Global Travel Program Manager

Job Title

Global Travel Program Manager

Job Description Summary

The Global Travel Program Manager will be responsible for the strategic category management and execution of the company’s global travel program. This role requires strong leadership, negotiation, and vendor management skills, as well as expertise in corporate travel, policies, compliance, and technology. The Global Travel Program Manager will work closely with internal stakeholders and external vendors to ensure a seamless, cost-effective, and compliant travel experience across all regions.

Job Description

Responsibilities:

Travel Program Management

• Develop, implement, and manage the global travel policy and program in alignment with corporate goals and industry best practices.
• Establish and maintain relationships with key stakeholders (e.g., HR, Finance, and Procurement) to ensure alignment of the travel program with company objectives.
• Serve as the main point of contact for travel-related inquiries and issues, providing guidance and resolving escalated travel concerns.
• Continuously assess global travel needs and recommend changes to optimize the program.
• Negotiate contracts with travel service providers, including airlines, hotels, car rental companies, and travel management companies (TMCs), ensuring competitive pricing and high service standards.
• Monitor and manage global travel vendors for quality, cost-efficiency, and adherence to service level agreements (SLAs).
• Track and analyze global travel spend, ensuring cost control and identify potential savings opportunities
• Providing regular reports to senior leadership on travel costs, trends, and performance metrics.
• Ensure employees are informed of travel policies, procedures, and any updates through effective communication and training programs.
• Leverage travel technology and tools (e.g., online booking tools, expense management systems) to streamline travel processes and improve the traveler experience.
• Continuously evaluate and implement process improvements to increase operational efficiency, including the use of data analytics to enhance decision-making.
• Manage travel risk programs, ensuring that the company meets its duty-of-care obligations and that travelers are safe and supported in the event of emergencies.

Leadership

• Creates a working environment that encourages high performance and innovation.
• Becomes a trusted advisor and subject matter expert on the categories.
• Removes roadblocks to enable the delivery of procurement and client account goals.
• Promotes compliance with C&W’s code of conduct.

Category Management

• Establishes category plans and strategy to ensure the right solution for C&W business lines.
• Responsible for working with procurement business partners and service line leadership to align category management vision with service line and procurement priorities.  
• Incorporates industry best practices into category delivery.
• Utilizes demand planning to target value from supplier agreements.
• Monitors preferred supplier utilization, builds roster to ensure capability to deliver across the service line portfolios, and monitors performance to ensure capability to meet account needs.
• Ability to develop and understand data analytics, to mine data to drive in depth analysis of client 3rd party spend.
• Ensure effective commercial arrangements.

Business Influence

• Communicates supply category preferred supplier metrics and helps the business drive greater adoption of the preferred supplier network.
• Develops and maintains strong relationships with business units and the category management team.
• Drives for results by consistently achieving goals in a timely manner.
• Develops and delivers communications with clarity and impact, ensuring consistent messaging.
• Encourages creation and brings new best in class ideas and approaches to the table for developing and executing category strategies and working within the supply market to ensure Cushman & Wakefield meets or exceeds their objectives.
• Working cross-functionally with other departments including Finance, Operations, TDS, HR, Project Management, etc. for delivery of category strategies.
• Working with C&W Legal Counsel to ensure consistent templates and fall back language to enable effective negotiations and risk mitigation.

Continuous Improvement/Change Management

• Strong problem-solving skills utilizing continuous improvement techniques.
• Utilizes change management techniques to drive the development and utilization of a preferred supplier program.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Hospitality Management, Supply Chain Management, or a related field. A master’s degree or equivalent experience is preferred.
• Minimum of 8+ years of experience in corporate travel management, including global or regional responsibility in a multinational company. Experience in a Fortune 500 company is highly desirable.
• Global Travel Professional (GTP), Certified Corporate Travel Executive (CCTE), or other relevant travel certifications are a plus.
• In-depth knowledge of Travel Programs, Procurement and fundamentals
• Strong interpersonal and analytical skills
• Ability to build relationships with key business stakeholders and 3rd party vendors
• Strong understanding of corporate travel management, vendor negotiation, and contract management.
• Proven experience managing large-scale global travel programs with a focus on cost savings, compliance, and service quality.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to work cross-functionally and influence stakeholders.
• Analytical mindset with the ability to interpret data, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions.
• Familiarity with travel technology solutions, such as global distribution systems (GDS), online booking tools (OBT), and travel expense management software.
• Strong communication, change management and collaboration skills to engage with a diverse stakeholder and supply base.

Cushman & Wakefield also provides eligible employees with an opportunity to enroll in a variety of benefit programs, generally including health, vision, and dental insurance, flexible spending accounts, health savings accounts, retirement savings plans, life, and disability insurance programs, and paid and unpaid time away from work. In addition to a comprehensive benefits package, Cushman and Wakefield provide eligible employees with competitive pay, which may vary depending on eligibility factors such as geographic location, date of hire, total hours worked, job type, business line, and applicability of collective bargaining agreements.

The compensation that will be offered to the successful candidate will depend on factors such as whether the position is covered by a collective bargaining agreement, the geographic area in which the work will be performed, market pay rates in that area, and the candidate’s experience and qualifications.

The company will not pay less than minimum wage for this role.

The compensation for the position is: $127,500.00 - $150,000.00

Cushman & Wakefield provides equal employment opportunity. Discrimination of any type will not be tolerated. Cushman & Wakefield is an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative​ Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without  regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by state, federal, or local law.

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA), if you have a disability and would like to request an accommodation in order to apply for a position at Cushman & Wakefield, please call the ADA line at 1-888-365-5406 or email HRServices@cushwake.com. Please refer to the job title and job location when you contact us.

INCO: “Cushman & Wakefield”