Job Description

Main Objectives

• Strategically manage the commercial digital pipelines along with vendors and internal stakeholders.
• Manage the digital development team to achieve commercial targets set.
• Responsible for the delivery of the agreed portfolio of projects on behalf of the Digital Development team, with key focus on technology, data and systems.
• To own the conceptualisation and development of digital products, systems and ancillary services to support Gulf Air’s Digital Web and Mobile app product development objectives in line with the overall commercial strategy. This includes product research, system development, customer usability, regulatory changes, business impact assessment, business case development and digital team management for all web and mobile products and services.
• Business project management of the implementation of all new products that are functional on the web and mobile app sales channels.
• Responsible for managing the Digital Development team. Also coordinating and liaising all activities with the Digital operation team, Revenue management team, World Wide Contact Center, Finance, accounting teams and the Falcon Flyer department to ensure that all products are utilised to their full potential in order to meet the targets set for the digital department and for the wider Commercial targets.
• Responsible for handling Web booking engine, Gulf Air mobile app, business to business products, development of a “holidays” product, web check in systems, manage booking systems, stopover products, car rental ancillary products, payment gateways, digital plans, web services upgrades and verification of invoices.

Main Duties

• Lead and manage the Digital Development Team’s medium and long-term goals in line with the overall Gulf Air Commercial Strategy.
• Lead and develop medium and long-term web and mobile app commercial products and systems strategies for Gulf air’s booking engines in terms of creation, delivery and continuous improvement development to support Gulf Air’s web and mobile channel contribution, drive conversion, define new trends and enhance and improve customer user experience.
• Present new strategies and commercial projects to top management and set future targets.
• Build strategic KPIs for the Digital Development team.
• Build project plans to identify, implement and manage new revenue streams and commercial business development opportunities and relationships in a cost-effective manner.
• Directly responsible for the product design, development and management of all web and mobile products and services.
• Define and manage the implementation of new products and services on the booking engine and mobile platform and develop strategies to implement new revenue streams or cost saving initiatives, ensuring smooth implementation and marketing.
• Keep up with, evaluate new industry developments, and ensure that Gulf Air is ready to react to trends and capitalize on new opportunities, and develop consumer proposition and business processes accordingly.
• Recommend to management the optimum product strategy solutions and ensure that they generate maximum return on investment.
• Conceptualise and develop briefs for implementation and plan rollouts.
• Develop and deliver business cases, negotiate and manage commercial agreements.
• Develop strategies to support channel shift by increasing efficiency and usability of the online environment for booking and self-service.
• Develop and manage strong internal relationships to ensure the alignment of the online requirements with that of other distribution channels and other internal stakeholders, such as Revenue Management, Falcon Flyer, Airport Services, Reservation and Ticketing, Finance etc.
• Develop, implement and manage the ancillary strategy for online and mobile, including both, flight related and non-flight related products and services.  Ensure this aligns to the overarching commercial strategy, has tangible revenue impact and adds benefit to the customer.
• Define and delivery the ancillary strategy for the online and mobile channels.  This strategy should have the capability to distinguish between delivering ancillary products; including capability to dynamically offer such products and services based on various factors such as, but not limited to, time, cabin, price sensitivity, and route.
• Direct responsibility for the implementation of the appropriate ancillary/merchandising engine in order to facilitate delivery of the ancillary strategy.
• Evaluating and selecting a solution that fulfils the criteria of selling, inventory managing and reporting on all elements of ancillary products and services, so that any system can accommodate both bundled and unbundled product features.
• Ensure internal alignment with all digital teams so that there is clear direction in terms of ancillary products and services for the sales, product development, systems and operations and mobile teams.
• Conduct regular analysis of competitive offerings within the ancillary and merchandising field, across the travel industry and beyond; applying best practices as appropriate in addition to building on the current (fare branded) booking flow to build tailored and personalised offers.
• Manage all relevant stakeholder relationships so that expectations are met strategically and operationally from all concerned parties.
• Manage and maintain the vendor relationships, and build strong relationships with external vendors and commercial partners to define and ensure Gulf Air’s long-term strategic goals, ensure smooth project implementations, software development and manage product support.
• Formalize and lead cross-functional stakeholder teams.
• Leading the technical team to test the system efficiencies of new implementations and proposing enhancements.
• Create the test plans to drive and monitor deep software testing and author root cause analysis (RCA) reports to increase system efficiencies across internal software.

SKILLS REQUIRED

• Excellent people management and leadership skills, able to set clear direction and deliver business change.
• Able to delegate and motivate team members in achieving outstanding goals and project completions.
• Ability to develop and manage a team, delivering strategic leadership and collaborative working relationships.
• Ability to adapt and respond quickly to a fast-changing environment.
• Expert analytical skills, adept at breaking down issues and solving problems, and strong programme management and change management skills.
• Passionate about technology, with proven ability to deliver business change through innovation and modernisation.
• Leadership and influencing skills internally and externally across all levels, and excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Proven ability to work under pressure and manage complex and often unique issues creating relevant clarity in areas of ambiguity to force decisions.
• Proven ability to build and maintain strong and effective working relationships with multiple stakeholders to find optimal solutions.
• Proactive in supporting and delivering business decisions, cost savings and a strong understanding of business and market knowledge.
• Excellent people management and leadership skills, able to set clear direction and deliver business change.
• Passionate about user experience, customer service and people.
• Working knowledge of data extraction and exploitation techniques and tools, such as Excel, SQL, etc.
• Significant cross Department Project portfolio management expertise including broad experience of working on change projects (essential).
• Experience of working within a fast-moving, changeable environment with new technology/products and working practices (desirable).

Education & Training

• Bachelor Degree in Business management or Business Information systems or equivalent certification.
• Professional certificates in marketing, digital or any related field
• Good Standard of Written/spoken English language.
• PC literate …MS Office, Excel, SQL, …etc.

Experience

• Minimum of 7 to 10 years’ experience in a management level position.
• Strong knowledge of airline booking engines, global distribution systems and ancillary services
• Well-developed understanding of data analysis as well as web metrics
• Experience in leading and managing teams
• Strategically interpret data and introduce new revenue streams

Skills Required

• Microsoft Office
• Microsoft Excel