Helen Roberts has been named as the company’s first-ever sales director but the changes will also put an undisclosed number of roles at risk.

Kuoni is also in the final stages of interviewing for a new position of national sales manager, who will assist Roberts and work with travel agents.

Roberts was previously head of direct sales and will now assume control of the trade side as well following the recent departure of Amanda Darrington.

The new structure will also see the creation of a “Partner Service Hub” with all travel agent enquiries, other than those from key accounts and partners stores, handled by Kuoni in-store staff.

Managing director Derek Jones said: “As a result of this proposal we have today advised all those affected in trade sales that we will begin a consultation period with a view to reorganising our trade support.

“We will be discussing the proposed structure and roles with everyone involved and it’s our aim to retain the knowledge and experience we have to ensure we continue to deliver excellent service consistently for our travel agent partners.”

Jones said the company was looking to grow its network of partner stores programme, which sees agents co-brand their shops.

“We want to grow this initiative and we see an opportunity to bring these agents, who already have a close working relationship with us, and other key travel agent accounts, even closer to our business going forward,” he said.