Head of Operation Excellence

About the client:

Our client is an online travel platform and travel-technology provider that lets users search and book travel services such as flights and hotel accommodations through one portal. It offers travel booking solutions for both B2C (consumer) and B2B (travel agents/business partners) with features including real-time flight search hotel booking and travel APIs that integrate booking and ticketing functions into other systems.

Role Purpose:

The Head of Ops Excellence is responsible for leading and strengthening operational excellence across customer and agent support channels improving workflow efficiency and ensuring consistent service delivery. This role serves as a bridge between commercial strategy and day-to-day operations enabling a stable execution and scalable processes as the business grows. The ideal candidate brings strong people leadership structured operational expertise a data-oriented mindset and practical experience in improving travel / OTA support workflows.

Key Responsibilities:

Operational Leadership & Team Enablement:

• Lead and develop the Ops Support team to deliver consistent service quality and SLA adherence.
• Set clear performance expectations and support team growth through coaching feedback and training.
• Build a culture of operational discipline accountability and continuous improvement.
• Translate operational data into actionable insights for leadership.

Workflow & Process Stability:

• Understand existing operational workflows across divisions and refine processes to reduce inefficiencies and errors.
• Design document and implement step-by-step SOPs for core operational tasks.
• Partner with division leads to ensure operational process align with commercial objectives. Ensure operational workflows support the capture of airline commissions and bonuses.

Performance Monitoring & Reporting:

• Define and track operational KPIs (turnaround time error rates SLA adherence) and support weekly progress reporting by Ops teams.
• Collaborate with IT or system teams to incorporate operational metrics into dashboards and reporting tools.
• Vendor performance management: periodically audit and benchmark third-party service providers to ensure commercial competitiveness and technical SLA compliance.

Cross-Functional Support:

• Work closely with Commercial Business Development Marketing Finance and HR to ensure seamless execution of strategic initiatives.
• Act as escalation point for complex operational issues and ensure timely resolution.
• Support integration of new systems or platforms to enhance operational capacity.

Agent & Customer Support Enablement:

• Ensure Ops Support team effectively handles agent inquiries system issues escalations and training needs.
• Partner with leads across divisions to standardize response expectations and service protocols.
• Driving a proactive outreach culture within the teams.

Qualifications & Skills:

• Proven experience (typically 5 years) in operations leadership preferably within travel hospitality OTA or customer service environments.
• Strong understanding of process design SOP development and operational metrics.
• High conflict-resolution & stakeholder management ability to manage and influence stakeholders for amicable outcomes.
• Excellent people leadership and coaching skills with experience building or leading small operational teams.
• Data-driven problem-solving mindset with the ability to translate insights into operational actions.
• Excellent verbal and written communication with the ability to engage across functions.
• Organized proactive and comfortable working in ambiguous environments and shaping emerging operational structures.
• Familiarity with travel industry system such as GDS and use of CRM is preferred.