Manager, Travel Services

The Manager, Travel Services leads a team of Travel Consultants and is accountable for team performance, service quality, employee development, and operational execution. This role supports Navan’s business goals while maintaining a best-in-class standard of service and fostering a culture of inclusion, trust, accountability, and teamwork.

The Manager leads, motivates, challenges, and develops the team in line with our service philosophy:

We provide industry-leading service that enables our customers to enjoy an exceptional and seamless travel and expense experience while achieving unparalleled levels of operational efficiency.

What You’ll Do

• Develop team members through regular interaction reviews, coaching sessions, performance conversations, and 1:1 meetings.
• Maintain an in-depth understanding of the day-to-day responsibilities, workflows, tools, and challenges of Travel Consultants.
• Step in to manage email, voice, and chat interactions when operational support or escalation handling is required.
• Review LLM quality evaluations and assess travel bookings and customer requests across relevant travel tools to ensure consistently high service standards.
• Identify operational errors and quality gaps, provide constructive feedback, and coach consultants on corrective and preventative actions.
• Regularly review individual and team performance metrics to identify opportunities across critical competencies and develop appropriate improvement plans.
• Monitor contact queues, staffing, adherence, and SLA performance to ensure service-level targets are achieved.
• Hold Travel Consultants accountable for agreed performance, quality, productivity, and customer-experience metrics.
• Report on weekly and monthly operational performance, with a specific focus on team results, trends, risks, and improvement actions.
• Set clear expectations and create an environment in which consultants are motivated and empowered to meet or exceed the requirements of their roles.
• Partner with cross-functional teams to address errors, learning needs, process gaps, and opportunities to improve consultant performance.
• Manage escalations and customer communications, maintaining ownership of issues through resolution.
• Participate in projects that develop, guide, and implement processes designed to improve service delivery and operational results.
• Partner with Operations and Service Leadership to regularly review, update, and communicate global performance metrics and expectations.
• Ensure the team remains aligned with global organizational expectations, quality standards, processes, and performance requirements through regular team meetings and communications.
• Lead the team effectively through organizational, operational, and process changes, ensuring understanding and encouraging constructive feedback.
• Support the recruitment, selection, onboarding, and induction of Travel Consultants to maintain a consistent hiring and service standard.
• Identify and manage employee performance concerns, escalating to the People team or Senior Leadership when appropriate.
• Monitor processes, procedures, and tools that may negatively affect team productivity or the customer experience, and recommend improvements.
• Cascade relevant travel-industry, supplier, policy, and operational updates to the team in a timely and effective manner.

What We’re Looking For

• 7+ years of experience in the travel industry.
• 5+ years of progressive leadership experience within a TMC or travel-industry contact-center environment, including at least 3 years at the Manager level leading consultants and/or team leads.
• Advanced knowledge of Sabre and/or Amadeus GDS, along with a strong understanding of online and offline travel operations.
• Knowledge of, or familiarity with, CRM and customer-service platforms such as Salesforce, Zendesk, or similar tools.
• Ability to quickly develop proficiency across Navan technology, supplier platforms, and operational tools.
• A customer-centric mindset, with a consistent focus on delivering excellent customer experiences.
• Strong relationship-building skills and the ability to motivate, engage, and develop team members through coaching and knowledge sharing.
• A proven track record as a people leader and mentor, with a strong understanding of travel-service requirements, customer needs, and the challenges of operating in a fast-growing company.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, interpersonal, and presentation skills.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively across teams and regions.
• A data-driven approach, with the ability to use business analytics and performance insights to identify trends, understand root causes, and improve results.
• A proactive, results-oriented mindset, with strong ownership and follow-through.
• Strong organizational and prioritization skills, with the ability to use available resources effectively and deliver against agreed timelines.
• The ability to lead by example and consistently demonstrate sound judgment, accountability, and professionalism.