Manager, Resource Planning & Ops Strategy

Collinson Group; Greater London; On-site; GBP 60,000 - GBP 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A global travel benefits provider is seeking a Manager, Resource Planning & Ops Strategy in Greater London. This role involves developing labor models, enhancing operational efficiency, and fostering communication among teams. The ideal candidate will possess strong organizational, communication, and problem-solving skills. A competitive salary and comprehensive benefits are offered. The company values diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive environment where every employee can thrive.

Benefits

100% employer paid medical, dental, life & LTD insurance

401k matching

Priority Pass Membership

Wellness Programs

Lifestyle Benefits

Qualifications

• Self-motivated with attention to detail.
• Ability to manage multiple tasks and deadlines.
• Experience in operational strategy development.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement standardized labor models.
• Support operational teams across various lounge networks.
• Identify process improvement opportunities.

Skills

Organizational skills

Communication skills

Problem-solving skills

Critical thinking

Job description

Collinson Group is a global leader in driving loyalty and engagement for many of the world’s largest companies. Predominantly through the provision of travel related benefits within a market leading digital travel ecosystem. The group offers a unique blend of industry and sector specialists who together provide market-leading experience in delivering products and services across four core capabilities: Loyalty, Lifestyle Benefits and Insurance.

The group provides unrivalled insight and expertise around affluent consumers and frequent travellers, creating and delivering products and services now accessible to over 400m end consumers.

We have more than 25 years’ experience, with 28 global locations, servicing over 800 clients in 170 countries, employing 1,800 people.

We have been bringing innovation to the market since inception – from launching the first independent global VIP lounge access Programme, Priority Pass to being the first to sell direct travel insurance in the UK through Columbus Direct and creating the first loyalty agency of its kind in the travel sector with ICLP. Today we still invest heavily in innovation to ensure that we continue to deliver superior customer experiences.

Key clients include: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Cathay Pacific, British Airways, LATAM, Flying Blue, Accor, EasyJet, HSBC, Chase, HDFC.

Our mission is focused on doing good beyond profit, which for us means we seek out opportunities for our people to share in our success and that we give back to the communities and people within which we work.

Never short of ambition, the success of our business is delivered through the diverse and talented team of over 1,800 colleagues globally.

What Does a Manager, Resource Planning & Ops Strategy do

A new addition to the team, the Manager of Resource Planning & Ops Strategy will provide vital support to the broader operational team, helping ensure the smooth execution of day-to-day activities that enhance the lounge operation and guest experience. This role will have a primary focus on developing, testing, implementing and budgeting a standardized labor model within Airport Dimensions’ proprietary and strategic partner business units. This role will support ongoing labor initiatives such as zero-base and ongoing budget building initiatives, overseeing proper labor dollar allocation, job description and functionality, and initiatives and staffing requirements within unionization efforts.

Additionally, the Resource Planning & Ops Strategy Manager will focus on supporting the efficient operation of lounge services across teams, managing existing vendor relationships and assisting with the coordination of operational resources and needs. This role will support new initiatives and business-as-usual functions such as lounge-related communications, hours of operation changes, updates to Standard Operating Procedures, budget communication, and support operational requirements and compliance. In addition, this position will foster strong cross-departmental communication within Airport Dimensions and its strategic partners with initiatives like net-new lounge staffing modelling, staffing impacts related to new lounge initiatives, and overall staffing performance analytics. By assisting to streamline processes and align efforts between teams, the Resource Planning & Ops Strategy Manager will contribute directly to the overall guest experience and financial performance of Airport Dimensions and its partnerships.

A successful candidate for the Manager, Resource Planning & Ops Strategy will be self-motivated with a healthy curiosity for the business and ways to improve existing and new processes. Tackling existing challenges and inefficiencies this role will contribute ideas and initiatives to decrease inefficiencies and maximize overall lounge performance within staffing levels and deployment strategies. Flexibility in priority management and day-to-day tasks will be required, as well as consistent “can-do” approach to new business or challenges.

What You’ll Do

Labor Modeling

• Strategic lead for development, testing, and implementation of standardized labor models, ensuring in-lounge operational compliance, guest satisfaction optimization, and financial performance.
• Own labor forecasting, staffing plans, and scenario modeling in partnership with Finance, supporting annual budgets, reforecasts, long‑range planning, and zero‑based budgeting initiatives.
• Establish and maintain labor planning KPIs and dashboards (productivity, utilization, service coverage, labor cost per guest, and staffing efficiency).
• Lead communicator to third‑party partnerships regarding staffing budgets and deployment; ensuring effective communication and stakeholder buy in at every opportunity.
• Perform ongoing labor and modeling initiatives, ensuring stakeholder alignment.
• Prepare and present findings, successes, and opportunities in a format acceptable to update the Senior Leadership Team (SLT).

Operational and Guest Experience (GX) Support

• Operational support with day‑to‑day needs across various Airport Dimensions lounge networks, ensuring inquiries are addressed promptly, and operational challenges are resolved effectively.
• Assist in organizing, executing, and optimizing guest experience initiatives, ensuring alignment with operational processes and objectives.
• Cross Departmental Communication: Facilitate clear and efficient communication between operational teams and other stakeholders to ensure ongoing alignment in priorities, schedules, digital tools, and service standards.
• Support the broader Airport Dimensions team with new business opportunities and proposals, ensuring labor‑related content is thoughtful, well‑presented and meets all internal expectations for brand identity.

Process Optimization & Continuous Improvement

• Identify Process Improvement Opportunities: Proactively identify areas where operational processes can be improved and collaborate with relevant teams to implement solutions that enhance efficiency and effectiveness.
• Provide input on and recommendations for the existing Standard Operating Procedures, increasing efficacy and reducing duplication and process overlap.
• Support Process Enhancements: Assist in driving process improvements by facilitating discussions, tracking changes, and ensuring that new processes are effectively implemented and monitored.
• Collaborate on Best Practices: Work with cross‑functional teams to develop and share best practices, contributing to continuous operational improvements and supporting overall business objectives.

Supporting Operational Strategy & Insights

• Leverage operational insights and reports to support operational decisions, provide context and ensure that strategies are based on accurate and up‑to‑date information.
• Support the execution of operational strategies by ensuring that relevant operational teams have the resources and information needed to meet the goals outlined in the strategy. Monitor and track progress on labor‑related initiatives to ensure ongoing alignment with overarching company and organizational goals.
• Provide ongoing feedback on operational strategies and suggest opportunities for efficiencies based on insights, performance data, and operational observations.

Evaluate all new guest experience related initiatives for impact on staffing requirements, ensuring stakeholder and financial alignment across the business.

What You’ll Need

Organizational and Time Management Skills

• Self‑motivated coordination of multiple tasks, deadlines, and projects simultaneously, ensuring timely completion and attention to detail.
• Manage deadlines and adjust priorities to meet operational goals in a fast‑paced environment.

Communication & Interpersonal Skills

• Facilitate clear, concise, and always professional communication with internal teams and external vendors to ensure effective collaboration and understanding of all new and existing initiatives and messaging, both to internal stakeholders and third‑party vendor partners.
• Build and maintain strong working relationships across departments and partnerships to ensure smooth operations and knowledge sharing.
• Prepare and present data and performance metrics, up to and including for senior‑level leadership.

Critical Thinking & Problem‑Solving

• Identify and solve challenges in vendor relations and implement solutions to improve efficiency and execution.
• Monitor effectiveness of initiatives, understand and clearly communicate how operational efficiency impacts guest satisfaction and service delivery.
• Evaluate operational workflows to identify areas for improvement and contribute to continuous optimization efforts.

Strategic Thinking & Collaboration

• Ability to develop and execute operational strategies, ensuring alignment within broader business goals.
• Work collaboratively and effectively across departments to align priorities and achieve shared objectives.
• Ensure all internal and external collaboration is performed in the best interest of the business, and always with a positive, can‑do attitude, representing the overall Operations Support and Guest Experience organization.

Data Interpretation & Reporting

• Interpret and apply reports and data from various departments to inform decisions and operational improvements. Provide recommendations for improvement for internal business partners.

Use insights from operational reports to support strategy development and execution.

You can look forward to a competitive salary and benefit plan including but not limited to:

• 100% employer paid medical, dental, life & LTD insurance for employees
• 100% match to your 401k deferrals (limited) with 100% vesting at 6 months
• Supplemental Insurance including STD, additional Life
• Priority Pass Membership
• Global Mentoring Program
• Wellness Programs
• Lifestyle Benefits

Collinson is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes differences in all their forms including: color, race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, neurodivergence, family status, age, individuals with disabilities and people from all backgrounds, cultures and experiences as we strongly believe this contributes to our on‑going success.

We are focused on continually evolving our purpose driven, high performing culture, providing an environment where our people have the opportunity to achieve their full potential and do interesting and meaningful work. Our company values are: Act smarter, Do the right thing, One team and Be insight led. These help guide everything we do internally in terms of how we think, act and interact, right through to how we deliver value to our customers and clients.

In your application, please feel free to note which pronouns you use (For example - she/her/hers, he/him/his, they/them/theirs, etc).

If you need any extra support throughout the interview process, then please email us at [e-mail]