Packaging Platform Director

Description:

As the Packaging Platform Director for the OMNI channels, you will play a pivotal leadership role, orchestrating the strategic design, delivery, and optimization of the mission-critical business applications within the modern Online Travel Agency (OTA) and B2B landscape. 

Your role will demand expertise in OMNI channel integration, including B2C, B2B, B2B2C, B2C & B2B white label, API channel manager integration, OTA integration, and digital self-service experiences. You will lead a team to ensure effective alignment of technology solutions with organizational objectives, project prioritization, and collaboration across departments. You will have the accountability to re-shape technology capabilities and remove technological frictions by providing a reliable, consistent, and scalable technical framework & support for a 2-sided marketplace. 

Strategic Leadership:

Lead the strategic design and delivery of business-critical applications and digital platforms, ensuring alignment with industry best practices and organizational goals.
Drive innovation and continuous improvement in technology solutions to enhance business performance.
 
Business Alignment and Prioritization:

Take ownership of business alignment and prioritize projects for business-critical applications.
Collaborate with key stakeholders to ensure projects meet business needs and contribute to overall organizational success.
 
Business Requirement Management:

Collaborate closely with business departments to elicit and comprehensively document business product roadmap & requirements.
Ensure clear articulation and documentation of business requirements to guide the development process.
 
Technology Upgrades & Migrations:

Determine, recommend, and implement technology upgrades, ensuring the technology stack remains up-to-date and aligned with organizational objectives.
Ensure smooth and successful migration of technology platforms while maintaining continuity of existing business operations.

Release Management and Scheduling:

Collaborate with business units to oversee the delivery of technology releases, adhering to strict timelines.
Develop and manage work schedules for projects, supporting the implementation of strategies aligned with company policies.
 
Accountability for Outcomes and Results:

Commit to a delivery roadmap with clear milestones and timelines.
Ensure accountability for the outcomes and results of assigned projects, tasks, and solution performance.
Pay attention to the achievements and lessons learned, fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
 
Technology Vendor Relationship and Difficult Situation Management:

Engage at the forefront with vendors to discuss challenging situations, ensuring effective communication and problem resolution.
Negotiate on behalf of the company to maximize ROI and vendor commercial performance.
Build and maintain strong relationships with vendors, leveraging collaboration for successful project outcomes.
Ensuring that all SLAs are met by platform operations.

Development Strategies:

Organize and lead various product workshops, designing effective strategies for product development within the OTA landscape.
Analyze business requirements and assess the risks of various solutions, prioritizing business demands accordingly.
Maintain an in-depth knowledge of all products and services, recommending new products and enhancements.
Coordinate with cross-functional teams to analyze product requirements and provide strategic input.
Drive long-term plans and strategies to enhance organizational technology landscape to maximize revenue and maintain competitive advantage.

Leadership and Training:

Foster effective communication and collaboration with internal and external stakeholders.
Lead, train, motivate and support platform team members.
Provide mentorship and guidance to develop a high-performing team.
Confidently hold difficult conversations and address poor performance.

Project Management:

Manage end-to-end integration projects, including scoping, planning, execution, and monitoring.
Prioritize integration projects and technology upgrades according to their commercial value and benefits.
Ensure projects are delivered on time, within scope, and meet quality standards.
Engagement:
Cultivate strong relationships with external partners and internal stakeholders to facilitate smooth communication and collaboration.
Collaborate and support internal legal and procurement teams to define technology-related dependencies and highlight risks.
Provide guidance to internal and external stakeholders on API integration and channel management best practices.

Service Level Agreement

Ensure that all business and technical applications related to service requests and incidents that are routed through the IT Service Delivery Management platform properly, efficiently, and provides solutions on time with the least amount of downtime, etc.

To be considered for this role, you will need to have:

Bachelor’s degree in a related field.
Solid experience of designing and implementing Omnichannel strategy supporting smooth launch and maintenance of products resulting in revenue growth. 
Minimum 10+ years of leadership experience working in a leading company within the Technology/Service, Tourism and Hospitality Industry
Strong project and change management skills, pro-active and results driven, with a strong commitment to success. 
Experience of developing and articulating Omnichannel user journeys.
Strong and capable leader, with the presence and ability to communicate, motivate and influence at all levels, can set a healthy pace for the team and is not afraid to get into the details when they need to. 
Solid understanding of online marketplaces and how technology enables automation, simplicity and scalability in supply sourcing and distribution. Systems thinker with an ability to digest overly complex, ambiguous dynamics into simple options and path forward. 
Inspiring people leader who can motivate and set a healthy pace for the team and is not afraid to get into the details when they need to. 
Experience of Business process improvement aligned to support IT implementations. 
Experience identifying business operational issues and recommending and implementing technical solutions to resolve problems. 
Ability to readily learn and adapt to innovative technologies, industry practices and trends. 
Systems thinker with an ability to digest complex, ambiguous dynamics into simple options and path forward