About Hinton Northern Rockies
Hinton Northern Rockies is the public-facing brand of the Hinton Destination Management Organization (HDMO), a non-profit destination organization working to grow Hinton's visitor economy in a way that supports local businesses, strengthens community pride, and builds long-term destination value.
HDMO is guided by the 2025-2030 Visitor Economy Roadmap and works across visitor services, destination marketing, member support, product and experience development, and business development. As the organization enters its next phase, the focus is on maintaining strong destination growth while increasing measurable value for accommodation partners and members.
Contract Summary
HDMO is seeking a results-focused Business Development Lead to help generate measurable opportunities for Hinton's accommodation sector and broader visitor economy.
This contract is focused on proactive business development, group and event attraction, sports tourism, corporate and crew accommodation opportunities, travel trade relationships, and member-based partnerships. The successful contractor will work closely with the Executive Director to identify, pursue, coordinate, and report on opportunities that can generate overnight stays, partner referrals, event activity, and increased visitor spending in Hinton.
This is a practical, relationship-driven contract for someone who is comfortable with outreach, follow-up, sales-style prospecting, partner coordination, and turning opportunities into clear outcomes. The work will align with HDMO's approved strategic direction, including the 2025-2030 Visitor Economy Roadmap and the 2026 business development realignment.
This is an initial 8-month contract opportunity. Subject to performance, funding, organizational needs, and Board approval, the role may be extended or evolve into a full-time position.
Core Contract Objectives
The Business Development Lead will be responsible for advancing measurable business development outcomes aligned with HDMO's current priorities.
Key objectives include:
· Generate qualified group, event, corporate, sport, crew accommodation, or travel trade leads.
· Support the development of confirmed group or event opportunities that can generate overnight stays and visitor spending in Hinton.
· Contribute to estimated incremental room nights associated with HDMO-supported activity.
· Develop active partnerships with sport organizations, corporate contacts, event organizers, tour operators, associations, venues, or relevant industry partners.
· Support member-property activations, hosted opportunities, or business-to-business connections where feasible.
· Support or enhance local events or event-based opportunities that can drive visitation, overnight stays, or member value.
· Introduce or support coordinated room block, booking code, referral, or tracking processes tied to events and group opportunities.
Final deliverables and milestones will be confirmed through the contract process and refined with the Executive Director based on current opportunities, seasonal timing, local capacity, and available partner support.
Scope of Work
Lead Generation & Opportunity Development
The contractor will identify, pursue, and manage a pipeline of qualified opportunities that can generate overnight stays, group business, event activity, partner referrals, and increased visitor spending in Hinton.
This may include:
· Sports tournaments and sport hosting opportunities.
· Meetings, conferences, retreats, and association gatherings.
· Corporate travel and crew accommodation opportunities.
· Travel trade, receptive tour operator, and group travel relationships.
· Weddings, reunions, and social group opportunities where aligned with local capacity.
· Large regional projects or workforce accommodation opportunities.
· Local events that could be expanded to drive overnight visitation.
The contractor will be expected to maintain a clear lead pipeline, including contacts, outreach dates, opportunity stage, next steps, estimated value, member connections, and outcomes.
Start-Up, Systems & Member Intelligence
The Business Development Lead will be expected to quickly understand HDMO's current member information, existing opportunities, and business development priorities. Some tools and information are already in place; the contractor will be responsible for reviewing, updating, and using these resources to support timely outreach, lead generation, and reporting.
This may include:
· Reviewing existing accommodation, venue, member, and partner information.
· Updating key details where needed, including amenities, capacity, group readiness, long-stay suitability, seasonal needs, and special offers.
· Reviewing current and pending business development opportunities.
· Maintaining a simple lead pipeline and tracking system.
· Identifying practical information gaps that may limit HDMO's ability to respond quickly to group, event, sport, corporate, or crew accommodation opportunities.
Accommodation & Member Engagement
The contractor will act as a practical liaison between HDMO, accommodation partners, and opportunity contacts.
This includes:
· Gathering and maintaining current accommodation partner information to support business development opportunities.
· Matching opportunities fairly and appropriately to member properties based on group needs, availability, and fit.
· Supporting communication with accommodation partners regarding leads, referrals, events, room blocks, booking codes, and follow-up requirements.
· Helping strengthen trust and communication between HDMO and accommodation partners through timely, useful, and action-oriented updates.
· Identifying opportunities to connect visitor economy activity back to local businesses, restaurants, attractions, and service providers.
Events, Sports Tourism & Partnerships
The contractor will build relationships with event organizers, sport organizations, corporate planners, tour operators, associations, venues, local businesses, and community partners.
This includes:
· Identifying events that could be attracted to Hinton.
· Supporting local events that have potential to drive overnight stays or visitor spending.
· Helping develop practical event support tools such as accommodation summaries, room block information, venue details, local supplier referrals, and visitor information.
· Working with the Executive Director and partners to identify opportunities for member-hosted events, community activations, and business-to-business collaboration.
· Recognizing local capacity constraints, including facility availability, venue limitations, volunteer capacity, and seasonal accommodation patterns.
Tracking, Reporting & Accountability
The contractor will be required to provide clear, consistent reporting to the Executive Director.
Reporting expectations include:
· Monthly activity updates outlining outreach completed, leads generated, opportunities in progress, partner meetings, member engagement, and next steps.
· Quarterly performance summaries outlining estimated room nights, confirmed opportunities, partnership development, event support, and lessons learned.
· A maintained lead tracker or pipeline document.
· Documentation of key contacts, partner conversations, follow-up timelines, and outcomes.
· Practical recommendations for improving HDMO's ability to attract and track business development opportunities.
This reporting is central to the contract and will be used to support Board updates, member communication, and deliverable review.
Payment Structure
The total contract value is up to $50,000 over an 8-month contract term.
The contract will include a modest monthly base fee and deliverable-based payments tied to agreed-upon milestones, reporting requirements, and progress toward confirmed outcomes.
The final payment schedule and deliverables will be confirmed through the contract process.
Marketing & Communications Support
Marketing execution is delivered separately through HDMO's third-party marketing contractor.
The Business Development Lead may provide business development insights to the Executive Director and marketing contractor so that campaigns, landing pages, content, sales materials, packages, and promotional priorities support lead generation and member referrals.
This may include identifying content needs related to:
· Group travel.
· Events and sport hosting.
· Long-stay accommodation.
· Crew accommodation.
· Member amenities.
· Meeting and event venues.
· Visitor planning resources.
Qualifications & Experience
The successful contractor should bring:
· Relevant experience in business development, sales, tourism, hospitality, hotel sales, sport hosting, event attraction, economic development, destination marketing, or a related field.
· Strong relationship-building and follow-up skills.
· Comfort initiating outreach and moving conversations toward practical next steps.
· Experience working with hotels, venues, event organizers, tourism operators, corporate clients, associations, or community partners.
· Existing relationships with Hinton-based sport organizations, tournament organizers, recreation groups, or event partners are considered a strong asset.
· Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage a lead pipeline, contact lists, reporting documents, and multiple timelines.
· Clear written and verbal communication skills.
· Ability to work independently while staying aligned with organizational priorities and direction from the Executive Director.
· Comfort with basic reporting, spreadsheets, CRM-style tracking, shared documents, and digital communication tools.
· Knowledge of Hinton, the Northern Rockies, Alberta tourism, sports tourism, group travel, or the accommodation sector is considered an asset.
The Ideal Contractor
· Is proactive, organized, and comfortable initiating conversations with potential partners.
· Understands the importance of measurable outcomes and practical value for members.
· Can communicate confidently with hotel partners, event organizers, local businesses, and community stakeholders.
· Enjoys connecting opportunities with businesses, events, accommodation partners, and visitor needs.
· Is professional, diplomatic, and appropriately persistent, with the ability to build trust and move opportunities forward without being overly sales-driven.
· Can work with clear deliverables and understands that accountability is central to the role.
How to Submit
Please submit a resume or company profile and a short letter outlining your relevant experience and interest through Indeed or directly to [email protected].
Submissions will be reviewed as received. Only candidates selected for a follow-up conversation will be contacted.
Pay: $50,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Flexible schedule
- Mileage reimbursement
Application question(s):
- Are you located in Hinton or nearby communities? (Jasper, Grande Cache, Edson etc.)
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Hinton, AB T7V 2A7
