Manager – Airline Partnerships

The Manager, Airline Partnerships holds the pivotal role of managing global sourcing strategies for key airline partners and supporting the global air sourcing team with analysis and insights. Reporting directly to the Senior Director, Airline Partnerships, this position is tasked with building relationships and executing initiatives that transform our position within the global air industry while maximizing value across all internal and external stakeholders.

The candidate will orchestrate both strategic and tactical procurement efforts and will leverage industry expertise to secure best in-class content, contracts and commercials. With a focus on fostering a strategic network of supply partners, the Manager will capitalize on profit-generating opportunities and ensure sustained growth.

The Manger will play a crucial role in shaping the company’s air programs and partnerships to optimize productivity and revenue streams. This involves not only supporting cross-departmental initiatives but also ensuring seamless integration of strategic plans across various organizational functions such as advisory services, sales, finance, and marketing.

The ideal candidate for this role is an exceptionally skilled and adaptable professional, capable of assuming a hands-on approach and driving results in a fast-paced environment. 

Responsibilities / Key Accountabilities:

• Secure contracts with new airline partners for display of air content on the Trip-Arc booking platform; maintain comprehensive contract records.

• Regularly review and renegotiate existing contracts to optimize profitability.

• Achieve annual revenue targets through strategic negotiations and renewals with key airline partners.

• Cultivate and nurture relationships with suppliers to ensure sustained engagement and optimal revenue structures.

• Develop and standardize an efficient onboarding process for new partners, ensuring adherence to brand standards.

• Conduct business reviews with partners to drive continuous improvement and strategic alignment.

• Collaborate with internal stakeholders to optimize distribution of supplier contracts and achieve shared objectives.

• Support cross-departmental initiatives and provide strategic analytics on partner performance, forecasting, and opportunities.

• Use data analysis to identify trends and patterns to inform business decisions.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of commercial experience negotiating air and/or travel distribution contracts on a global basis in a complex, multi-stakeholder company.

• Domain expertise of air content, with understanding of various airline distribution contracts – including net rates, fenced rates, and published commissionable rates.

• Proven track record of stakeholder engagement within the global travel industry 

• Advanced negotiation skills with a focus on vendor engagement and contract management. 

• Strong analytical skills and ability to synthesize large amounts of information for executive-level decision making.

• Excellent business judgment and strategic thinking skills.

• Highly effective project management, prioritization, multi-tasking, and time management skills to meet deadlines and manage a large volume of work in a fast paced, dynamic, high-performance environment.

• Proven business acumen with a systematic, mathematical, analytical approach to problem solving, negotiation and analysis.

• Advanced written and verbal communication skills, including presentation skills and an ability to communicate at all levels, both internally and externally with polish and professionalism.

• Advanced Excel Spreadsheet skills and proficient with PowerPoint, and Word.

• Demonstrated experience leading and building teams.

We are committed to providing employment accommodation in accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. If you require accommodation due to a disability at any stage of our hiring process, please advise us when completing your application.