An Inside the Cask chat with…the team behind the Free TR Jobs Board

The supply and demand model of the jobs market needs enablers such as headhunters,  recruiters and especially websites such as the Free Travel Retail (TR) Jobs Board, created by the team from One Red Kite. However this site has one unique point of difference – it is absolutely free to all users!

I first met Kevin Brocklebank from One Red Kite a few years ago at the TFWA World Exhibition & Conference in Cannes in France. Always full of ideas and initiatives to improve the industry as a whole, Kevin was a delight to work with and a great person to have a debate about different topics affecting the travel retail channel.

In fact, Kevin was one of the inspirations behind my own Inside the Cask Latest Jobs page, the purpose of which is to help people get into or back in the Drinks Industry or Retail – the page can be found here.

He was kind enough to spare some time to explain the Free TR Jobs Board initiative and his desire to help others.

Inside the Cask: Hi Kevin, so what is the free travel retail (TR) jobs board?

 In short, it is a single place for retailers, brands, airports and even agencies to post roles they have available, for free. Those looking for roles can also post their profiles.

Inside the Cask: What was the motivation to do it? Why bother?

We had a number of friends and colleagues ask us if we knew of any jobs that were available. We soon realised that there was a gap between experienced travel retail talent and companies looking for them.

I have a passion for helping others and will do whatever I can to support people. I decided to create a jobs board to help bring talent and companies together.

Inside the Cask: What is your own background and experience Kevin?

 I started One Red Kite in 2012. Prior to that, I spent almost 8 years at WDFG (World Duty Free Group, now part of DUFRY) in a variety of roles.

I went in to set up a micro space planning function and ended up in the Commercial Finance function. My time at WDFG was more than a job. I approached it like I was doing a degree. I studied, explored, asked questions and developed new ways of running analysis to create fresh insights and deliver results. Prior to WDFG, I had 8 years at Dixons Stores Group (DSG). The culture there was VERY different to Travel Retail. The transition was a very steep learning curve. At DSG, I could make a decision to run a promotion on Monday and it would executed in over 350 shops by Saturday – POS, the works. Travel Retail is very different. It took time to adjust but it was worth it.

Jill (my wife) joined One Red Kite from Estee Lauder. Prior to that she was also at WDFG. Combined, we have extensive travel retail experience across most functions. Jill spent time on the shop floor at Heathrow managing Beauty Consultants, went on to be a trainer, delivered on a number of projects and was the Resourcing Manager for a while.

Inside the Cask: If someone is interested in getting into the GTR channel, what would you recommend aside from signing up to the free job board? 

There are a number of things you can do. You can follow the travel retail trade press such as The Moodie Davitt Report, connect with people on Linkedin, contact specialist agencies etc. There are a number of routes, either through a retailer or through the brands themselves. Other options include working directly for an airport or via a promotions agency that specialise in TR. One thing to note is that to get airside passes, you need to have a full background check. Because I had gone travelling, my BAA pass took 5 months to get.

Inside the Cask: so the listing by companies is free…what is the catch? 

 There is no catch. None at all. If you want to use the site to recruit, be my guest. We believe in helping others succeed.

We discreetly sponsor and fund the site. There is no paid for advertising either. We even promote the roles by sharing them in Linkedin groups and also updating the followers of our blog (www.oneredkite.com/blog). The jobs board has had some great interest and I know of at least 5 people who have found a role because of it.

Inside the Cask: Is this likely to be perceived negatively by recruiters or can they work in conjunction with the jobs board and if so, how?

 Recruiters should not feel threatened in any way. It is after all a vehicle for them to use. They can set up their own profile and promote their own business through it. It is merely a platform to bring companies and talent together.

Inside the Cask: What is your vision for this initiative?

 We would love it (www.trjobsboard.com) to be the “go to” site for finding talent or finding a role within the channel. If we can help people succeed by getting people back into Travel Retail or by finding their dream role, we would be delighted.