciplined version control and retention practices.

Indigenous, Government and Destination Stakeholder Strategy

• Develop and maintain respectful, productive and long-term relationships with Indigenous communities and representative organizations, governments, regulators, protected-area managers, environmental authorities and destination stakeholders.
• Monitor political, legal, social, cultural, and community dynamics that may affect access, particularly in Arctic regions, and identify emerging concerns early.
• Partner with RCG Government Relations, Expedition Operations, Product Development and leadership on consultation, operating agreements, partnerships and destination-access strategies.
• Ensure internal teams understand the distinction between regulatory permission, community expectations and responsible partnership obligations, and recommend responses that balance compliance, operations, environmental responsibility, community interests and commercial needs.

Cross-Functional Leadership and External Representation

• Work closely with Port Operations, Marine Operations, Government Relations, Legal, Risk Management, Finance, Deployment, Itinerary Planning, Shore Experiences, Expedition Product Development and shipboard leadership, clarifying accountability where requirements overlap.
• Serve as the principal expedition permitting and compliance contact for authorities, agencies, Indigenous organizations, industry associations, agents, consultants and other external stakeholders; build relationships that support accurate information, timely resolution and long-term access.
• Manage external agents and consultants, define deliverables and verify the quality and completeness of their work.
• Represent Silversea at relevant conferences, annual meetings, workshops, regulatory forums, government meetings and industry working groups, including IAATO and AECO; translate external developments into internal guidance, training, process updates and strategic recommendations.

Executive Reporting and Strategic Advisory

• Maintain executive dashboards, risk reports, milestones and compliance metrics that provide clear visibility of status, deadlines, costs, regulatory change, stakeholder concerns and operational constraints.
• Escalate material risks early through the appropriate leadership channels, especially where an approval, condition, stakeholder issue or regulatory change may affect a published voyage or future deployment.
• Provide decision-ready advice with practical mitigation plans, options, accountable owners and recommended timelines; act as a trusted adviser on compliance, permitting, access and stakeholder engagement.

Financial Governance, Fees and Industry Memberships

• Create, manage and control budgets for permit fees, regulatory charges, industry dues, subscriptions, assessments, memberships and related compliance costs.
• Manage a complex multi-year portfolio of advance payments, prepayments, deposits, accruals, annual assessments, variable and post-visit fees, foreign-currency exposure and obligations spanning operating years.
• Forecast commitments by destination, voyage, season, authority, membership body and financial year; administer IAATO, AECO and other relevant memberships, subscriptions and assessments.
• Partner with Finance on budgets, forecasts, accruals, prepayment schedules, invoice validation, coding, reconciliation and reporting; maintain complete records of committed, paid, accrued and forecast costs and explain material variances.
• Anticipate changing fees and advise leadership of impacts early; ensure payments and related reporting are completed on time, so Silversea remains in good standing.
• Ensure all post-voyage reporting (PVR’s) to regulatory authorities, industry bodies and membership organizations is completed accurately, fully and within required deadlines, with rigorous quality control to prevent errors, omissions or non-compliance

Decision-Making and Accountability

• Accountable for the integrity, timeliness, visibility and effectiveness of the global permitting and compliance program.
• Expected to challenge assumptions, stop or elevate work that is not demonstrably compliant and requires corrective action where approvals, evidence or ownership are insufficient.
• Exercises judgment in distinguishing routine administration from material risk and in engaging executive leadership, Legal, Government Relations, Marine or Port Operations.
• Works independently without allowing autonomy to become a single point of failure; critical requirements, decisions and risks must be transparent, documented and appropriately verified.
• Protects lawful access and long-term stakeholder relationships over short-term operational convenience.

Qualifications, Knowledge and Skills :

• 8-10 years of progressive experience in expedition or maritime operations, permitting, compliance, regulatory affairs, government relations, destination management, environmental regulation or another complex regulated environment.
• Demonstrated management of multi-jurisdictional permitting or regulatory programs with concurrent deadlines, dependencies and material operational consequences.
• Direct work with government agencies, permitting authorities, regulators, protected-area managers, Indigenous organizations, industry bodies, agents or specialist consultants.
• Experience administering multi-year budgets involving prepayments, accruals, recurring dues, assessments, invoice validation and reconciliation, and providing concise risk-based recommendations to senior leaders.
• Shipboard expedition experience and direct Arctic, Antarctic or remote-destination experience is a must.
• Advanced understanding of expedition cruise operations, voyage planning, remote-destination access and the dependencies among destination, port, marine and expedition approvals.
• Strong understanding of the operational, financial, legal, environmental and reputational consequences of inaccurate, incomplete, delayed or missing permits.
• Working knowledge of IAATO, AECO, relevant operating frameworks, reporting obligations and membership structures; understanding of Indigenous consultation and community engagement in destination access.
• Strong knowledge of compliance governance, internal controls, audit readiness, document management, corrective action, budgeting, forecasting, accruals, prepayments and reconciliation.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills for complex tracking and financial schedules; strong Word, PowerPoint, SharePoint and collaborative workflow skills.
• Able to design dashboards, risk registers, repositories and auditable systems; strong research, analytical writing, presentation, negotiation, facilitation, project management and regulatory-document interpretation skills.

We know there's a lot to consider. As you go through the application process, our recruiters will be glad to provide guidance, and more relevant details to answer any additional questions. Thank you again for your interest in Royal Caribbean Group. We'll hope to see you onboard soon!

It is the policy of the Company to ensure equal employment and promotion opportunity to qualified candidates without discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, sexuality, gender identity or expression, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Royal Caribbean Group and each of its subsidiaries prohibit and will not tolerate discrimination or harassment.

We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities and to providing reasonable accommodation to support candidates with disabilities during our hiring process. If you need a reasonable accommodation, please reach out to us at View email address on click.appcast.io. This email is for disability-related accommodation requests only.

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