At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead global event travel operations and unify teams for high-quality service delivery.
- Company: Join Navan, a leading AI-powered business travel platform with a culture of excellence.
- Benefits: Enjoy healthcare coverage, flexible time off, and exclusive travel perks.
- Other info: Dynamic work environment with opportunities for personal and professional growth.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in transforming event travel while advancing your career.
- Qualifications: 10+ years in travel operations management and strong commercial ownership experience.
The predicted salary is between 90000 - 110000 £ per year.
Meetings & Events for Navan Group is at a pivot point. We are evolving from siloed organizations into a unified, global "Meetings & Events" powerhouse. Our Operations need to build for the new future, where we deliver scaled, high quality managed services under the brand of Navan Events to our customers across the world. This role oversees Event Travel operations and people globally, and will help us build and expand our presence in new markets. The Senior Director, Global Event Travel is the single accountable leader for Navan and Reed & Mackay’s global event-air operation, encompassing both online, platform-enabled travel and offline, high-touch group-air services. This leader will own the global strategy, operating model, and performance of Event Travel across online and offline air. They will ensure consistently excellent operational delivery, and bring online and offline teams together under one operating model. A central mandate is to expand the capabilities and adoption of Navan’s event-travel platform while preserving the specialist service required for complex, high-value, and high-risk travel programs.
What you'll do:
- Lead a global organization of directors, managers, team leads, travel consultants, and coordinators.
- Drive a High-Performance Culture that grows talent in-house and propels high performers further in their careers.
- Dissolve the Reed & Mackay and Navan silos. Build a unified way of operating that makes the most of Navan technology and the Reed & Mackay expertise.
- Own service quality, commercial performance, workforce planning, operational transformation, and the partnership with Product and Engineering required to rebuild appropriate offline workflows on Navan infrastructure.
- Define & implement the target state operating model for Event Travel. Outline and document the People, Processes, and Systems that deliver Event Travel to our global customer base.
- Structure a global service delivery function that utilizes globally consistent tools and processes but empowers local decision making and experience.
- Ensure our tech stack enables operational scale rather than hindering it.
- Present a positive, "can-do" front to the team, while being ruthlessly honest with leadership about where we are failing and what it will cost to fix it.
- Unify two teams operating on different tech stacks and processes into a single high performing unit.
- Partner with Navan’s Flights/Air Product & Engineering teams to build the right booking tools and capabilities.
- Continuously measure and manage performance improvement so that the Event Travel team raises the bar for what client delivery looks like.
What we're looking for:
- 10+ years of experience managing distributed travel operations teams across spans and layers.
- Commercial ownership experience: operating budget, gross margin/contribution margin, forecasting, pricing, capacity forecasting, cost-to-serve and productivity.
- Track record of building Product and Operations partnerships that produced measurable improvements in automation, service, and profitability.
- Data-driven and disciplined about operating performance.
- Thorough knowledge of the travel industry, fares, suppliers, and markets.
- Familiarity with air booking tools and fulfillment systems.
- Skilled at leading through organizational and technology change.
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. Human oversight: 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.
Your rights: If you prefer to have your application reviewed without AI assistance, you may request a human evaluation by entering your email here. Your decision to do so will not affect how your candidacy is evaluated.
About Navan: Navan (Nasdaq: NAVN) is the global AI-powered business travel and expense platform that makes travel easy for frequent travelers. From finding flights and hotels, to automating expense reconciliation, with 24/7 support along the way, Navan delivers an intuitive experience travellers love and finance teams rely on.
Culture of Excellence: Our team is our competitive edge — a high-performance group of smart, driven people committed to winning together. This dedication to excellence is why we’ve been recognized as a Best Place to Work by Built In (2023–2026), a G2 Best Global Software Company (2025–2026), Forbes Cloud 100 (2022–2025), and CNBC Disruptor 50 (2022–2025).
Our Benefits:
- Healthcare coverage
- Insurance offerings
- Wellness resources for you and your family
- Retirement savings programs
- Opportunities to participate in our equity plans
- Flexible time off
- Country-specific holidays
- Paid parental leave for all new parents
- Connectivity and commuting support*
- Mental health resources
- Exclusive travel-related perks
*Applies to select locations.
Workplace Policy: Navan believes in the value of in-person connections, whether that’s sitting down to have lunch with one another, taking a walking 1:1, or collaborating in a room together. The connections forged through face-to-face interactions improve company culture and drive business results. Navan invests in global office spaces — in the U.S., Europe, and Asia, among others — that feel welcoming. In-office perks such as company-provided lunches and happy hours create a strong team environment to help you do your best work. Our employees work from the office four days a week.
Equal Opportunity: Navan is an equal opportunity employer. We make all employment decisions based solely on merit. We provide equal employment opportunity to all applicants and employees without discrimination on the bases of race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We prohibit any such discrimination or harassment. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including hiring.
Accommodations: Navan complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), as amended by the ADA Amendments Act, and all applicable state or local law. Navan will reasonably accommodate qualified individuals with a disability in connection with applications for employment as required by law. If you need any assistance or accommodations due to a disability, you are welcome to email us at talent-accommodations@navan.com.
Candidate Privacy Notice and Use of AI: As part of the recruitment process, certain personal data may be processed using automated tools, including tools that use AI. For details on how Navan collects and uses your personal data, please review Navan's Candidate Privacy Notice.
Senior Director of Event Travel, Navan Events employer: Traveltechessentialist
Traveltechessentialist is an exceptional employer located in the vibrant Greater London area, offering a dynamic work culture that prioritises innovation and collaboration. With a strong focus on employee growth, you will have access to mentorship and development opportunities while working alongside talented engineers dedicated to technical excellence. The company values a balanced approach to project delivery, ensuring that your contributions lead to meaningful and sustainable outcomes in the travel technology sector.
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