Global Travel Team Manager

Wellcome is a global charitable foundation. We improve health for everyone by funding science, leading policy and advocacy campaigns, and building partnerships. We plan to spend £16bn over the next ten years, funding new discoveries in life, health and wellbeing and taking on three global health challenges: mental health, infectious disease and climate and health.

The Global Travel team contributes to Wellcome’s mission by enabling those who travel on our behalf to meet and connect to achieve our organisation’s objectives. They use several external systems as well as work together with staff groups and networks, to ensure a travellers’ health, safety and security. This team is also the caretaker of Wellcome’s offsetting partnership with The Woodland Trust to help mitigate emissions created by our business travel.

You’ll be responsible for managing Wellcome’s Travel Team and leading them to provide user friendly, efficient and effective travel support services to those who organise travel and/or travel on behalf of Wellcome. As a Global Travel Team Manager, you will:

• Deliver travel services that meet Wellcome's duty of care with a focus on responsible travel, value for money and safe travel guidance.
• Liaise closely with other teams involved in our Travel provision.
• Lead and motivate the Travel team, including line management, to facilitate self-service bookings and promote safe and responsible travel practices.
• Manage travel-related risk assessments, participate in Wellcome’s Travel Emergency Group and support crisis management with effective liaison with the Executive Leadership Team during operational and crisis situations.
• Maintain positive relationships with travel suppliers, negotiate contracts and provide feedback on service issues, while liaising with key stakeholders who organise and undertake travel on behalf of Wellcome.
• Produce and utilise travel management information to understand trends and compliance issues, ensuring continuous improvement in services.
• Report to the Associate Director, E&WS while managing the Travel Team’s budget, performance, and development, contributing to a diverse and inclusive organisational culture.

You will possess strong leadership skills, excel in dynamic environments and enjoy guiding teams to achieve responsible travel practices. You will have a track record in line management and are adept at risk assessment and crisis management, effectively liaising with executive leaders to handle challenges smoothly. Your ability to maintain relationships with suppliers and stakeholders ensures quality service delivery, while your analytical skills help in using travel management information for continuous improvement. With robust reporting and financial management skills, you will drive team performance and contribute to an inclusive organisational culture, making you an asset to the travel services at Wellcome.

Minimum Criteria:

• Demonstrated experience in the travel industry with expertise in using Galileo, Amadeus GDS interfaces, Traveldoo, and Evolvi for service provision.
• Proven track record in coordinating and motivating teams to deliver excellent service, with competencies in change and project management, including producing training and operating guides.
• Effective communicator with strong negotiation and persuasion skills, capable of engaging with the Travel team, customers, and suppliers, while maintaining a high customer service ethic.
• Organised and reliable, adept at resolving problems and making quick decisions, with confidence in presenting and training small groups.

We understand that our colleagues have commitments and personal interests outside of work and we strive to build a flexible working environment, in which people can perform at their best. We are currently working 3 days per week (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) from our Euston Road offices (as part of our hybrid Ways of Working) with the remaining 2 days working either remotely or in the office.

Diversity and Inclusion is a priority at Wellcome. We are committed to cultivating a fair and inclusive environment, where everyone can be themselves and thrive. We are happy to discuss flexible working options for all roles. We work to ensure that our recruitment processes are as inclusive as possible to everyone. This includes making adjustments for people who have a disability or long-term condition.