Global Change Leader - TMC Operations at Direct Travel
United States
<p>The Global Operations Change & Adoption Leader will build and lead Direct Travel's organizational capacity to embrace, embed, and sustain transformational change across a rapidly evolving, globally expanding business.</p> <p> </p> <p>While the PMO executes projects (i.e. Acquisition integration, global market expansion, WSC optimization, centers of excellence, AI deployment), this role ensures our people are prepared, engaged, supported, and confident in adopting new ways of working. This role serves as the <strong>human and cultural bridge</strong> between project delivery and frontline execution—ensuring that technical implementations become operational reality and that our organization builds lasting capability for continuous transformation.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>STRATEGIC MANDATE (Multi-Year Scope)</strong></p> <p>The leader will own organizational change and adoption capability across five interconnected, multi-year pillars:</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>1. Global Integration & Organizational Adoption (ATPI + Future Acquisitions)</strong></p> <ul> <li> <ul> <li>Lead change and adoption strategies so that when ATPI and future acquisitions are integrated, employees understand new organizational structures, role clarity, and unified operating models (e.g., VIP pathway).</li> <li>Engage teams across both legacy and acquired organizations to build shared identity and ways of working.</li> <li>Facilitate organizational design input sessions and gather frontline feedback on future-state structures.</li> <li>Build programmatic adoption methodologies so each integration is executed with fewer disruptions and higher employee confidence.</li> <li>Measure adoption of unified processes, role clarity, and organizational alignment—not just project completion.</li> </ul> </li> </ul> <p> </p> <p><strong>2. Geographic Expansion & Cultural Localization</strong></p> <ul> <li> <ul> <li>Lead change and adoption strategies for new markets (LATAM, others), ensuring teams embrace new processes, systems, and ways of working while adapting to local context.</li> <li>Build regional change capacity and leadership in new geographies.</li> <li>Establish a global change network that scales with expansion and maintains strategic consistency across regions.</li> <li>Ensure local teams are prepared, engaged, and confident in new operating models before launch.</li> </ul> </li> </ul> <p><strong>3. AI & Innovation Adoption at Scale</strong></p> <ul> <li> <ul> <li>Own the organizational and behavioral change required for teams to adopt AI and emerging technologies across operations (beyond IT deployment).</li> <li>Build internal capability to rapidly prepare people for new tools, methodologies, and ways of working.</li> <li>Partner with centers of excellence and innovation leaders to translate emerging capabilities into operational practice.</li> <li>Drive user adoption, confidence, and measurable business outcomes from innovation investments.</li> <li>Position AI/innovation adoption as an ongoing competitive advantage through sustained engagement and continuous improvement.</li> </ul> </li> </ul> <p> </p> <p><strong>4. Operating Model Evolution</strong></p> <ul> <li> <ul> <li>Lead organizational change and adoption for structural shifts (World Service Center optimization, centers of excellence, shared service models).</li> <li>Ensure teams understand new structures, transition smoothly to new ways of working, and adopt new processes.</li> <li>Support capability transfer and knowledge sharing across centers of excellence.</li> <li>These are structural, sustained initiatives—not temporary projects.</li> </ul> </li> </ul> <p> </p> <p><strong>5. Organizational Agility & Change-Ready Culture</strong></p> <ul> <li> <ul> <li>Develop a <strong>change-ready organization</strong> where frontline leaders and teams embrace continuous improvement as part of how we work.</li> <li>Build a permanent <strong>change champion network</strong> and change leadership pipeline.</li> <li>Measure and improve organizational agility, resilience, and adaptability over time.</li> <li>Culture change compounds over years; this is a sustained investment in how Direct Travel operates.</li> </ul> </li> </ul> <p> </p> <p><strong>KEY RESPONSIBILITIES</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Change & Adoption Strategy</strong></p> <ul> <li>Develop and execute multi-year change and adoption strategies for major organizational transformations (integrations, geographic expansion, operating model evolution, innovation adoption).</li> <li>Conduct change impact and readiness assessments—identifying which teams need the most support, what barriers exist, and how to tailor engagement.</li> <li>Work closely with PMO to understand project timelines and deliverables; translate these into adoption readiness plans and timelines.</li> <li>Monitor change health and adoption progress across all major initiatives; adjust strategies based on performance data, feedback, and emerging challenges.</li> <li>Build repeatable adoption playbooks and methodologies.</li> </ul> <p> </p> <p><strong>Global & Regional Stakeholder Engagement & Communication</strong></p> <ul> <li>Lead communications and engagement strategies across multiple geographies, time zones, and cultural contexts.</li> <li>Establish and sustain an <strong>Operations Advisory Council</strong> and <strong>Global Change Champion Network</strong> with regional representation—these are your eyes and ears for frontline sentiment and adoption barriers.</li> <li>Facilitate listening sessions, focus groups, and feedback forums; ensure frontline feedback influences how new ways of working are designed and rolled out.</li> <li>Tailor change narratives and adoption strategies to regional needs while maintaining strategic consistency.</li> <li>Build trust and psychological safety through transparent, timely, culturally-aware communication about what's changing and why.</li> <li>Coach and develop change champions and frontline leaders as change agents in their teams.</li> </ul> <p> </p> <p><strong>Readiness, Training Coordination & Adoption Support</strong></p> <ul> <li>Partner with Training and Learning & Development to develop role-based learning and readiness activities aligned with project timelines.</li> <li>Coordinate readiness activities before each implementation—ensuring teams have the knowledge, confidence, and resources to adopt new ways of working.</li> <li>Support frontline leaders with coaching tools, change resources, and adoption frameworks.</li> <li>Monitor adoption of new platforms, tools, and processes; gather user feedback and recommend improvements.</li> <li>Drive continuous improvement and scaling of best practices across Operations teams.</li> </ul> <p> </p> <p><strong>Employee Experience & Change Enablement</strong></p> <ul> <li>Work with Operations Leadership and PMO to identify opportunities to simplify processes, reduce friction, and improve employee experience during transitions.</li> <li>Support future-state design workshops and organizational redesign initiatives—ensuring frontline voices shape new ways of working.</li> <li>Create and maintain change resources (FAQs, how-to guides, role-based playbooks, visual aids) that help teams adopt new ways of working.</li> <li>Monitor employee sentiment and engagement throughout transformation initiatives.</li> <li>Identify quick wins and celebrate successes to build momentum and confidence.</li> </ul> <p> </p> <p><strong>Measurement, Insights & Continuous Improvement</strong></p> <ul> <li>Measure adoption, employee sentiment, business outcomes, and integration success through dashboards and strategic reporting.</li> <li>Translate adoption data and feedback into insights that inform project teams and leadership on what's working and what needs adjustment.</li> <li>Identify and scale best practices across Operations, regions, and initiatives.</li> <li>Build organizational learning from each transformation to improve future change execution.</li> <li>Report regularly to Operations Leadership on change health, adoption progress, and emerging risks or opportunities.</li> </ul> <p> </p> <p><strong>Leadership, Influence & Capability Development</strong></p> <ul> <li>Serve as a trusted strategic advisor to the COO and Operations Leadership on change readiness, adoption progress, and organizational capability.</li> <li>Build and maintain strong relationships across Operations, Technology, HR, Training, Finance, PMO, and executive leadership.</li> <li>Develop and mentor change leaders, champions, and frontline leaders to build internal change capability.</li> <li>Model change leadership behaviors and foster a culture of continuous improvement and innovation.</li> <li>Represent change and adoption on executive steering committees and transformation governance bodies.</li> </ul> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><strong>REQUIRED EXPERIENCE</strong></p> <ul> <li>7+ years of experience in Change Management, Organizational Development, Training, Operations, or a related business function focused on the <strong>people side of transformation</strong></li> <li>Demonstrated success leading change and adoption across <strong>multiple geographies and cultural contexts</strong></li> <li>Proven experience with <strong>large-scale organizational transitions, integrations, or restructuring</strong> including cultural alignment and adoption</li> <li>Strong communication, facilitation, relationship-building, and influencing skills</li> <li>Comfortable working across multiple teams and leadership levels; ability to influence without direct authority</li> <li>Ability to organize complex work, solve problems, drive results, and adapt in a fast-paced, matrix environment</li> <li>Strategic thinking about how organizational readiness and adoption enable business strategy</li> </ul> <p> </p> <p><strong>PREFERRED EXPERIENCE</strong></p> <ul> <li>Experience in travel, logistics, customer service, or operations-intensive industries</li> <li>Exposure to large-scale enterprise system implementations and digital transformations</li> <li>Background in Agile, iterative, or continuous improvement change methodologies</li> <li>Experience designing and scaling change champion or ambassador networks globally</li> <li>Familiarity with change management frameworks (ADKAR, Kotter, McKinsey, etc.)</li> <li>Operations or P&L leadership experience managing teams through significant organizational change</li> <li>Background in AI adoption, digital transformation, or emerging technology change management</li> <li>Experience scaling centers of excellence, shared service models, or global operating models</li> <li>Familiarity with VIP models or unified operating models in distributed organizations</li> </ul> <p> </p> <p><strong>CORE COMPETENCIES</strong></p> <ul> <li><strong>Strategic Change Leadership</strong> — Ability to think multi-year and build sustainable adoption capability</li> <li><strong>Communication & Engagement</strong> — Skilled at crafting and delivering messages across diverse audiences and geographies</li> <li><strong>Stakeholder Management</strong> — Building and maintaining relationships across complex, matrix organizations</li> <li><strong>Facilitation & Collaboration</strong> — Bringing stakeholders together and driving alignment around change</li> <li><strong>Coaching & Influencing</strong> — Developing others and driving adoption without direct authority</li> <li><strong>Program & Portfolio Coordination</strong> — Managing multiple initiatives simultaneously with dependencies</li> <li><strong>Change Readiness & Assessment</strong> — Identifying adoption barriers and tailoring support strategies</li> <li><strong>Data & Performance Reporting</strong> — Using metrics to drive decisions and demonstrate adoption impact</li> <li><strong>Cultural Intelligence</strong> — Navigating and adapting to different geographies and organizational cultures</li> <li><strong>Continuous Improvement & Learning</strong> — Translating insights into organizational learning and scaled practices</li> </ul> <p> </p> <p><strong>WHY THIS ROLE MATTERS</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>The success of Direct Travel's transformation depends on far more than delivering new technology, new geographies, or new capabilities—it depends on building an organization where our people understand, embrace, and sustain those changes.</p> <p> </p> <p>As Direct Travel integrates major acquisitions, expands globally, adopts AI and emerging technologies, and evolves its operating model, the PMO will deliver projects on time and on budget. But unless our people are prepared, engaged, and confident in adopting new ways of working, those projects will not deliver lasting business value.</p> <p> </p> <p>This role ensures Operations has a dedicated strategic leader focused on the human and cultural side of transformation—engaging employees, gathering frontline insights, building adoption capability, and driving sustained change so that every project becomes operational reality and Direct Travel emerges as a change-ready, innovation-driven organization.</p>
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