Head of Travel Partnerships – EU

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced Head of Travel Partnerships – EU to lead the development and expansion of a travel insurance business across European markets.

This is a senior commercial and market-development role focused on identifying, developing and converting strategic partnerships with airlines, Online Travel Agencies (OTAs), travel platforms, fintechs, mobility businesses and other organisations with significant travel-related customer journeys.

The successful candidate will bring strong experience in travel insurance, embedded insurance, insurtech or digital insurance distribution, together with a proven track record of developing complex, high-value strategic partnerships across Europe.

The role will also play an important part in establishing the commercial, insurance, technology and operational framework required to scale the business successfully across multiple European markets.

Location: Europe-based, with flexibility depending on location and ability to travel regularly across the region.

Key Responsibilities

Market Development & Growth

• Develop and execute the European travel insurance growth strategy.
• Identify priority markets, distribution channels and strategic partnership opportunities.
• Build and manage a strong pipeline across airlines, OTAs, travel companies, fintechs, banks, mobility platforms and digital distributors.
• Originate and convert large-scale embedded travel insurance opportunities.
• Develop market-entry strategies for selected European countries.
• Identify appropriate distribution and insurance structures for individual markets and opportunities.
• Build market recognition as a leading travel insurance and assistance partner within the European travel ecosystem.

Strategic Partnerships

• Develop senior-level relationships with airlines, OTAs, travel groups, insurers, brokers, insurtechs and other strategic partners.
• Lead commercial discussions, proposals, tenders and negotiations through to implementation.
• Develop long-term strategic partnerships rather than purely transactional arrangements.
• Work with partners to design tailored insurance programmes embedded within their booking or purchasing journey.
• Represent the business at relevant travel, aviation, insurance, insurtech and technology conferences across Europe.

Product & Proposition Development

• Work with internal teams and external partners to develop travel insurance propositions suited to individual European markets.
• Identify emerging customer needs, product opportunities and distribution trends.
• Support the development of embedded propositions covering travel, medical assistance, trip disruption, cancellation, baggage and related benefits.
• Adapt existing products and capabilities to meet the commercial and technical requirements of strategic partners.

Insurance & Capacity Development

• Work with insurance and reinsurance partners to establish appropriate capacity for European programmes.
• Coordinate with insurers, reinsurers, brokers and other stakeholders to develop compliant and commercially competitive solutions.
• Support discussions relating to underwriting structures, pricing and product design.
• Ensure appropriate insurance and reinsurance support is available for new programmes.

Regulatory & Market Structure

• Maintain a strong understanding of European insurance distribution requirements and the regulatory considerations affecting embedded travel insurance.
• Work with legal and compliance teams to determine appropriate market-entry and distribution structures.
• Identify suitable insurance carriers, intermediaries, MGA partners and other licensed entities where required.
• Ensure proposed partnership structures are commercially scalable and aligned with applicable regulatory requirements.

Internal Collaboration & Commercial Management

• Work closely with executive management, commercial, operations, technology, assistance, underwriting and compliance teams.
• Coordinate with technology partners to support API-based and embedded insurance integrations.
• Provide market intelligence, competitor insights and strategic recommendations to management.
• Maintain clear visibility over the European opportunity pipeline, expected revenue, probability of conversion and implementation timelines.

Candidate Profile

• 8+ years' relevant commercial experience within travel insurance, embedded insurance, insurtech, travel technology or digital insurance distribution.
• A strong track record of building and converting strategic partnerships.
• Proven experience developing relationships with airlines, OTAs, travel companies, fintechs or major digital platforms.
• Strong knowledge of embedded insurance business models and digital insurance distribution.
• Good understanding of the European insurance market and distribution landscape.
• Experience negotiating complex commercial agreements with senior stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to build a market and opportunity pipeline from an early stage.
• Strong commercial and analytical capability, including assessing programme economics and partnership viability.
• Excellent communication, presentation and negotiation skills.
• The ability to operate independently across multiple European markets.

Preferred Experience

Experience within one or more of the following areas would be particularly advantageous:

• Embedded travel insurance.
• Airline ancillary revenue programmes.
• OTA or travel-platform insurance distribution.
• Insurtech partnerships.
• Travel assistance.
• API-based insurance integrations.
• Travel insurance underwriting or capacity development.
• Experience with organisations such as Cover Genius, bolttech, Qover, Allianz Partners, AXA Partners, Collinson, battleface, or comparable travel and embedded insurance businesses.

Key Success Measures

Success will be measured against:

• Development of a strong European partnership pipeline.
• Number and quality of strategic partnerships secured.
• Travel insurance premium and commission revenue generated.
• Successful launch of new European programmes.
• Establishment of sustainable insurer and distribution structures across priority markets.
• Contribution to the wider international travel insurance growth strategy.