VP, Marine Operations

About the role

The Vice President, Marine Operations is the senior executive accountable for fleetwide marine and safety operations across Disney Cruise Line, ensuring vessels and private destinations are operated safely, efficiently, and in full regulatory compliance while delivering an exceptional Guest and Crew experience. As a key leader within Disney Experiences, this VP shapes marine strategy for a top-rated cruise line, aligning shipboard command and shoreside partners to bring creative, customer-focused, and innovative vacation experiences to life around the world.

Responsibilities

• This executive is accountable for the financial and operational performance of Marine Operations, developing and executing fleetwide marine and safety strategies, and providing full leadership direction to multiple leaders and teams across shipboard and shoreside operations.
• The role evaluates key business and organizational challenges, designs innovative solutions within broad company policies, and serves as an influential, persuasive partner across Disney Cruise Line and Disney Experiences to ensure safe, compliant, and guest-centric operations that support the Company's strategic goals.
• Lead the overall strategy, governance, and day-to-day execution of fleetwide marine operations and safety across ships and private destinations, ensuring safe, compliant, efficient, and consistent operations.
• Provide direct leadership, coaching, and operational oversight to shipboard Captains, setting clear expectations and aligning shipboard command with shoreside Marine and Safety organizations and cross-functional partners.
• Ensure vessels are operated in accordance with international, flag state, port state, classification society, and company requirements, maintaining rigorous Safety Management System governance and environmental stewardship.
• Lead shoreside Safety operations, overseeing development, implementation, and continuous improvement of safety policies, contingency plans, and marine/safety procedures that support the Safety Management System.
• Promote a proactive safety culture that moves beyond compliance, reinforcing accountability, transparency, learning, and continuous improvement across ships, private destinations, and relevant shoreside functions.
• Lead Captain, officer, and fleet talent strategies, including performance, succession, readiness, and professional training standards for senior deck officers and marine operations roles, in partnership with HR and fleet leadership.
• Drive operational excellence and continuous improvement by standardizing marine operating practices, incident response, ship-shore communication, and fleet performance, and by leading root-cause reviews and corrective actions for marine and safety events.
• Develop and manage operating budgets for Marine Operations and Safety, balancing safe operations, long-term fleet reliability, and responsible cost management while being fully accountable for financial performance of the function.
• Partner closely with Technical Operations, Hotel and Entertainment