Air & Ground Transportation Strategist – Indirect Procurement (Corporate Travel)

Position Summary

The Air & Ground Transportation Strategist – Indirect Procurement (Corporate Travel) is responsible for defining, sourcing, optimizing, and governing the global air and ground transportation program as a core category within Indirect Procurement.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and own the global air and ground transportation category strategy within Indirect Procurement, aligned to enterprise financial targets and corporate travel program objectives.

• Design airline portfolio strategy, including preferred carrier selection, alliance optimization, route concentration, and market share management.

• Establish ground transportation strategy across car rental, rail, ride-share, and chauffeured services, balancing global agreements with regional optimization.

• Define traveler segmentation strategies (e.g., executive travel, high-frequency travelers, project-based mobility) to inform commercial and policy design.

• Continuously assess airline industry trends, capacity shifts, pricing volatility, distribution changes (including NDC), and regulatory developments to inform proactive sourcing decisions.

• Lead global and regional sourcing initiatives for airlines and ground transportation providers in partnership with Corporate Travel Operations and key stakeholders.

• Negotiate corporate airline agreements, including discount structures, incentive programs, market share commitments, and performance-based rebates.

• Structure commercial models for car rental, rail, and mobility providers to optimize total cost of transportation, not just transactional price.

• Develop total cost of ownership (TCO) frameworks incorporating fare performance, compliance levels, booking behavior, disruption impact, and demand forecasts.

• Deliver year-over-year cost savings, cost avoidance, and measurable value realization across air and ground categories.

• Establish governance frameworks including KPIs, SLAs, scorecards, and quarterly business reviews (QBRs) with airline and ground partners.

• Monitor supplier performance related to pricing competitiveness, operational reliability, service quality, traveler satisfaction, and data transparency.

• Partner with Legal and Risk to ensure contract compliance, regulatory adherence, liability protections, and data privacy standards.

• Serve as escalation point for strategic supplier issues impacting traveler experience or commercial performance.

• Collaborate with Corporate Travel Operations to ensure seamless integration of negotiated air and ground agreements into booking platforms and traveler workflows.

• Align sourcing strategy with travel policy requirements, booking channel compliance standards, and demand management initiatives.

• Support traveler communications and change management efforts related to preferred carriers and ground providers.

• Provide subject matter expertise for policy updates concerning air class of service, ancillary fees, ground utilization, and mobility compliance standards.

• Analyze global air and ground spend, airline market share, fare benchmarking, route performance, ground utilization trends, and booking channel adoption.

• Forecast travel demand in partnership with Finance and FP&A to support budgeting and strategic planning.

• Develop executive-ready dashboards highlighting savings delivery, supplier performance, compliance metrics, and industry insights.

• Identify consolidation, demand management, and portfolio optimization opportunities to improve overall mobility ROI.

• Integrate duty of care requirements into airline and ground sourcing criteria, including safety standards, disruption management capabilities, and crisis response coordination.

• Partner with Global Security to ensure alignment between mobility suppliers and enterprise risk frameworks.

• Incorporate sustainability objectives into airline and ground strategy, including carbon reporting, SAF initiatives, and environmentally responsible fleet partnerships.

• Support enterprise ESG reporting related to air and ground transportation emissions and supplier sustainability performance.

• Evaluate emerging airline distribution models (e.g., NDC), direct connect strategies, dynamic pricing frameworks, and multimodal mobility platforms.

• Champion traveler experience enhancements including loyalty alignment, premium access strategy, disruption mitigation tools, and digital self-service capabilities.

• Drive continuous improvement initiatives based on traveler feedback, supplier innovation, and performance analytics.

• Identify automation opportunities to enhance sourcing efficiency, reporting accuracy, and policy compliance monitoring.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain, Aviation, Travel Management, or related field.

• 8–12+ years of experience in strategic sourcing, category management, corporate airline program management, or global transportation procurement.

• Deep expertise in airline contracting, alliance economics, fare structures, incentive programs, and ground transportation sourcing models.

• Demonstrated success delivering measurable cost savings and supplier performance improvements.

• Strong analytical and financial modeling capability.

• Experience working within a matrixed organization where Corporate Travel operates as part of Indirect Procurement.

Prior Experience

• Preferred Experience within a global Fortune 500 or multinational enterprise.

• MBA or advanced degree in Supply Chain, Business, or Aviation Management.

• Procurement certifications (CPSM, CIPS) or industry credentials (e.g., GBTA, aviation certifications).

• Familiarity with travel technology platforms, NDC distribution models, and mobility analytics tools.

• Experience integrating sustainability and ESG priorities into transportation category strategy.

Working Conditions

• Global role with support across multiple time zones.

• Occasional travel for supplier meetings, governance reviews, and leadership summits.

• Hybrid role – on-site 3 days/week.

Compensation and Benefits

• The pay range for this role is $116,150 to $182,400 USD annually with additional opportunities for pay in the form of bonus and/or equity (applies to United States of America candidates only).

• The Company reserves the right to modify this information at any time, with or without notice, subject to applicable law.

• The compensation and benefits information is accurate as of the date of this posting.

• The benefits package includes:

• Health insurance

• Dental insurance

• Vision insurance

• Long term/short term disability insurance

• Employee assistance program

• Flexible spending account

• Life insurance

• Generous time off policies, including; 4-12 weeks fully paid parental leave based on tenure 11 paid holidays