Key Responsibilities
Travel Function Leadership
- Lead and manage the organization's global corporate travel function across regions and business units.
- Define and drive the overall travel strategy aligned with business, employee experience, compliance, and cost optimization objectives.
- Establish standardized travel processes, governance frameworks, SLAs, and operational controls across geographies.
- Build strong stakeholder relationships with leadership teams, HR, Finance, Procurement, Legal, Workplace, and business functions.
- Lead and mentor the travel operations team and drive a high-performance service-oriented culture.
- Ensure business continuity planning and traveler risk management processes are effectively implemented.
- Drive continuous improvement initiatives, automation, and digitization within the travel ecosystem.
Corporate Travel Management
- Manage end-to-end corporate travel operations including air, hotel, rail, visa coordination, insurance, and ground transportation.
- Oversee travel bookings and operational support for domestic and international travelers across multiple geographies.
- Ensure smooth traveler experience while maintaining compliance with company travel policies and governance standards.
- Drive travel cost optimization initiatives through strategic sourcing, demand management, negotiations, and vendor partnerships.
- Manage travel escalations and provide timely resolution to employees and business stakeholders.
- Ensure appropriate traveler support mechanisms are available for emergency travel situations and after-hours requirements.
Travel Policy & Compliance
- Develop, implement, and periodically review global travel policies, standards, approval matrices, and operational processes.
- Ensure policy compliance across regions and manage exceptions through appropriate governance mechanisms.
- Collaborate with HR, Finance, Legal and business stakeholders to align travel governance and compliance requirements.
- Ensure applicable visa categories and travel documentation requirements are appropriately coordinated for compliant business travel.
- Monitor evolving travel regulations, geopolitical developments, and travel advisories impacting employee travel.
Visa, Mobility & Travel Coordination
- Coordinate and support business visa processing for international travel requirements.
- Liaise with visa agencies, embassies, travel partners, and employees to ensure timely processing of travel documentation.
- Closely work with the Global Mobility team to support short-term and long-term travel requirements for employees across geographies.
- Guide travelers on documentation requirements, travel compliance, timelines, and travel-related processes for international assignments and business travel.
- Maintain understanding of mobility, immigration, and travel compliance requirements to ensure effective coordination with relevant stakeholders.
- Support travel planning and logistics related to employee mobility programs and international assignments, while ownership of immigration and mobility processes remains with the Mobility team.
Forex & Expense Management
- Manage foreign exchange requirements for business travelers and ensure operational efficiency in forex services.
- Coordinate with authorized forex vendors, banking partners, and finance teams.
- Monitor travel expense trends and support reconciliation, audits, reporting, and cost optimization initiatives.
- Partner with Finance teams to strengthen travel spend governance and reporting accuracy.
Event Management & Client Visits
- Lead planning and coordination of corporate events, leadership meetings, offsites, annual conferences, townhalls, and business events.
- Manage logistics and travel arrangements for client visits, leadership visits, and external stakeholders.
- Coordinate venue bookings, accommodation, transportation, hospitality, and event logistics.
- Ensure seamless execution of events while maintaining budget, service quality, and employee experience standards.
Travel Technology & Systems
- Own and manage travel management platforms including Concur and CWT.
- Work closely with travel management companies and system providers for configurations, enhancements, automation, troubleshooting, and reporting requirements.
- Ensure travel workflows, approval structures, dashboards, policy controls, and reporting mechanisms are effectively maintained.
- Drive system optimization initiatives to improve traveler experience, policy adherence, and operational efficiency.
Vendor & Stakeholder Management
- Manage strategic relationships with travel management companies, airlines, hotel partners, visa agencies, mobility partners, insurance providers, and forex vendors.
- Lead vendor selection, commercial negotiations, performance reviews, and contract governance.
- Ensure adherence to service levels, KPIs, compliance requirements, and operational standards.
- Partner with global business leaders and regional HR/Finance teams to support evolving travel and mobility requirements.
Reporting & Analytics
- Prepare and present travel MIS, dashboards, analytics, and leadership reports.
- Analyse travel spends, policy compliance, traveler behaviour, vendor performance, and operational trends.
- Identify opportunities for savings, process improvements, automation, and governance enhancements.
- Present periodic business reviews and strategic insights to leadership teams.
Required Skills & Competencies
- Strong leadership experience in managing global corporate travel operations and travel functions within multinational organizations (MNCs).
- Deep understanding of global travel operations, travel compliance, traveler risk management, and governance frameworks.
- Working knowledge and understanding of mobility and immigration processes.
- Hands-on experience with Concur, CWT, and travel management systems.
- Experience managing travel operations for US and EMEA regions.
- Strong exposure to vendor management, procurement, commercial negotiations, and service delivery management.
- Knowledge of visa coordination, forex management, travel risk management, and event coordination.
- Excellent stakeholder management, communication, and influencing skills.
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making capabilities.
- Ability to lead teams and manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced global environment.
- Strong focus on operational excellence, customer experience, and process improvement.
