Cruise Operations Manager (Administrator V)

State of Maryland

$87K — $137K *
Transportation
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • High school diploma or equivalent required.
  • Six years of administrative or professional experience needed.
  • Two years of management experience in a cruise terminal or high-traffic passenger facility preferred.
  • Experience in coordinating logistics in maritime environments is a plus.
  • Familiarity with managing passenger traffic and overseeing ground transportation is desirable.

Responsibilities

  • Oversee all cruise terminal activities ensuring compliance with regulations.
  • Respond to customer requests for facility and operation adjustments.
  • Build and maintain relationships with cruise lines and operational partners.
  • Supervise cruise personnel to maintain operational stability.
  • Organize terminal for incoming passengers effectively.
  • Develop traffic patterns for cruise activities.
  • Prepare budgets and authorize operational expenditures.

Benefits

  • Continued training and development opportunities provided.
  • Tuition reimbursement available for further education.
  • No Cost No Debt Program for education per MPA policies.
Full Job Description
Salary: $87,253.00 - $137,603.00 Annually
Location : Baltimore City
Job Type: Full Time
Job Number: 3184-MPA-7/26-CruiseOpsMgr
Department: Maryland Port Administration
Opening Date: 08/05/2026
Closing Date: 8/19/2026 11:59 PM Eastern

Description
Executive Service

*This position serves at the pleasure of the appointing authority*

**OPEN TO ALL QUALIFIED CANDIDATES**
This is a position specific recruitment. The resulting list of eligible candidates will be used to fill this Maryland Port Administration (MPA) position/function only. All interested persons will need to re-apply for any future recruitment conducted in this classification.

This position is located at the Cruise Maryland Terminal in Baltimore City.
MPA is seeking a motivated, positive, driven, and customer service orientated operations/cruise management professional to take on the role of Cruise Operations Manager. The primary responsibility of this position is to oversee all cruise and other port related activities at the South Locust Point Cruise Terminal (Cruise Maryland Terminal) in support of the MPA and customer stakeholders.
Some essential duties of this position include but are not limited to the following:
  • Ensure that all cruise terminal activities are performed in accordance with all applicable State and federal rules, regulations, policies and directives.
  • Respond to cruise line customer's requests for facility and/or operational modifications as appropriate.
  • Develop and maintain mutually beneficial customer relationships with all cruise
    partners: cruise lines, ship agents, ground operators, stevedoring companies, U.S. Coast
    Guard, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection
  • Supervise the placement of cruise personnel to ensure functional operational stability.
  • Ensure that the cruise terminal is organized/prepared to receive passengers.
  • Develop traffic patterns for ingress and egress for all cruise related activities.
  • Verify that all terminal security mandates are in place.
  • Responsible for the preparation of the budget and authorizes operating and capital expenditures.
  • Function as Contract Administrator for all cruise support vendor contracts to include: shuttle buses, janitorial, portable restroom services, cashier services, etc.


This position reports directly to the Deputy Director of Terminal Operations, Storeroom, and Cruise Operations.

This position is required to regularly work weekends in order to oversee and direct local operations during scheduled cruises. Weekend hours/shifts worked may be offset through leave earnings/flexible weekday scheduling for the position.
MDOT offers a generous and competitive benefits package. You can learn about our amazing benefits here:

Additionally, employees in this MPA position receive the following:
  • Continued training and development is provided by the MPA.
  • Tuition reimbursement and No Cost No Debt Program for education is available per TSHRS policy and MPA directives and procedures.

Qualifications

Preferred Qualifications:
Education: Graduation from an accredited high school or possession of a high school equivalency certificate.

Experience: Six (6) years of experience performing administrative staff or professional work.

The Ideal Candidate will possess two (2) years of experience managing the daily operations at a commercial maritime, passenger cruise terminal or high velocity passenger facility.
  • Examples of the ideal experience include:
    • Directly coordinating logistics in a maritime environment
    • Managing passenger traffic patterns for ingress and egress
    • Overseeing ground transportation and other third-party providers.
Notes:
1. Candidates may substitute 30 credit hours from an accredited college or university for each year up to four years of the preferred experience.

2. Candidates may substitute the possession of a Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university and two years of experience in administrative staff or professional work for the preferred experience.

3. Candidates may substitute the possession of a Master's degree from an accredited college or university and one year of experience in administrative staff or professional work for the preferred experience

4. Candidates may substitute U.S. Armed Forces military service experience involving staff work related to the administration of rules, regulations, policies, procedures and processes, or overseeing or coordinating unit operations or functioning as a staff assistant to a higher ranking commissioned officer on a year-for-year basis for the preferred experience.

Licenses & Certifications

1. Employees in this classification are assigned duties which require the operation of a motor vehicle. Employees will be required to possess a motor vehicle operator's license valid in the State of Maryland. All applicants MUST list their driver's license number and expiration date on the application.

2. Employees in this classification will be required to obtain and maintain a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) to gain unescorted access to Maryland Port Administration facilities.

Additional Information

APPLICATION PROCESS:

Please apply on-line at:
.

RESUMES CANNOT BE SUBSTITUTED FOR THE ONLINE EMPLOYMENT APPLICATION. Paper applications (Form DTS-1) will not be accepted for this recruitment.

Closing Date: 08/19/2026.

The incumbent in this position will not be a member of a collective bargaining unit.

For education obtained outside the U.S., at the time of application you are required to provide proof of the equivalent American education as determined by a foreign credential evaluation service, such as the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services
(https://www.naces.org) or World Education Services: International Credential Evaluation (https://www.wes.org/). This must be submitted as an attachment with the application of the position in which you are applying.

The MPA is not sponsoring new employees in the application of the H-1B Visa or providing an extension of an existing H-1B Visa at this time due to budgetary constraints. All applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. Federal Regulations prohibit H-1B Visa candidates from paying sponsorship fees, all sponsorship fees must be assumed by the potential employer.

01

Do you possess a High School Diploma or a High School Equivalency Certificate?
  • Yes
  • No

02

Do you possess six (6) years of experience performing administrative staff or professional work?
  • Yes
  • No

03

Do you possess two (2) years of experience managing the daily operations at a commercial maritime, passenger cruise terminal or high velocity passenger facility?
  • Yes
  • No

04

If you answered "yes" to questions 2 & 3, please explain how you obtained the experience. Please include your previous/current employer(s) name (s), position title(s), the dates you were employed at the noted previous/current employer(s), weekly average hours worked for each position, and the duties you performed in the position(s). PLEASE EXPAND ON YOUR APPLICATION AND DO NOT COPY/PASTE.
05

Did you provide your full and complete Driver's License information in the applicable fields of the application? If not, please be sure to include it in your application prior to submitting. FAILURE TO INCLUDE THIS INFORMATION WILL RESULT IN THE DISQUALIFICATION OF YOUR APPLICATION!
  • Yes
  • No

Required Question

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