Team Lead Supplier Management Customer Operations

Airbus•Herndon, VA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The jobholder leads the Supplier Management Customer Operations team within Airbus Americas Customer Services. The role manages customer and supplier portfolios and relationships within the Supplier Management Supplier Furnished Equipment (SFE) OEM scope, resolving daily operational supplier-related topics escalated by operators across North and Latin America. The work covers the Airbus Legacy and A220 aftermarket product-support contractual framework. The role leads customer operations support, managing strategic regional customer allocations and queries involving equipment, cabin, and engine suppliers, while coordinating with Airbus customer-facing teams and ensuring clear roles and responsibilities. It also manages allocated SFE suppliers, monitors adherence to Airbus support requirements, organizes supplier meetings, and develops or contributes to supplier improvement plans. As team lead, the jobholder coordinates operational risk reviews, serves as the first escalation point for complex customer queries, analyzes supplier and customer performance data, leads process-improvement initiatives, and represents the team at regional Airbus and aviation-industry events. The role also acts as Deputy for the Head of Supplier Management Americas on Customer Operations topics and supports team members’ training and professional development. The position is based on-site in Herndon, Virginia, with a transnational team and 40% domestic and international travel. It has six Customer Operations direct reports in Herndon and management responsibility for 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.
Minimum of 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 written and spoken English.
Knowledge of airline business and operations, customer support, and supplier/contract management.
Strong customer relationship management and the ability to work proactively, autonomously, and collaboratively.
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.
Authorized to work in the United States.
Ability to travel 40% domestically and internationally.

Nice To Haves

Airline or OEM background.
French, Spanish, or German language skills.

Responsibilities

Manage an allocation of strategic regional customers and resolve supplier-management queries concerning equipment, cabin, and engine suppliers within lead-time targets.
Qualify and record customer queries in Customer Relationship Management tools.
Manage key-customer relationships regarding supplier management, including communications on supplier improvement plans, performance KPIs, ratings, SIM commitments, and CSIP improvement plans.
Build networks with customer-facing Airbus counterparts, including CSD, Satair, and Field Representatives, to capture and address airline supplier-management needs.
Ensure roles and responsibilities are clearly communicated and applied with other Airbus Customer Services business units.
Support tripartite meetings and conduct regular customer visits, as required.
Manage an allocation of SFE suppliers and ensure their adherence to Airbus Supplier support requirements, including GCP, SSC, and SPSA.
Organize local supplier meetings in the Americas and regular management meetings as needed.
Contribute recommendations to long-term supplier improvement plans managed by SOx commodity teams, based on recurring regional customer issues, and develop regional improvement plans where required.
Ensure supplier follow-up with airlines regarding low rating scores and negative comments.
Prepare executive briefs on supplier operational topics for airline senior-management meetings, including SMM and ERM, and contribute to briefs for supplier senior-management meetings (ASM).
Share customer pain points within the SO organization to incorporate customer feedback into 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 relationships and continuous improvement in ways of working with the Aftermarket Supplier Management team SOM and Aftermarket Supply Chain Operations SOP.
Contribute to weekly and monthly supplier reports, analyze them, and submit consolidated reviews of supplier activity to management.
Engage with other functions in Airbus Americas Customer Services.
Propose and lead supplier-management operations improvement projects related to customer feedback and process improvement.
Lead the team’s contribution to regional Airbus and aviation-industry events and conferences with airlines and suppliers, as required.
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 and recommend process improvements within supplier management and related Airbus departments.
Develop self-service documentation and tools to support customer training and self-sufficiency.
Maintain awareness of potential compliance risks and act with integrity.