Travel Category Manager

The Travel Category Manager will provide global ownership for sourcing and vendor management with regards to airlines, hotels, ground transport and meetings & events.  

Drive strategic sourcing initiatives, define and control the category end-to-end Procurement cycle and manage supplier performance and contracts within the travel space. This key role requires excellent knowledge of travel supplier landscapes and strong supplier relationship management skills. 

Communicate with stakeholders at all levels, providing visibility into travel expenditure, compliance, leakage and saving opportunities. The role involves pro-actively partnering with internal client relationship managers to support Balance of Trade strategy, Finance, HR, Mobility, Legal, Security, Tax and other internal teams.  

The Role: 

•    Global ownership of travel suppliers, contracts and programs across all markets. 
•    Develop sourcing strategies aligned with WTW objectives and industry development. 
•    Manage end to end RFP projects for all travel categories including, Air, Hotel, Ground and Meetings and Events, ensuring programs are relevant for WTW travellers across all markets. 
•    Ownership of Balance of trade strategy including development of client/colleague relationships. Collaborating with leadership teams to support overall relationships and new business opportunities. 
•    Build and develop relationships with all key market stakeholders. 
•    Ensure supplier network is aligned with WTW’s policies and guidelines. 
•    Consult with internal teams including Legal, HR, Finance, Mobility and Infosec to ensure compliance and local markets requirements are met and managed effectively.  
•    Provide effective and strategic support to leadership teams.
•    Develop and manage supplier governance model including KPI and contract management. 
•    Maintain and build supplier relationships, maximising value-added opportunities. 
•    Manage supplier reviews, contract expectations and performance. 
•    Identify savings opportunities and traveller behaviour through regular reporting and compliance tracking. 
•    Manage ESG requirements and development within travel sector to support WTW’s policies and future goals.
•    Contract and MSA management including Ariba system utilisation.  
•    Work closely with the regional travel managers to socialize ongoing category initiatives.
 

The Requirements

Technical Skills
•    Excellent travel & meetings procurement and analytical skills.
•    Good knowledge of the travel industry and insights into market trends and future strategies, supported by a wide network of contacts.
•    Ability to adapt strategies based on regional and industry specific nuances.
•    Detail oriented with a drive for optimizing processes and driving cost efficiency.
•    Experience in managing global supplier relationships to ensure optimal services and cost-effectiveness.
•    Proven track record of implementing successful projects in a large global organisation.
•    Proven experience in managing change initiatives.
•    Experience collaborating with stakeholders at all levels to deliver and drive change.
•    Drive and enforce compliance to preferred vendors.
•    Ability to effectively communicate performance metrics to senior management.
•    Strong change and communications skills.
•    Ability to interpret data, identify trends and make informed decisions to improve processes and reduce cost.

Behavioural Skills
•    Teamwork: Works effectively with cross-functional teams to achieve common goals. 
•    Decision Making: Demonstrates a proactive approach to identifying challenges and developing innovative solutions.
•    Stakeholder: Ability to work with stakeholders at all levels in the organisation to deliver a progressive travel program.
•    Communication: Clearly communicates category strategies, performance, and insights to senior management and other stakeholders.
•    Collaboration: Confident with challenging others whilst building strong business relationships.

Essential Qualifications
•    Global travel procurement and operations experience
•    Travel & Meetings procurement experience
•    Good analytical skills
•    Excellent communication, collaboration and listening skills
•    Demonstrable commercial expertise and negotiation skills

At WTW, we believe difference makes us stronger. We want our workforce to reflect the different and varied markets we operate in and to build a culture of inclusivity that makes colleagues feel welcome, valued and empowered to bring their whole selves to work every day. We are an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive work environment throughout our organisation. We embrace all types of diversity.