Business Operations & Automation Manager

Expedia•Chicago, IL

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Expedia Group brands power global travel for everyone, everywhere. We design cutting-edge tech to make travel smoother and more memorable, and we create groundbreaking solutions for our partners. Our diverse, vibrant, and welcoming community is essential in driving our success. Why Join Us? To shape the future of travel, people must come first. Guided by our Values and Leadership Agreements, we foster an open culture where everyone belongs, differences are celebrated and know that when one of us wins, we all win. We provide a full benefits package, including exciting travel perks, generous time-off, parental leave, a flexible work model (with some pretty cool offices), and career development resources, all to fuel our employees' passion for travel and ensure a rewarding career journey. We’re building a more open world. Join us. Introduction to the Team: Strategic Partnerships and Affiliates (SPA) is a flourishing business, with bold growth ambitions, within the Expedia Group consumer business. We are uniquely positioned at the intersection of B2B and B2C marketing, with a growing portfolio of products that support thousands of affiliate partners, businesses, and people, to become successful travel entrepreneurs. Our business’ purpose is ‘ to profitably extend the reach of Expedia Group’s (EG) brands and engage with travellers where they choose to discover and book travel, by enabling businesses and people to monetize their audiences through branded travel products’. Make An Impact! As a Business Operations & Automation Manager, you will lead initiatives that unlock operational efficiency through automation, AI, and intelligent workflows. You’ll work cross-functionally to identify friction points, scale smart solutions, and build future-ready operations that support growth and innovation. This is a high-impact role at the intersection of data, technology, and execution.

Requirements

4+ years of experience in operations, business analysis, or process improvement, preferably in tech or fast-paced environments.
Track record of delivering measurable efficiency gains in commercial organizations.
Demonstrated experience leading operational improvement projects enabled by technology (preferably with automation or AI tools)
Strong analytical skills and comfortable working with data.
Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills in cross-functional settings.
Fluent in English; international work or study experience is a plus.
Adaptable, curious, and comfortable with ambiguity.
A structured thinker who can simplify complexity and drive action.

Responsibilities

Analyze operational data and workflows to surface inefficiencies, bottlenecks, and areas with high automation potential.
Rapidly document and evaluate existing processes across global tech and business teams, identifying opportunities for AI enablement and simplification.
Gather and document clear requirements for automation.
Develop clear, metrics-driven business cases for AI, automation, and process improvement initiatives.
Lead end-to-end improvement projects—from design and proof of concept to full deployment and impact measurement.
Collaborate with Product and Technical teams to build and integrate AI-powered tools and automations into core operations.
Continuously monitor performance of AI-enabled workflows, iterate based on feedback and data, and scale what works.
Contribute to a culture of continuous improvement and innovation, exploring emerging technologies to stay ahead of the curve.
Share best practices, playbooks, and frameworks to upskill teams in automation thinking and operational excellence.
Act as a change agent, fostering stakeholder buy-in and helping teams embrace tech-enabled ways of working.
Navigate and align across global stakeholders—ensuring seamless execution across functions, cultures, and time zones.