Senior Manager, Crisis Management - Group Crisis Management

At Booking.com, we combine technology, data and innovation with a passion for travel. Our people, products and partners help travellers discover new places, build connections and create memorable experiences. Together, we work towards our mission: to make it easier for everyone to experience the world.

Within Group Security & Resilience, we contribute to that mission by helping people experience the world safely and securely - protecting our people and operations, anticipating threats and strengthening our ability to respond to disruption. As Senior Manager, Crisis Management, you will lead our global crisis management capability, preparing the organisation for significant disruption and directing a coordinated response to events that affect our people, customers, partners and business operations.

Reporting directly to the Director, Group Security & Resilience, you will lead and develop the existing Crisis Management team and own the capability’s strategy, preparedness and operational delivery. Your remit spans all crisis types including cyber, fraud, data security, regulatory, reputational, operational  and people and physical security. You will lead Booking.com’s crisis preparedness including regulatory compliance for crisis management, organizational training, governance reviews as well as crisis coordination and structured after action reviews after crisis events, seeing relevant remediation items through to completion. You will also act as a subject matter lead on the processes and structures linking enterprise incident management teams and the crisis management capability, ensuring effective outcomes and ongoing innovation in a multifaceted threat environment.   

You will provide the overarching governance structure and operational support and cross-brand coordination for Booking Holdings and its wider brands where required, respecting each entity’s decision-making authority and response responsibilities.

This is a high-visibility leadership role combining thought leadership, inclusive people leadership and hands-on response. You will shape how the organisation prepares for and manages crises, bringing together diverse perspectives and translating incomplete, rapidly changing information into clear recommendations for senior executives. You will adapt your leadership style to the needs of the situation and the team: encouraging collaboration and constructive challenge, empowering specialists and providing clear, decisive direction when urgency demands it. Success means a well-prepared organisation, a confident and capable team, and an effective response that protects people, limits business impact and supports recovery.

This position requires a high degree of flexibility, independence and the ability to solve problems and work outside normal office hours when required and taking time zones into account. You will be comfortable navigating ambiguity and bring a proven track record of sound decision-making and delivering results in a dynamic leadership role.

B.responsible

• Own the crisis management strategy and roadmap at both the booking.com and Booking Holdings level. Develop and deliver a global capability aligned with business priorities and the evolving threat landscape. Bring thought leadership and practical innovation to the capability, challenging established approaches where improvements are needed. Ensure clear governance in line with audit requirements, activation criteria, escalation pathways and decision-making responsibilities, connecting crisis management with all relevant incident management and business continuity teams. 

• Lead active crisis response. Direct the coordinated response to crises, activating and leading physical or virtual crisis management forums. Establish containment and remediation priorities and track these through to recovery alongside decisions and actions. Ensure clear and structured post-meeting executive communication. Adapt your approach to the urgency and complexity of the event, drawing on specialist expertise while providing decisive direction and clear accountability. Ensure sustainable 24/7 readiness through on-call coverage, clear handovers and appropriate resourcing, participating in out-of-hours response when required.

• Coordinate across functions and brands. Bring together relevant business units, corporate functions and brand leadership to align response priorities, actions and communications. Ensure clear ownership while specialist teams retain responsibility for their respective response activities. Enabling timely information sharing and coordinated management of cross-brand impacts, including the production of c-suite meeting readouts.

• Advise executives during high-stakes events. Provide concise briefings that distinguish confirmed facts, uncertainties, business impacts and decisions required. Enable the subject matter experts to present clear options and recommendations, constructively challenge assumptions and maintain a reliable operating picture for senior leadership throughout the response.

• Design and lead exercises and training. Deliver a risk-based schedule of tabletop exercises and simulations for executive teams, crisis responders and cross-functional stakeholders. Test decision-making, escalation, communications and cross-brand coordination against realistic scenarios, translating findings into measurable improvements. Develop engaging and technologically relevant self-serve materials for crisis forum participants to ensure scalability of training offering from within the crisis management team. 

• Drive learning after crises. Lead thorough, blameless post-crisis reviews that encourage honest feedback and examine contributing factors, response effectiveness and organisational dependencies. Assign improvement actions in line with structured procedures, with accountable owners and deadlines, track completion and validate that lessons strengthen resilience, training and operational practice.

• Lead and develop the team. Scale the team from a single brand function to  cross brand coverages. Build an inclusive environment where diverse perspectives, constructive challenges and shared learning strengthen decisions. Set clear expectations, coach and mentor team members, manage performance and build succession and response capability. Adapt your leadership style to individual development needs and operational circumstances, balancing empowerment, coaching and decisive direction while supporting team wellbeing.

• Manage the capability’s resources and tools. Own workforce planning, the team budget and relevant vendor relationships. Develop requirements for crisis communications, crisis management and reporting tools, ensuring they support dependable response and scale with organisational needs and are, wherever possible, joined up with existing Security and Fraud systems and capabilities.

• Innovate and drive improvement within existing crisis management processes and governance - including in areas of cross over with enterprise incident management teams. Utilise AI to improve efficiency and clarity in line with organizational policies and drive scalable and effective integrations wherever possible with cross-enterprise incident management teams.   

• Make readiness and performance visible. Establish meaningful measures of preparedness, response effectiveness, exercise outcomes and improvement delivery. Provide leadership and governance reporting that clearly communicates progress, capability gaps, dependencies and decisions needed to strengthen global resilience.

B. Skilled - Basic Qualifications 

• 10+ years of relevant experience in crisis management, emergency management or major incident response, including direct responsibility for leading complex, high-impact cyber and fraud crises.

• Awareness and understanding of relevant regulations (e.g NIS2, DORA, GDPR) and how these apply in corporate crises events and experience at implementing the relevant parts of these in crisis management governance material including ISO 22361 and ISO 22301. 

• Familiarity and experience with cyber and fraud incident management, business continuity and IT Disaster Recovery - and how to integrate roles and responsibilities from these standalone teams into a crisis management capability.

• Demonstrated people management experience, including leading and developing diverse teams, coaching professionals, managing performance and building capability across locations or cultures.

• An inclusive and adaptable leadership approach, with evidence of building trust, encouraging constructive challenge and adjusting between collaborative, coaching and directive styles according to the situation.

• A bachelor’s degree in crisis or emergency management, security, risk management, international relations, business management or a related discipline, or equivalent relevant professional experience.

• Proven experience operating in a global, matrixed corporate environment, influencing and collaborating with c-suite independently and coordinating teams across functions, countries and time zones.

• A track record of shaping crisis management practices and implementing frameworks, response plans and playbooks that have been tested through exercises and real crises.

• Experience designing and facilitating executive-level tabletop exercises and translating findings into sustained operational improvements.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, with the ability to brief executives clearly, communicate uncertainty and turn complex information into actionable recommendations.

• Sound judgement and composure under pressure, including the ability to prioritise competing demands, make proportionate recommendations with incomplete information and handle sensitive matters with discretion.

• Strong project management skills, with evidence of delivering strategic roadmaps, managing resources and holding stakeholders accountable for agreed actions.

• Willingness and ability to participate in an on-call arrangement and respond outside normal working hours when incidents require.

B.skilled - Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in a global technology, e-commerce, digital platform or travel organisation where service availability, customer trust and international operations are business-critical.

• Experience coordinating the business response to cyber incidents, including data breaches and ransomware, or major platform, cloud and third-party service outages, working alongside technical incident response teams.

• Relevant professional credentials, such as Certified Business Continuity Professional (CBCP), Certified Emergency Manager (CEM), ASIS Certified Protection Professional (CPP), or recognised crisis management and incident command qualifications.

• Experience supporting crisis coordination across a group of companies, balancing shared situational awareness and group-level coordination with local leadership and entity accountability.

• Experience connecting security intelligence and geopolitical assessments with preparedness, escalation and crisis response decisions.

• Experience implementing crisis notification, incident management and collaboration tools, and using data and automation to improve readiness and response.

Benefits & Perks - Global Impact, Personal Relevance:

Booking.com’s Total Rewards Philosophy is not only about compensation but also about benefits. We offer a competitive compensation and benefits package, as well unique-to-Booking.com benefits which include:

• Annual paid time off and generous paid leave scheme including: parent, grandparent, bereavement, and care leave

• Hybrid working including flexible working arrangements, and up to 20 days per year working from abroad (home country)

• Industry leading product discounts - up to 1400 per year - for yourself, including automatic Genius Level 3 status and Booking.com wallet credit 

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) at Booking.com: 

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion have been a core part of our company culture since day one. This ongoing journey starts with our very own employees, who represent over 140 nationalities and a wide range of ethnic and social backgrounds, genders and sexual orientations. 

Take it from our Chief People Officer, Paulo Pisano: “At Booking.com, the diversity of our people doesn’t just build an outstanding workplace, it also creates a better and more inclusive travel experience for everyone. Inclusion is at the heart of everything we do. It’s a place where you can make your mark and have a real impact in travel and tech.” 

We ensure that colleagues with disabilities are provided the adjustments and tools they need to participate in the job application and interview process, to perform crucial job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment.

Application Process:  

• Let’s go places together: How we Hire 

• This role does not come with relocation assistance.

Booking.com is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status. We strive to move well beyond traditional equal opportunity and work to create an environment that allows everyone to thrive.

Pre-Employment Screening

If your application is successful, your personal data may be used for a pre-employment screening check by a third party as permitted by applicable law. Depending on the vacancy and applicable law, a pre-employment screening may include employment history, education and other information (such as media information) that may be necessary for determining your qualifications and suitability for the position.