Meetings and Events Bilingual Global Operations Manager Americas

Amex GBT is a place where colleagues find inspiration in travel as a force for good and – through their work – can make an impact on our industry. We’re here to help our colleagues achieve success and offer an inclusive and collaborative culture where your voice is valued.

OPERATIONS MANAGER Americas - Bi-Lingual

Directs and coaches assigned personnel to ensure that all services, administration, and profit objectives pertaining to the assigned accounts are achieved while maintaining high service levels. Provides comprehensive leadership to direct reports (team leaders) that manage the sourcing and planning of client meetings. Responsible for providing client and team support and training and managing special projects. Manages approximately 5 to 35 exempt and/or non-exempt direct or indirect reports, which lead teams that support sourcing, contracting, planning/onsite, and budget development for dedicated accounts. Depending on account complexity, scope may include management of multiple accounts.

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT:

• Reviews and updates the financial forecast with the financial data as required.
• Reviews and approves monthly client financial settlement summaries.
• Monitors direct reports to achieve the highest profitability on assigned accounts by tracking labor, invoicing on a timely basis, updating reporting systems, collecting commissions, and understanding profit points within their programs.
• When assisting with proposals, ensures cost sheet accuracy before initial presentation.
• Strategize, analyze, forecast, implement, and manage financial and operational measures to track results and ensure operational profitability.
• Holds self and others accountable for business results.

RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT:

• Provides meeting industry and product subject matter expertise from the pre-proposal stage to proposal qualification/development/delivery.
• Assists in growth opportunities within existing accounts to recommend and communicate additional sales opportunities to Account Managers and Business Development Executives.
• Reviews, analyzes, and takes appropriate action based on information received from surveys and departmental personnel.
• Maintains active and past operated travel program history and review the history with Account Managers, and Business Development to identify meeting trends and new travel opportunities for clients.
• Participates in client meetings, presentations, and quarterly/annual business reviews to explain operational processes, review contractual statistics and workload, and resolve challenges.
• Resolves customer inquiries which have been escalated, and coach direct reports to research and resolve customer inquiries.
• Communicates customer inquiries to Director which have the potential to escalate.
• Participates in management meetings to ensure standardization of processes across SM and to discuss solutions and service levels.
• Resolves problems and removes obstacles through interaction with other functional departments.
• Escalates obstacles while presenting solutions to Director.
• Acts as an extension of the sales team and as an Amex GBT representative during site inspections, program operations, and client meetings.
• Develops strategic partnerships with multiple contacts within client and supplier organizations.
• Maintains proactive, positive, open line of communication with client to ensure understanding of expectations and client satisfaction.

PROCESS MANAGEMENT:

• Anticipates upcoming workload/activities and plans accordingly. Coordinates workload overflow with other Directors.
• Coordinates with other Amex GBT leadership to prepare short and long-range project and financial forecasts.
• Identifies, develops, and ensures implementation of SOP’s and standard practices and process improvements.
• If assigned a new account, ensures new account implementations and start-ups are successful based on client feedback and agreed upon measurements.
• Ensures that customer satisfaction via client survey and benchmark results are analyzed and communicated for the purpose of developing direct reports and ensuring and improving client satisfaction.
• Develops service recovery plans, ensures the plans are implemented, and improvement goals are achieved or exceeded.
• Outlines strategy and communication plan for assigned group.
• Evaluates impact of events and reassesses objectives and outcomes, plans for continuous improvement.

PEOPLE MANAGEMENT:

• Coaches and guides Team Leader(s) and indirect reports in leadership role.
• Creates and encourages a positive and open work environment to maximize quality of work life.
• Interviews and selects direct reports by following Amex GBT selection practices and policies.
• Ensures direct reports are trained on Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), policies, performance reviews, client specifics, company strategies, values, and administration.
• Ensures direct reports are maintaining compliance through monitoring and measurement.
• Evaluates staffing models to ensure appropriate staffing levels are in place.
• Coaches and develops direct reports by providing feedback on performance expectations and assisting with development plans.
• Conducts one-on-one meetings on a regular basis and ensures the PMP process is maximized.
• Encourage the sharing of industry trends, ideas, special educational opportunities, and best practices.
• Leads weekly team meetings with direct reports to discuss volume, productivity, customer deliverables, process, and service levels.
• Provides performance-based rewards and recognition to reinforce behavior as it occurs.
• Presents salary/retention recommendations to leadership.
• Coaches’ direct reports to improve performance and collaborates with human resources when presenting written warnings. Follows company policies and procedures for all disciplinary actions.
• Recommends employee terminations after consulting with human resources to ensure policy and legal requirements are followed.
• Lead team members regarding daily inquiries.
• Serves as a Mentor in the areas of forecasting, costing, and budgeting, and reviews team members’ program budgets.
• Ensures people related paperwork is current for direct reports.
• Reviews, tracks and/or approves vacation time, expense reports, payroll, time, and other employee systems for direct reports.
• Act as SME to ensure consistency and training for all, using best practice approach, experience, and knowledge.

Qualifications:

• Bi-lingual Requirement: Fluency in speaking and writing (English and Spanish).
• Minimum of five years’ experience in leadership of event or meeting management teams or equivalent
• Minimum of 7 years’ experience in project, event or meeting management/procurement required
• Proven people leadership skill and development of high performing teams
• Proven ability to promote change and efficiencies within an organization.
• Program management system and meetings industry technology experience preferred,
• Understanding of and ability to effect win/win solutions.
• Strong ability to interact with client contacts at a meeting level and key contact level, when needed
• Advanced oral and written presentation skills required.
• Prior successful experience in developing and maintaining key client and supplier relationships.
• Prior experience in effectively handle multiple projects/demands.
• Proven ability to understand and suggest technology solutions for business stakeholders and employee efficiencies.
• Strong knowledge business financials, contracts, and service levels
• Proven aptitude for analytical skills required.
• Ability to travel by airplane, boat, rail and/or car (25%).

Location

Mexico

Click here to learn more about the benefits we offer in Mexico.

The #TeamGBT Experience

Work and life: Find your happy medium at Amex GBT.

• Flexible benefits are tailored to each country and start the day you do. These include health and welfare insurance plans, retirement programs, parental leave, adoption assistance, and wellbeing resources to support you and your immediate family.

• Travel perks: get a choice of deals each week from major travel providers on everything from flights to hotels to cruises and car rentals.

• Develop the skills you want when the time is right for you, with access to over 20,000 courses on our learning platform, leadership courses, and new job openings available to internal candidates first.

• We strive to champion Inclusion in every aspect of our business at Amex GBT. You can connect with colleagues through our global INclusion Groups, centered around common identities or initiatives, to discuss challenges, obstacles, achievements, and drive company awareness and action.

• And much more!

All applicants will receive equal consideration for employment without regard to age, sex, gender (and characteristics related to sex and gender), pregnancy (and related medical conditions), race, color, citizenship, religion, disability, or any other class or characteristic protected by law.

Click Here for Additional Disclosures in Accordance with the LA County Fair Chance Ordinance.

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What if I don’t meet every requirement? If you’re passionate about our mission and believe you’d be a phenomenal addition to our team, don’t worry about “checking every box;" please apply anyway. You may be exactly the person we’re looking for!