Staff Travel Manager

Job description

The staff travel operations manager is responsible for leading and managing the end-to-end staff travel operations, ensuring efficient handling of employee travel requests—including duty travel, compassionate travel, concessions, and general enquiries—through a contact centre environment (calls, emails, and digital channels). The role is accountable for service delivery performance, team leadership, process efficiency, financial control, vendor management, and employee experience, ensuring timely, accurate, and high-quality support while maintaining compliance with company policies.

Key accountabilities

• Service operations management
  Lead daily staff travel operations across calls, emails, and requests, ensuring efficient case handling and service continuity.
• Service delivery & SLAs
  Ensure achievement of response, resolution, and quality KPIs across all staff travel enquiries and bookings.
• Team leadership
  Manage and develop the operations team, driving productivity, engagement, and service excellence.
• Employee experience
  Deliver a responsive, efficient, and empathetic service experience for all staff travel interactions.
• Travel request management
  Oversee accurate and timely handling of duty, compassionate, and other travel requests in line with policy.
• Financial management
  Own budget accountability, cost control, and identify opportunities for financial optimization.
• Vendor coordination
  Manage coordination with external travel providers (non-Etihad bookings), ensuring service quality and timely fulfilment.
• Performance & reporting
  Monitor KPIs (volume, SLA, backlog, productivity) and provide insights for continuous improvement.
• Process improvement & automation
  Identify and implement workflow enhancements, service model improvements, and operational efficiency initiatives.
• Compliance & governance
  Ensure adherence to staff travel policies, documentation standards, and audit requirements.
• Financial administration
  Oversee invoice validation, reconciliation, and ensure appropriate use of corporate travel payment methods.
• Stakeholder management
  Liaise with HR, finance, recruitment, revenue management, and travel vendors to ensure aligned and effective service delivery.

Qualifications

• Education
  Bachelor’s degree required, with 3–5 years of proven experience in a people leadership role.
• Service operations experience
  7–10 years of experience in service operations, contact centre, or shared services environments.
• Travel operations background
  Prior experience in travel operations or airline staff travel is preferred.
• Vendor & financial exposure
  Demonstrated exposure to vendor coordination and basic financial processes.

Additional information

Etihad Airways is more than the UAE’s national airline - we’re shaping the future of global aviation. From our hub in Abu Dhabi, we connect people across continents and cultures, while driving our “Journey 2030” ambition to double our fleet, expand our network and grow our people for a new era of excellence. Join us and become part of a vision where the world is your workplace and extraordinary experiences take flight.

Recruitment fraud alert

Beware of fraudulent job offers from individuals or organizations claiming to represent the Etihad group. We will never ask for personal information, bank details, or payment during the recruitment process. Interviews are conducted face-to-face or via video or telephone before any formal offer. If you are asked for money, please treat it as fraudulent.