About the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau The Happy Valley Adventure Bureau is the official destination marketing organization for Centre County, Pennsylvania. HVAB promotes Happy Valley as a premier travel destination to drive visitation, overnight stays, visitor spending, and economic impact while supporting local businesses and enhancing the quality of life for residents. Mission Statement The mission of the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau is to promote Centre County as a premier travel destination in order to generate overnight visitation and economic impact, support the local tourism economy, and enhance the overall quality of life for the community. Position Summary The Director of Sales is a senior, hands on leader responsible for developing and executing HVAB's group sales strategy and positioning Happy Valley as a competitive regional and national destination for meetings, conventions, sports events, tournaments, and other group business. The position is expected to build a disciplined sales pipeline, strengthen partner and client relationships, improve sales processes and reporting, and convert qualified opportunities into measurable room nights, visitor spending, and economic impact. The Director of Sales works closely with the President and

CEO, HVAB

staff, lodging partners, venues, Penn State, community stakeholders, and event organizers. The position regularly represents HVAB publicly and is expected to bring structure, accountability, responsiveness, and a results oriented approach to the organization's sales efforts. Core Role Priorities Build and execute a proactive sales strategy focused on qualified group business that produces measurable overnight demand and economic impact. Create a consistent, accountable sales process from prospecting and lead qualification through bid development, site visits, conversion, servicing, and post event follow up. Strengthen HVAB's use of its CRM and reporting tools so sales activity, client communication, lead status, room nights, conversion, and return on investment can be measured accurately. Deepen relationships with lodging partners, venues, Penn State, community stakeholders, meeting planners, rights holders, and event organizers. Represent Happy Valley professionally in the marketplace and help position the destination for long term growth in meetings, conventions, sports, and group travel. Key Responsibilities Sales Strategy and Business Development Develop and implement an annual sales plan aligned with HVAB's strategic priorities, budget, and tourism economic impact goals. Identify, research, solicit, and secure meetings, conventions, sports events, tournaments, special events, and other qualified group business. Maintain an active prospecting program and sales pipeline with clear follow up expectations and measurable conversion goals. Prepare and coordinate bids, proposals, presentations, destination information, and responses to requests for proposals. Coordinate qualified lead distribution to lodging and tourism partners in a timely, consistent, and transparent manner. Conduct client presentations, familiarization tours, sales missions, site visits, and other business development activities. Partner and Client Relationships Build and maintain strong relationships with lodging partners, venues, Penn State, community stakeholders, meeting planners, sports rights holders, event organizers, and other decision makers. Serve as a responsive point of contact for clients throughout the sales process and help coordinate destination resources that support successful events. Work collaboratively with HVAB staff and partners to identify opportunities for repeat business, event retention, and account growth. Represent HVAB at industry trade shows, sales missions, conferences, networking events, community functions, and client meetings. Sales Systems, Reporting, and Accountability Maintain accurate and timely client records, sales activity, correspondence, lead status, account history, and next steps within the CRM system. Establish and maintain clear sales workflows, follow up standards, reporting practices, and documentation that support accountability and continuity. Track and report room nights, economic impact, pipeline activity, bid and request for proposal conversion, repeat business, event retention, and other key performance measures. Evaluate the return on investment of trade shows, sales missions, sponsorships, and other sales initiatives and recommend changes when warranted. Provide regular sales updates and performance reporting to the President and CEO and, when requested, the Board of Directors or committees. Use available data and market intelligence to identify sales opportunities, prioritize target markets, and improve future sales strategy. Organizational Leadership and Collaboration Contribute as a member of the senior leadership team and support a culture of professionalism, collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement. Coordinate with marketing, communications, visitor services, finance, and other staff so sales efforts align with destination priorities and available resources. Help modernize sales practices, tools, reporting, and partner communication as HVAB strengthens its overall operating systems. Manage approved sales activities and expenses responsibly and within established budget parameters. Perform other duties and special projects as assigned by the President and CEO. Key Performance Indicators Qualified room nights and economic impact generated from booked group business and events. Sales pipeline growth, qualified leads, bid activity, and conversion rates. Timeliness and accuracy of lead distribution, CRM records, reporting, and client follow up. Event retention, repeat bookings, and account growth. Return on investment for trade shows, sales missions, and other sales initiatives. Partner, client, and stakeholder satisfaction. Education, Experience, and Qualifications Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in tourism, hospitality, business, sales, marketing, or a related field preferred. Minimum of five years of progressively responsible sales, destination marketing, hospitality, tourism, sports tourism, convention, or closely related experience required. DMO experience is strongly preferred. Demonstrated success in business development, relationship management, lead generation, proposal development, and converting opportunities into measurable results. Strong communication, presentation, negotiation, writing, and customer service skills. Experience with CRM systems, sales reporting, Microsoft Office or comparable productivity tools, and presentation software. Ability to analyze sales activity and performance data and translate results into clear recommendations and priorities. Highly organized, detail oriented, self motivated, responsive, and comfortable managing multiple priorities and deadlines. Ability to work collaboratively with lodging partners, venues, community organizations, senior leaders, board members, and other external stakeholders. Sound judgment, professionalism, discretion, and the ability to represent HVAB effectively in public and industry settings. Work Expectations This is a full time, in office position based at the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau in State College, Pennsylvania, with an expectation of five days per week on site. Regular travel is required for trade shows, sales missions, industry events, client presentations, and site visits. Occasional evening and weekend work is required for events, community functions, client activities, and other organizational responsibilities. Compensation and Benefits Annual salary range of $95,000 to $110,000, commensurate with experience and qualifications. Annual performance incentive opportunity of up to 15% of base salary, tied to established and measurable performance goals including qualified room nights, economic impact, new group business, lead and RFP conversion, pipeline development, CRM and reporting accountability, and strategic organizational priorities. Health, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance under HVAB's current employee benefits program. Company matched 401(k) plan eligibility after 90 days of employment. Paid holidays and vacation time in accordance with HVAB policy and experience level. Ongoing professional development and industry training opportunities. Company paid downtown parking.

Pay:

$95,000.00 - $110,000.00 per year

Benefits:

401(k) matching Cell phone reimbursement Dental insurance Health insurance Life insurance Paid time off Vision insurance

Work Location:

In person