Senior Operations Manager - Customer Incident in London

hackajob is collaborating with loveholidays to connect them with exceptional professionals for this role.

At loveholidays, we trailblaze together. We’re on a mission to open the world to everyone, giving our customers unlimited choice, unmatched ease and unmissable value for their next getaway. Our team is the driving force behind our role as our customers’ personal holiday expert – the smart way to get away. Here, we’re doing things differently to open the world to everyone, and our Customer Experience team is at the forefront of driving cutting-edge innovation. Join our fast-growing business where your ideas are heard and new thinking shapes how millions book their holidays. You’ll accelerate your growth in our fast-paced environment, tackling daily challenges and learning from inspiring leaders and teammates. Be empowered to create impact for our future by shaping the most-loved package holiday experience for millions. As we pursue ambitious plans to expand across Europe, you’ll be part of a fun-loving international community achieving great things together.

The Impact You’ll Have

• You’ll own the operational response during incidents and crises, making critical decisions that balance commercial outcomes with empathy and customer-first thinking. Working cross-functionally with Commercial, Supply, Product, Communications, Health & Safety and Legal, as well as externally with airlines, hoteliers and other partners, you’ll ensure aligned, proactive responses.
• You’ll develop and maintain incident management playbooks, embedding a culture of preparedness, accountability and continuous improvement. Using data and insight from past events, you’ll drive operational enhancements, reduce risk and strengthen long-term customer trust.

This role requires strong operational leadership, exceptional communication skills and the confidence to challenge senior stakeholders when customer outcomes or reputational risk are at stake. Hybrid role based in Hammersmith, London (2–3 days per week). Some out-of-hours work required due to the nature of incident response.

Your Day-to-day

• Travel Disruption & Incident Management: Lead the end-to-end management of customer-facing travel disruptions (e.g. cancellations, delays, weather events, strikes). Make time-sensitive, customer-focused decisions outside standard policy when required, using data insights to support and justify actions.
• Crisis Response & Escalation Management: Serve as the operational lead during real-time crises. Guide and support customer communication strategies while coordinating cross-functional responses across departments such as Operations, Communications, Commercial, Legal, and Safety.
• Incident Playbooks & Readiness Planning: Own and regularly update crisis and incident management playbooks. Ensure clear escalation paths, defined roles and responsibilities, and that all relevant teams are trained and aligned on response protocols ahead of potential disruptions.
• Partner & Supplier Collaboration: Work closely with commercial teams and key supply partners (airlines, hotels, transport providers, etc.) to resolve incidents, manage escalations, and enhance partner performance in service recovery scenarios.
• Senior Stakeholder Influence: Confidently challenge and influence senior-level decisions during operational crises to ensure customer welfare and reputational integrity remain the priority.
• Brand Protection & Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with internal teams to ensure aligned and consistent messaging and service recovery strategies during high-impact events. Act as a brand guardian, ensuring customer outcomes align with company values.
• Continuous Improvement & Efficiency: Use insights from incident data, customer feedback, and operational performance metrics to drive efficiency, reduce disruption risk and enhance customer satisfaction. Identify root causes and implement improvements in collaboration with internal and external partners.

Your Skillset

• Demonstrable experience in handling large-scale customer incidents with high commercial and reputational stakes within customer operations, service delivery, or crisis response – preferably in a fast-paced travel, airline or hospitality environment.
• Strong crisis management and real-time decision-making capabilities.
• Ability to work calmly under pressure, managing multiple critical issues simultaneously.
• High attention to detail, accuracy, and follow-through, even in high-stress situations.
• Clear and empathetic communicator with strong written and verbal skills.
• Skilled at influencing and challenging senior leaders when necessary for customer advocacy.
• Exceptional collaboration and stakeholder engagement skills across departments and partner networks.
• Data-driven approach to problem-solving, with the ability to analyse complex situations and justify decisions with supporting evidence.
• Experience designing and maintaining incident management frameworks or playbooks.
• Track record of leading cross-functional improvement initiatives and enhancing customer outcomes.

Desirable

• Knowledge of Regulatory and Compliance Frameworks in Travel – understanding of key frameworks such as ATOL, EC261/UK261, and other customer protection laws.
• Background in Airline, OTA, or Tour Operator Environments – prior experience in companies where operational resilience and real-time incident handling are key business drivers.
• Formal Crisis Management Training or Certification.

The Interview Journey

• Meeting with a member of the Talent team – 30 mins.
• Interview with the Hiring Manager and one other stakeholder – 45 mins Interview.
• Final Stage the hiring Manager & CX Director with a task to present – 60 mins Interview Final.

Perks Of Joining Us

Other than an amazing environment for you to grow, have impact and show the world your incredible skills, we offer the following benefits:

• Company pension contributions at 5%.
• Individualised training budget for you to learn on the job and level yourself up.
• Discounted holidays for you, your family and friends.
• 25 days of holidays per annum (plus 8 public holidays) increases by 1 day for every second year of service, up to a maximum 30 days per annum.
• Enhanced maternity/paternity leave.
• Cycle to work scheme, season ticket loan and eye care vouchers.

At loveholidays, we focus on developing an inclusive culture and environment that encourages personal growth and collective success. Each individual offers unique perspectives and ideas that increase the diversity and effectiveness of our teams. And we value the insight and potential you could bring on our continued journey.