Director, Travel Services at Navan

<p>The Navan Global Operations &amp; Service (GO&amp;S) team is seeking an experienced and forward-thinking <strong>Director of Travel Services</strong> to lead our North America Travel Services organization.</p> <p>In this role, you will be responsible for delivering exceptional customer experiences, driving operational excellence, and building scalable, high-performing teams that support Navan's continued growth.</p> <p>We're looking for a leader who combines <strong>strong operational expertise, a passion for the travel industry, and a technology-first mindset</strong>, with the ability to leverage AI, automation, and data-driven insights to transform how we support our customers.</p> <h2>&nbsp;</h2> <h2><strong>What You'll Do</strong></h2> <p>&nbsp;</p> <ul> <li><strong>Lead and scale Travel Services operations across North America</strong>, ensuring consistent delivery of high-quality customer support while balancing customer satisfaction, operational performance, and cost efficiency.</li> <li>Own and continuously evolve the Global Operations &amp; Service operating model, developing scalable support strategies across Core, Designated, Dedicated, and other specialized service offerings.</li> <li>Build and execute operational strategies that support business growth, improve efficiency, and deliver exceptional experiences across customer segments.</li> <li><strong>Lead, develop, and inspire high-performing teams</strong>, fostering a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, engagement, and professional growth.</li> <li>Own operational performance and key service metrics, including SLA, customer satisfaction, quality, productivity, efficiency, and cost-to-serve, translating insights into measurable improvements.</li> <li><strong>Champion the adoption of AI, automation, and emerging technologies</strong> to transform service delivery, improve agent productivity, enhance customer experience, and optimize operational costs.</li> <li>Partner closely with Product, Engineering, Analytics, and other stakeholders to identify, prioritize, and implement technology-driven improvements, including AI-powered agent assistance, automated quality assurance, knowledge management, and workflow automation.</li> <li>Leverage data and analytics to identify operational trends, anticipate customer needs, improve workforce efficiency, and drive strategic decision-making.</li> <li>Lead operational transformation initiatives, identifying opportunities to simplify processes, eliminate inefficiencies, and scale service delivery without compromising quality.</li> <li>Partner with Workforce Management, Learning &amp; Development, Talent Acquisition, and other regional leaders to ensure effective capacity planning, hiring, training, and talent development.</li> <li>Collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders to ensure alignment between service delivery, customer expectations, business priorities, and financial objectives.</li> <li>Develop and execute strategies to continuously improve the traveler experience, particularly for enterprise and high-value customers with complex travel requirements.</li> <li>Drive operational readiness and effective crisis management during travel disruptions, irregular operations (IROPs), and other high-impact events.</li> <li>Manage relevant technology and vendor partnerships, including evaluating solutions, driving implementation, and ensuring measurable business outcomes.</li> <li>Challenge the status quo, bring forward innovative ideas, and lead initiatives that position Navan as an industry leader in travel services.</li> </ul> <h2>&nbsp;</h2> <h2><strong>What We're Looking For</strong></h2> <h4>&nbsp;</h4> <h4><strong>Leadership &amp; Operational Experience</strong></h4> <ul> <li><strong>10+ years of experience</strong> in Operations, Customer Support, or Service Delivery, ideally within a large-scale, global or multinational organization.</li> <li><strong>5+ years of senior leadership experience</strong>, managing large, complex teams in a fast-paced, matrixed environment.</li> <li>Proven track record of building, scaling, and transforming high-performing customer service or contact center operations.</li> <li>Strong understanding of contact center operations, including workforce management, capacity planning, service-level management, quality assurance, and operational efficiency.</li> <li>Demonstrated ability to translate business objectives into operational strategies, measurable KPIs, and tangible business outcomes.</li> <li>Strong financial and business acumen, with experience managing budgets, optimizing cost-to-serve, and making data-driven investment decisions.</li> <li>Proven ability to lead change, drive accountability, and build engaged, high-performing teams.</li> <li>Experience managing complex projects and cross-functional initiatives, delivering results against ambitious timelines.</li> </ul> <h4><strong>AI, Technology &amp; Innovation</strong></h4> <ul> <li><strong>Demonstrated experience leveraging AI, automation, and digital technologies</strong> to improve customer support operations, employee productivity, and customer experience.</li> <li>Hands-on exposure to AI-powered customer service solutions, such as agent copilots, conversational AI, chatbots, automated quality assurance, intelligent knowledge management, or workflow automation.</li> <li>Ability to identify and prioritize AI and automation opportunities, translate them into practical use cases, and measure their impact on operational performance, customer experience, and cost efficiency.</li> <li>Strong understanding of modern contact center technology, including CRM platforms, omnichannel solutions, workforce management tools, and performance analytics.</li> <li>A technology-first mindset, with curiosity about emerging AI capabilities and the ability to drive adoption and change across large teams.</li> <li>Experience partnering with Product and Engineering teams to improve internal tools, automate processes, and enhance the agent and customer experience.</li> </ul> <h4><strong>Travel Industry Expertise — Strongly Preferred</strong></h4> <ul> <li><strong>Previous experience in the travel industry is strongly preferred</strong>, particularly within corporate travel, Travel Management Companies (TMCs), airlines, or travel technology organizations.</li> <li>Solid understanding of corporate travel operations, including reservations, ticketing, exchanges, refunds, travel policies, and complex itinerary management.</li> <li><strong>Knowledge of Global Distribution Systems (GDS)</strong>, particularly Sabre or Amadeus, and their role in travel servicing operations.</li> <li>Familiarity with travel industry challenges, including irregular operations (IROPs), airline disruptions, schedule changes, and time-sensitive traveler support.</li> <li>Experience supporting enterprise or high-value travel customers, with an understanding of the expectations associated with premium and dedicated service models.</li> <li>Understanding of travel industry trends, emerging technologies, and opportunities to improve travel servicing through automation and AI.</li> </ul> <h4><strong>Leadership &amp; Collaboration</strong></h4> <ul> <li>An inspiring, hands-on leader who is passionate about delivering exceptional customer experiences and developing talent.</li> <li>Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to simplify complex topics and influence stakeholders at all levels.</li> <li>Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities, with the ability to make sound decisions in fast-paced, high-pressure environments.</li> <li>A collaborative mindset and proven ability to build strong partnerships across global teams and functions.</li> <li>Comfortable challenging existing ways of working, introducing new ideas, and driving meaningful organizational change.</li> <li>A strong sense of ownership, urgency, and accountability, with a consistent track record of delivering measurable results.</li> </ul><div class="content-conclusion"><p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Navan uses AI-assisted Automated Employment Decision Tool (Metaview) to assist with evaluating resumes against job qualifications for this role. All final decisions are made by human recruiters and hiring managers.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Human oversight:</strong>&nbsp;<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Metaview does not automatically reject candidates or make final hiring decisions. Our recruiters and hiring managers review all outputs and make the final hiring decision regarding every application.&nbsp;</span></p> <ul> <li> <p><strong>Your rights: </strong>If you prefer to have your application reviewed without AI assistance, you may request a human evaluation by entering your email <a href="https://my.metaview.app/applications/opt-out?organization=15dd7e883f">here</a>. Your decision to do so will not affect how your candidacy is evaluated.&nbsp;</p> </li> </ul> <p>Please refer to our<a href="https://navan.com/candidate-privacy-notice"> Candidate Privacy Notice</a> for more information about our processing of personal data, and your rights.</p></div>