Travel Manager

Description

Job Description:

Leidos has an opening for a Travel Manager who will lead, develop, and maintain our travel program for the Antarctic Support Contract (ASC).

The ideal candidate for this role will be experienced in global travel management, vendor/partner relationship and performance management, corporate ghost card management and Concur administration. They will stay current with industry trends and have the ability to understand the business and effectively enhance our program to meet the needs of our deploying and non-deploying travelers.

The Travel Manager should be excited about solving problems and have a successful history of doing so. They should also be able to effectively communicate and collaborate across multiple functions and interact with our customer, employees and other United States Antarctic Program (USAP) agencies at various levels.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Own all aspects of the ASC-Leidos travel program.
• Lead a team of 6 direct reports and matrixed leadership for locations in Christchurch, NZ and Punta Arenas, Chile.
• Sets long term vision and technical guidance for program travel management. Develop and manage program travel policy using traveler behavior and marketplace conditions, and implement best practices.
• Financial Control Account Manager (CAM) for the ASC Travel Group. Develop and manage a travel budget in excess of $10M. Analyze travel spend data to identify trends, gaps and opportunities while ensuring activities support the scope of the Annual Program Plan.
• Facilitate procurement strategy and negotiations with airlines, hotels and other service providers.
• Serve as primary business owner for ASC’s Concur system, interacting closely with the vendor technical team and travel provider.
• Collaborates with National Science Foundation Activity Based Managers (ABM’s) for overall USAP strategic direction of program wide travel.
• Manage programmatic ASC Travel charge cards to ensure the best value is being achieved and reporting requirements are met.
• Perform executive level briefings regarding airline, hotel and ground transportation requirements.
• Establish and monitor programs for support of safety and security of employees while traveling for business.
• Assess new opportunities through new travel technologies and process improvement.
• Create business case for potential opportunities assessing benefits and risks of solution.
• Establish performance management requirements for key suppliers and measure compliance with requirements.
• Evaluate ongoing initiatives for continuous improvement.
• Provide consultation on travel industry changes and developments, addressing impact to the travel program.
• Collaborate with Events and administrative teams to optimize travel related to important company events, meetings, conferences, etc.
• Establish communications strategy and become SME for company travel.
• Assist employees in resolving travel related issues, policy questions and problems as required.

**The Travel Manager will be required to carry an after-hours duty phone to troubleshoot travel disruptions for business travelers.**

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree and five (5)+ years’ experience with two (2) years supervising/leading.
• Proven experience in corporate travel leadership.
• Knowledge of T&E reporting and processing.
• Knowledge of international travel regulations, customs and currencies.
• Training in travel and tourism is a plus.
• Experience working in a team environment with a high level of initiative and personal accountability.
• Strong communication skills, oral and written, with the ability to influence various levels of the organization and adjust style to fit audience; this includes strong presentation skills and executive presence.
• The ability to take initiative and demonstrate ownership and pride in their work to ensure the company has a successful travel program where employees engaging in the program have a seamless experience.

Per contract requirements, US citizenship or permanent residency is required.

PHYSICAL AND / OR OTHER SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS: Deployment is required in this position at discretion of management. The individual in the position must successfully complete the physical and dental examinations, as required by the NSF for deploying to Antarctica. Failure to meet these requirements may result in withdrawal of employment offer or other employment action.

Pay Range: