Aviation Team Leader

About Us

At Travel Counsellors, our customers, communities, and colleagues are at the heart of everything we do. For over 30 years, we've empowered 2,100+ independent travel agents worldwide, helping them build successful businesses while providing deeply personal, human connections with their customers. Supported by a talented team of over 400 people in our Support Offices, we create unique travel experiences that keep customers coming back. Named the Best Place to Work in Travel (2022) and ranked in the Sunday Times Best Places to Work (2023 & 2024), we’re expanding rapidly and looking for exceptional individuals to join our Head Office team.

About the Role

The Aviation Enquiries Team Leader will be responsible for leading a team of aviation experts to provide high-quality support and assistance to Travel Counsellors with aviation-related queries. Reporting into the Servicing and Aviation manager, the Team Leader is expected to:

• Provide on point expertise for those urgent situations when TCs need it most
• Provide guidance, and resolve queries and issues, whilst actively managing TCs to the best channel for resolution
• Engage with our suppliers in a way that is consistent with our values and as such creates value for our business
• Have mature cross functional interdependencies proactively minimising friction for TCs
• Nurture well informed, caring and friendly teams empowered to swiftly resolve enquiries and complaints

Key Responsibilities and Duties

• Lead and manage a team of aviation experts, providing guidance, support, and training to ensure that the team is equipped to handle all enquiries with professionalism and accuracy.
• Ensure daily workload is distributed and actioned in line with current SLAs
• Develop and maintain strong working relationships with key stakeholders, including TCs, internal SMEs and external suppliers to ensure that the team is up-to-date with the latest regulations, trends, and developments.
• Ensure that all enquiries are handled within service levels, with a focus on delivering a high-quality TC experience.
• Identify any development needs within the team, then plan and arrange training accordingly. Each colleague to have at least one developmental objective per annum.
• Supporting Team and individual objectives aligned to the operational and strategic KPIs. Each colleague to have at least one BAU OKR and one stretch OKR per annum.
• Support the Servicing and Aviation manager with monthly 121s with first reports using OKRs, productivity & performance data , competency evidence and colleague engagement and satisfaction.
• Ensure service levels are monitored , managed and maintained, highlighting gaps and putting remedial actions in place if performance falls below expectation.

Skills and Experience Required

• Hands on experience in managing people at senior level
• Previous experience in Aviation roles at a leadership level
• Package Travel Regulations & Legalities - Basic understanding of the relevant rules
• Galileo/ GDS - GDS experience is a must-have (Galileo experience is desirable)
• Vision Setting and Strategic Thinking - Can effectively describe the strategy to their team in a compelling way and apply it to their own area
• Commercial Thinking - Has awareness of the travel industry and current economic context
• Customer Focus - Drives a customer first culture within their team and cares deeply about the customer experience feeling personal
• Operational Delivery -Ensures all colleagues have goals aligned to the department strategy and regularly follows up on progress. Review team structures to ensure best outcome for the team and business. Ensure considerable time and focus on recruiting the best people to join TC. Recognise great individual and team contribution and tackle poor performance swiftly by supporting colleagues through coaching to get back on track. Passionate about ensuring a measurable positive impact on the TC community
• Problem Solving and Innovation - Thinks entrepreneurially about how to ensure the colleague and TC experience is delivered
• Communication and Engagement - Share relevant business information and its implications for the team and individuals. Have regular team meetings to develop direction, share ideas and give information. Share engagement results and follow up on actions. Induct new team members effectively, setting clear expectations
• Development - Focuses considerable time on understanding their team including their development needs and potential for the future. Care deeply about the colleague experience. Use coaching effectively to enable colleagues to reach their potential. Advocates, and role models, time for individual development
• Collaborative Working -Fosters collaborative working, a can-do attitude and builds trusted relationships across the team and with key stakeholders. Supports agile working through sharing resources generously and acting at pace for the greater good
• Data-Driven Insights and Decisions -Makes decisions at pace that effectively balances the needs of the business with their team and individual colleagues
• Digitally Savvy -Embeds 100% usage of digital tools necessary for the team, without eroding the human touch
• Governance, Risk and Compliance -Takes ownership to ensure their team’s compliance with governance and compliance requirements, and identifies and mitigates risk within their business area