Global Account Director

Direct Travel•Remote,

23h•Remote

About The Position

The Global Account Director is a strategic executive-level business partner responsible for leading Direct Travel’s largest and most complex global customer programs. The role serves as the trusted advisor and primary executive liaison between Direct Travel and key strategic customers, driving program excellence, profitability, and long-term partnership value. It owns the complete account relationship, from strategic planning and governance to implementation and optimization, while leading cross-functional teams to deliver exceptional service and measurable business outcomes. This is a fully remote position with approximately 25% travel to key customer locations and Direct Travel offices. The role requires participation in meetings across multiple time zones and the ability to support a flexible schedule for a global account.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
12+ years of corporate travel, strategic account management, or enterprise account management experience, including significant experience managing large, complex global customer portfolios of $50M+.
Proven success leading strategic global accounts across wholly owned and partner agency networks, including at least 5 years in a senior leadership, director-level, or strategic account role.
Deep expertise in global travel program management, service delivery models, operational governance, corporate travel policy, and travel technology platforms.
Ability to influence and build trusted relationships with C-suite executives and senior stakeholders in complex, matrixed environments without direct authority.
Strong understanding of the business travel ecosystem, including airlines, hospitality, travel management companies, and travel-specific automation and technology solutions.
Experience managing strategically significant accounts with substantial travel spend and global operational complexity.
Track record of driving customer growth, retention, profitability, service excellence, and long-term strategic partnerships.
Strong strategic thinking, business acumen, analytical and data interpretation skills, and ability to translate insights into executive-level recommendations.
Exceptional written, verbal, presentation, negotiation, and meeting facilitation skills.
Experience with strategic account planning methodologies and disciplined account governance frameworks.
Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote) and CRM platforms, including Salesforce.
Ability to manage multiple stakeholders, align cross-functional organizations, and navigate complex global operating environments.
Willingness to travel approximately 25% and participate in meetings across multiple time zones.
Authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship and able to support the flexible schedule requirements of a global role.

Nice To Haves

MBA or another advanced business degree.

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary executive relationship owner and trusted advisor to customer management stakeholders and key business leaders.
Build consultative partnerships across customer sourcing, procurement, finance, operations, and technology functions.
Understand customers’ strategic priorities, corporate objectives, risk landscape, and long-term vision, and advocate for their needs within Direct Travel.
Develop and execute multi-year account strategies aligned with customer objectives.
Identify and drive optimization, expansion, and cross-sell opportunities across customers’ global footprints.
Establish, achieve, and measure mutually agreed performance objectives and financial targets; manage account profitability while maximizing customer value and ROI.
Lead complex contract negotiations for renewals, extensions, and amendments, and lead RFI/RFP processes.
Own account governance, including executive touchpoints, meeting cadence, success metrics, and escalation protocols.
Ensure delivery meets agreed service scopes, SLAs, and performance expectations across customer regions.
Lead quarterly business reviews and annual strategic planning sessions focused on performance, adoption, optimization, and innovation.
Analyze performance data and market trends, recommend enhancements, monitor program objectives, and proactively identify risks.
Maintain accurate documentation of program details, decisions, and actions in required systems.
Coordinate Program Management, Service Delivery, Reporting, Automation, and regional teams to achieve customer goals and resolve issues holistically.
Align and lead national and regional Account Managers across multiple countries, collaborate with Direct Travel leadership, and support complex global program implementations.
Champion change management and ensure issues, risks, and changes are escalated and resolved with urgency.
Communicate program performance, service health, strategic opportunities, industry developments, and thought leadership to customer leadership.
Support customer change management and adoption through strategic messaging and executive engagement; maintain consistent and factually accurate communications.
Provide strategic counsel on industry and market developments, identify relevant innovations, and influence customer decisions and strategy.
Uphold Direct Travel’s vision and values, operate with professionalism and integrity, and manage multiple complex workstreams in a matrixed global environment.