Global Travel Manager

World Vision•New York, NY

About The Position

With 75 years of experience, our focus is on helping the most vulnerable children overcome poverty and experience fullness of life. We help children of all backgrounds, even in the most dangerous places, inspired by our Christian faith. Come join our 33,000+ staff working in nearly 100 countries and share the joy of transforming vulnerable children’s life stories! Key Responsibilities: Reporting to the Sr. Administrative Director, Global Finance & Supply Chain, the Global Travel Manager will plan, deliver, and implement World Vision’s corporate travel policy while overseeing the company’s day-to-day business travel activities. Tasks include developing and implementing corporate travel strategies, coordinating sourcing activities (air, hotel, car, rail), gaining buy-in throughout the organization, implementing in new offices/on-boarding/ managing user profiles within Concur, tracking program consolidation and activity, and ensuring that the company’s objectives are integrated into the travel program. This position will have a thorough understanding of multiple segments of the corporate travel industry and may conduct training or leadership activities as necessary.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in a related field.
Prior experience working as a travel / booking agent or managing an agent team.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
Excellent communication and interpersonal abilities.
Familiarity with international travel and traveller well-being/travel risks.
Proficient in relevant TMC platforms.
3 to 5 years of experience with corporate travel management or hospitality industry, preferably with global responsibility.
Proven experience navigating a complex organisation.
Knowledge of international travel regulations, customs and currencies.
The ability to build and maintain positive relationships with vendors of direct travel (existing relationships may be advantageous).
Ability to think outside the box and adapt to any emergency or change.
Track record of excellent customer service, communication and interpersonal skills.
Attention to detail, understanding of environmental impact and measurement of travel, including sustainable mitigations.
Highly proficient in written and verbal communication in English.

Nice To Haves

Additional language skills desirable, but not required: French, Spanish or Portuguese.

Responsibilities

Travel Strategy Development & Programme Management Collaborate with travel stakeholders to develop travel strategies and polices aligned with key organisational travel principles and goals.
Apply a continuous improvement approach in the ongoing review of organisational travel policies and standards (including management policy, travel & expense, corporate credit card usage).
Collaborate with travel risk management team members and stakeholders to develop a holistic travel management framework and operational process.
Traveller satisfaction surveys and metrics.
Integrate with Horizon/Crisis24 for traveller visibility and risk reporting.
Travel analytics and reporting (including sustainability)
Prepare and distribute travel activity reports to increase engagement/transparency with implemented offices/departments.
With the Safety, Security and Resilience team (SSR), incorporate safety-related metrics, tracking and reporting on travellers’ exposure and experience in high-risk countries/areas.
Regularly seek effective ways to highlight WV sustainability messaging to travellers.
With the Environmental Stewardship team, provide reports on the carbon footprint and sustainability efforts of carriers.
Traveller training, education and communication Develop an ongoing communications plan across multiple platforms to answer common traveller questions, provide pre-trip and during-trip information, including both real-time “pull” and “push” options and FAQ’s for common traveller questions.
Collaborate with the Travel Risk Manager in SSR to develop travel safety messaging and training.
Draft business cases/annual travel reports highlighting the benefits of the global platform for visibility, transparency and assistance.
Maintain a master list of preferred air/ hotel/ ground options and communicate with EA’s to leverage “preferred” vendors for greater organisational benefits.
Vendor Management Manage, expand and augment negotiated agreements to drive savings and enhance traveller service.
Manage strategic sourcing events in partnership with the Procurement team.
Manage relationships with suppliers, including any perks, accounts and organisational benefits/ allocations.
Drive performance to preferred suppliers (air/ hotel/ground).
Represent the organisation at local and regional business travel industry events as required.
Collaborate for impact Actively participate in Travel Risk Management cross-functional team (comprised of SSR, Insurance, Finance, Travel & Benefits).
Lead/manage the Global Travel work group.
Advise the Meetings/Events coordinator on venue selection for global events (i.e., Triennial, GLS, etc.).
Travel Technology and programme innovation Manage and maintain TMC platform enhancements for better performance and visibility.
Explore the use of AI/ChatBots and embedded pop-ups to provide travellers with greater insights into travel options, security and requirements.
Stay informed about industry trends, new travel technology and changes in travel regulations and policies.
Leverage technology between Travel & Expense to identify leakage outside of the TMC platform.