Team Lead Supplier Management Customer Operations

Airbus•Herndon, VA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The jobholder leads the Supplier Management Customer Operations team within Airbus Americas Customer Services. The role manages a portfolio of customers and suppliers within the Supplier Furnished Equipment OEM scope and addresses daily supplier-related operational issues escalated by airline operators across North and Latin America. The work supports Airbus Legacy and A220 aftermarket products within the applicable contractual framework. The position oversees customer support, supplier management, and team leadership and strategic activities. It manages relationships with strategic regional customers and allocated suppliers, facilitates resolution of customer queries, and coordinates supplier performance and improvement activity. The team lead serves as the first escalation point for complex customer cases and works with Airbus Customer Services, aftermarket supplier management, supply chain operations, suppliers, and airline stakeholders to improve performance and customer satisfaction. The role also leads reporting and analysis, improvement projects, regional customer and supplier engagement, team development, and the team's participation in industry events. It acts as Deputy for the Head of Supplier Management Americas on Customer Operations topics. The position is based on-site and requires 40% domestic and international travel. The team is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, with six Customer Operations direct reports there and management of two FTEs in Airbus Canada under a Service Letter Agreement.

Requirements

Master's degree in Engineering, Business Administration, Supply Chain Management, Logistics, or Quality Management.
At least 8 years of technical aviation experience focused on aftermarket, MRO, or airline operations.
At least 4–5 years in a team management or supervisory role.
Fluent spoken and written English.
Knowledge of airline business and operations, customer support, and supplier or contract management.
Strong customer relationship management skills; proactive, autonomous, and collaborative approach.
Cross-cultural communication, executive presentation, and negotiation skills.
Ability to work under high pressure and tight deadlines.
Conflict-management skills.
Demonstrated management, leadership, and team-development capabilities in multicultural organizations.
Contract law and negotiation skills.
Supply-chain and supplier-management experience.
High resilience, flexibility, and operational efficiency.
Current authorization to work in the United States; the company states that it does not sponsor visas for US positions unless specified.
Ability to travel domestically and internationally 40% of the time.

Nice To Haves

Airline or OEM background.
Spoken or written proficiency in French, Spanish, or German.

Responsibilities

Manage strategic regional customer allocations and resolve customer queries related to equipment, cabin, and engine suppliers within lead-time targets.
Qualify and record customer queries in Customer Relationship Management tools.
Manage key customer relationships and communicate supplier improvement plans, performance KPIs, rating results, SIM commitments, and CSIP improvement plans.
Coordinate with customer-facing Airbus counterparts, including CSD, Satair, and Field Representatives, to capture and address airline supplier-management needs.
Clarify and support application of roles and responsibilities with other Airbus Customer Services business units, and support tripartite meetings as required.
Conduct regular customer visits, including visits with the team as required.
Manage an allocation of SFE suppliers and ensure compliance with Airbus supplier support requirements, including GCP, SSC, and SPSA.
Organize local supplier meetings in the Americas and regular management meetings as needed.
Recommend supplier improvement actions to SOx commodity teams based on recurrent regional customer issues and develop regional improvement plans where required.
Follow up with suppliers regarding airlines' low rating scores and negative comments.
Prepare executive briefs on supplier operational topics for airline senior management meetings and contribute to briefs for supplier senior management meetings.
Share customer pain points within the SO organization to inform future SSC templates and negotiations.
Lead weekly team look-ahead meetings to review operational risks and track resolution progress.
Serve as the team's first escalation level, resolving complex customer queries by interfacing and negotiating with supplier stakeholders when cases or tickets are not progressing.
Develop ways of working with the Aftermarket Supplier Management team SOM and Aftermarket Supply Chain Operations SOP.
Contribute to weekly and monthly supplier reports, analyze results, and submit consolidated supplier activity reviews to management.
Engage with other functions in Airbus Americas Customer Services.
Propose and lead supplier-management operations improvement projects based on customer feedback and process improvement needs.
Lead the team's contribution to regional Airbus and aviation-industry events and conferences with airlines and suppliers.
Analyze CSIP results, define team action plans, and provide recommendations to the global SO organization.
Report on market perception using American Supplier Rating, CSIP, customer visits, and market-demand analysis.
Prepare analytical insights from annual Americas Supplier Rating survey results for the regional webinar.
Track Tech Request/Salesforce activity and monitor OnTime Delivery KPIs to identify trends and corrective actions.
Consolidate performance data and provide reporting inputs for internal monthly, quarterly, and yearly management reviews, including MOR, MBR, and AAP forums.
Act as Deputy for the Head of Supplier Management Americas on Customer Operations topics.
Coach and guide local team members' training and professional development.
Contribute customer-query best practices and FAQs, recommend process improvements, and develop self-service documentation and tools to support customer training and self-sufficiency.