Specialist, Travel and Tourism

Please Note: This role requires the ability to work on site 3 days per week per company policy.

This is a temporary role that ends January 2028. 

The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. It brings together the foremost political, business and other leaders of society to address pressing global challenges and drive collective action. 

Why we are recruiting 

Travel and Tourism  is a key global sector, contributing over 10% of global GDP and supporting hundreds of millions of jobs worldwide. By 2034, it is expected to grow 1.5 times faster than the global economy. To help shape a more sustainable, inclusive and resilient future for the sector, the Forum has launched in 2025 a new initiative to reposition Travel and Tourism as a force for economic development, cultural exchange, shared prosperity and environmental stewardship. 

The Initiative Specialist will play a central role in supporting the development, coordination and delivery of the initiative across content, community, events and workstreams.  

Reporting lines and interactions 

The Initiative Specialist, Travel and Tourism reports to the Experience, Travel & Tourism Lead and works closely with the wider initiative team, including the Insights Lead, Community Lead and Insights Specialist. The role also involves close collaboration with colleagues across the  Global Industry  Team, the  Centre for Urban Transformation , the Global Communications Group, and other Forum teams, as well as with external stakeholders, partners and community members. 

Key responsibilities 

1. Initiative coordination, stakeholder engagement and communications support 

• Support the overall coordination of the initiative’s workplan, priorities, timelines and follow-up across community, insights and activation workstreams. 

• Support the development, organization and quality control of initiative content, branding and narrative consistency across all materials and channels. 

• Coordinate internal and external meetings, prepare agendas, capture clear notes and action points, and ensure timely follow-up with relevant stakeholders. 

• Develop and maintain high-quality initiative materials, including presentations, briefing decks, two-pagers, internal notes and external-facing documents. 

• Manage and update initiative-related digital and knowledge platforms, including the website, Welink page, Salesforce community pages and selected Tableau-based tools and dashboards. 

• Coordinate closely with the Global Communications Group on communication and visibility activities, including agenda blogs, newsletters, videos, messaging assets and selected social media materials. 

• Identify and develop relevant innovation opportunities linked to AI, automation and digital tools that can streamline team processes and improve the initiative’s effectiveness and impact. 

2. Event development and delivery 

• Support the planning and execution of initiative-related events, roundtables, leadership meetings and external meetings. 

• Assist with participant identification, invitation tracking, participant management and stakeholder communications throughout the event lifecycle. 

• Coordinate programme development and support the preparation of event agendas, concept notes, briefing materials and run-of-show documents. 

• Develop high-quality speaker briefing decks and support speaker briefing processes in coordination with internal teams and external participants. 

• Provide operational support for event delivery, including coordination with hospitality team, communications and programming teams as required. 

• Help ensure seamless execution before, during and after events, including logistics, materials preparation, note-taking, synthesis of takeaways and follow-up actions. 

3. Content development and support to project outcomes 

• Work closely with the team to support the development of analysis, research, strategic messaging and presentations linked to the initiative’s priority outcomes. 

• Contribute to the preparation of insight materials, presentations, briefing notes and analytical decks related to initiative workstreams, including talents and skills, AI and technology, and other emerging sector priorities. 

• Conduct desk research, synthesize findings and structure content clearly for internal and external audiences. 

• Translate complex ideas, data and stakeholder input into clear, concise and presentation-ready materials. 

Preferred requirements and experience 

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in public policy, tourism, international relations, business, economics or a related field. 

• 3+ years of relevant professional experience in project coordination, stakeholder engagement, research, event delivery or communications, preferably within an international organization, consulting environment, public-private platform or the Travel and Tourism sector. 

• Strong project management and coordination skills, with the ability to manage multiple workstreams, deadlines and stakeholders simultaneously. 

• Excellent writing, editing and presentation development skills, with the ability to produce polished, audience-ready materials for senior internal and external stakeholders.