Manager, Commercial Air - - London/Hybrid

At HX our purpose is to awaken people to the beauty and fragility of the planet, with adventure that ignites a sense of wonder. We take curious travellers to incredible destinations, sustainably in true expedition-style with science and education at the heart of every journey. We bring them off the beaten track, to special destinations across the Arctic, Antarctic, Galapagos, British Isles, Alaska, Northern Norway, and Central / South America.

The Manager, Commercial Air position is responsible for leading the Commercial Air Team, a critical part of guest experience which enables our guests to reach our destinations around the world. The team works together with GX Sales and other HX teams to enable our front-line sales team members by supporting flight booking through our SeaWare booking tool, managing the lifecycle of an air booking through Amadeus, and assisting in emergency operations.

The Commercial Air Team Manager will lead this team of approximately 7 individuals to ensure complete and full execution of day-to-day air support activities, oversee that compliance and reporting requirements are met, and design and implement new and updated processes and policies. This position can be based in London (KX) or Prague with a hybrid approach to working with a minimum of three days in the office.

At HX, we are a passionate team who deliver our global operations from every corner of the world and our people are instrumental in continuing to inspire this adventure, play their part and deliver on our promise of guest centric and memorable experiences, benefiting the communities we visit, enriching our guests and inspiring a more sustainable world – to change the way they see the world.

• Manage and mentor team of air support specialists, including hiring, training, performance management, and coaching.
• Ensure support for and collaboration with the front-line GX Sales team and guest change team to enable an amazing end-to-end customer journey, including channels such as market chats and JIRA management and escalation handling.
• Develop critical processes and procedures for guests in relation to air support.
• Identify and drive the execution of any potential areas of improvement to ensure effective and high-quality service delivery of our flight operations.
• Oversee delivery of commercial flight-related reporting and analysis (e.g., BSP reporting) to support teams across the organization, including Flight Operations and Strategy, Revenue Management, and Accounting.
• Partner with finance to ensure effective cost controls by reviewing invoices for accuracy, approving invoices in a timely manner, and reporting of estimates compared to real costs.
• Proactively train and respond to questions from travel consultants and B2B commercial teams, to ensure our front-line sales team understand the design of our air products and our unique value proposition (versus our competitors) in these products.
• Support the GX Change Team during individual emergencies and ERO (Emergency Response Operations) situations by managing the third party out of hours support provider and maintaining an ERO roster for fast deployment.
• Thinks sustainably and brings this mindset to their team and partners.
• Other duties as assigned.

• Fluency in English is required. Additional business level language fluency in Czech, Norwegian, German, or French beneficial but not required.
• Minimum 5-years’ experience in a similar role in the travel industry, in management or leadership role.
• Experience in maritime, expedition, or cruise industry beneficial but not required.
• Strong knowledge of travel operations and logistics, especially with experience in managing travel logistics in remote destinations with limited infrastructure.
• Experience in coaching and/or training others on flight systems, preferably Amadeus.
• Experience with Amadeus GDS system, including a high degree of proficiency Agent Command Pages, Back office & Agency Management functions, Script & Software Development Kits.
• Excellent industry knowledge and reservation skills for domestic and international reservations to include air, hotel, rail, and ground transportation.
• Tech-forward and adaptable, with a proven ability to quickly learn new systems.
• Proficiency in MS Office applications including Outlook, PowerPoint, Word, and Excel.
• Experience working in a multi-national organisation with a global guest mix.

• Safety and Compliance minded for yourself and others.
• Strong leadership and management skills.
• High degree of structure, organization, proactivity when problem solving.
• High degree of personal integrity and honesty.
• Excited to work in a hybrid work environment to leverage time in person with colleagues across the business.
• Passionate about inclusion and belonging. You take pride in bringing people and different perspectives together to promote a diverse and inclusive workplace.
• Clear and effective communication with internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to manage execution of tasks and responsibilities along with competing demands.
• Ability to adapt to change in a positive, productive manner.
• Approach work with an emphasis on attention to detail and accuracy to minimize mistakes.
• Effective at building relationships, problem solving, and conflict resolution in a way that strengthens ways of working.
• Strong sense of initiative and urgency, with the ability to prioritise work independently and follow-up on outstanding matters efficiently.
• Demonstrated polish and professionalism at all times when engaging with leaders and team members with differing points of view.

• Passionate Explorers: We are proud of our history and are driven to create more.
• ‘Can-do’ Mindset: We jump-in and proactively contribute to the greater good.
• Humble Leadership: We have a short distance between leaders and teams.
• Genuine Interactions: We want all people to be their true selves.
• Supportive & Collaborative Teams: We are curious and generous with our knowledge. We Trust.

For Prague based candidates, here's what you can expect:

• Work in a “Start-up like” environment: Your work makes a direct impact!
• We send our Guests to the most remote locations on the planet!
• 25 days holiday.
• Meal Allowance.
• Multisport Card.
• Employee Assistance Program.
• 30+ nationalities working together!
• Hybrid setup: 3 days in office, 2 days from home.
• Friends & Family Program offering 2 cabins per year to travel to any of our destinations for free.