Global Travel Operations - Junior Manager

Our purpose at FESTIVE ROAD is simple: to create better travel and meetings management. Our client’s purpose is to “deliver an experience-focused journey that enables & empowers colleagues to feel supported while achieving their purpose for travel.” We are looking for a customer-centric, smart problem solver who is curious, adaptable, and flexible. If that sounds like you, read on!

We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Location: USA - Virtual

Salary - 80,000- 90,000 USD

Travel required – up to 10%

A COVER LETTER IS MANDATORY FOR ALL FESTIVE ROAD APPLICATIONS

We are seeking a Global Travel Operations Junior Manager to own the operational oversight, supplier program support and project management for our client, Electronic Arts.

In this role, you will be responsible for partnering with EA’s Travel Management Company (TMC) and other suppliers to provide operational excellence, allowing travelers to achieve their purpose for travel.

In the initial stages, you will be required to review the current state and dig deep to understand what is working well and where there are opportunities for improvement. You will take total ownership for prioritizing improvement initiatives and driving them to completion.

Once you have established strong foundations, you will move to ‘run mode’, prioritizing and leading initiatives that will deliver operational excellence to EA and its travellers.

We are looking for someone with a ‘boots on the ground’ mentality and an ability to roll their sleeves up and take full ownership of travel operations. Perhaps you have worked in a TMC Operations environment in the past and have always wanted to work on the buyer side? Or perhaps you are in a junior buyer role and are looking for the next step up.

You will bring a strong understanding of the processes and tools used by a TMC and how these impact across the entire travel journey. You will not be satisfied with the status quo and will be tenacious in seeking solutions to complex problems.

You will be customer oriented - a keen listener, who builds up a strong understanding of the needs of various stakeholder groups and applies this to program improvements. You will take a consultative approach and elevate conversations.

Lastly, you have strong project management skills, with the ability to prioritize ruthlessly, assessing the effort vs. impact of the tasks in front of you. You will quickly get to ‘what matters most’. No two days will be the same and you will thrive on that!

Nothing about this role is average so if this sounds exciting, let’s talk!

Key Tasks will Include:

Review of Agency Operations & Processes – partnering with the TMC to review and optimize processes. Ensure the agency develops a strong understanding of the EA program requirements, policy, and culture and that this is continually reflected in the service provided.

Customer Service Excellence - oversee and uphold customer service processes and standards, quickly deescalate persistent issues and bring them to a swift resolution. Quickly qualify whether issues are big or small and which markets they impact.

Monitoring of program compliance – monitor and report on program compliance. Develop a regular reporting cadence to the correct stakeholder groups and drive improvement initiatives associated with key program metrics. A good grasp of TMC and other supplier data and ability to spot trends and to pull out the ‘so what’. You will use this to develop deeper partnerships and to hold suppliers to account.

Communications of program updates – use a range of communications channels including intranet, email communications to ensure travelers, assistants and other stakeholder groups have relevant and up to date information.

Stakeholder Management - build and maintain strong internal relationships with key stakeholders across the organization (e.g., finance, mobility, and expense teams). Investigate and resolve operational issues/problems and bring them to resolution.

Project Leadership - lead project implementations and expansions ensuring timely program delivery.

Key Skills Required

Self-Starter with a tenacious drive – taking initiative as part of daily work. When confident in your responsibilities, you don’t wait for instruction. You will proactively manage upwards, highlighting key successes and areas where help is needed.

An organized and calm operator – you will be able to keep a cool head and prioritize while working in a fast-paced, multi-project environment. You will know when to escalate and when to ask for support. You will document key priorities and progress against them.

Supplier Management – you understand the benefits of partnership and will drive suppliers to higher levels of performance using a range of tools and initiatives.

Strong written and verbal communication skills - ability to write and present compelling communications to influence and persuade. You will proactively communicate the value of a managed travel program.

Relationship Builder – you will build trust and inspires confidence with travelers and bookers. You won’t be a ‘yes’ person, however you will put the mechanisms in place to ensure stakeholder groups feel listened to and see progress.

Stakeholder Management – you will build and maintain strong internal relationships with stakeholders across the organization. You will inspire confidence with thorough investigation and resolution of issues/problems. You will know your stakeholders so well that you can anticipate questions before they are asked.

Global Experience & Outlook – you will be based in the USA however you will have a natural understanding and desire to work as part of a global and diverse team. You will understand the regional nuances, which drive operational processes and customer requirements and will adapt your approach accordingly.

Experience Required

5 + years’ experience working as part of a corporate travel team either within the supplier or buyer community. Comprehensive understanding of travel operations, travel technology and service delivery platforms.

Working knowledge of the priorities and working tasks of a fast-paced global travel team.

Comprehensive understanding of the travel and meeting industry ecosystem, how the travel industry operates and its unique characteristics and systems.

Strong computer skills. Knowledge of G-Suite is a benefit.

Bachelor's Degree or equivalent work experience required.

Don’t meet every single requirement? Here at FESTIVE ROAD, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyways. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.