Senior Business Operations Manager (For independent contractors)

Please note, this is a 9-month-long assignment for freelancers.

Business Operations at Booking.com is the glue to help it function in the most efficient way possible and with the customer focus at its core. It helps teams to connect the dots and effectively navigate the internal Booking.com organization, the work that is being done, and how it aligns with outcomes towards our Mission, Vision, and Strategy.

The CBO Office is a team of business operations, program and change management professionals who are dedicated to the organization led by Booking.com’s Chief Business Officer (“CBO”). The CBO Office will aid in driving growth and profitability through strategic and operational execution at Booking.com. It’s responsible for aligning business units, corporate and business functions with company objectives, fostering collaboration, enhancing customer experience, leading initiatives to enhance organizational effectiveness, resource allocation and performance management, in the organization led by the CBO, to deliver on the Company vision. The CBO Office is responsible for delivering best-in-class business planning, monitoring of business execution, and program and change management of larger initiatives set by the CBO. The CBO Office is led by the Senior Director of Business Operations.

The Senior Business Operations Manager - CBO Office, reporting into the Director Business Operations - CBO Office, plays a pivotal role in designing/streamlining, driving, and overseeing business planning, cross-functional collaboration and select day-to-day operations (strategy, systems, execution, intelligence and performance) to ensure Booking.com (CBO business units & functions) runs effectively and efficiently, to achieve shared objectives and mitigate key risks and dependencies. They will also drive and facilitate the adoption of Companywide processes across Booking.com.

Their primary responsibility will be to effectively (support the) design/improve, lead and implement the operational side of (annual/quarterly/ad hoc) business planning processes, partnering with the Director Business Operations - CBO Office, Corporate Finance and Global Strategy to ensure strategic, financial and operational alignment. They will coordinate across Booking.com so that the Must Dos, Company Priorities, and Departments’ business planning is executed in alignment together.

Tasks & Responsibilities:

• Design, implement and drive (annual/quarterly/ad hoc) business planning improvements to be more “user friendly” and lighter-weight. Drive the adoption of our annual strategy and objectives by working closely with internal communications, collaborating across teams to gather requirements, manage change, and deliver and drive integrated plans.

• Partner with the CBO Office & Department Business Operations to ensure the right prioritization is in place, departments’ objectives and plans are identified and that effective 2 tracking is in place to monitor progress and KPIs of those. They take a helicopter view of what is happening, as well as how the parts contribute to the whole and seek to optimize for simplicity and quality decision-making.

• Work in a predictable, structured way to ensure an effective way of running business as usual operations, minimize uncertainties, and manage downstream dependencies within departments for seamless reporting and planning processes.

• Design, implement and/or execute thoughtful, yet simple, processes to increase efficiency and productivity. Drive the optimization of business operations by driving adoption of standardized processes across the department to increase efficiency and effectiveness while also simplifying where possible.

• Supports the design and implementation of an effective rhythm of the business and structure for the CBO to ensure the CBO leadership team makes effective decisions at the right time and mitigate key risks and dependencies.

• Ensure high quality communications and presentation materials are prepared for employees and leadership.

• Actively engage with the Company scorecard (tracking and reporting), providing insights and recommendations to the CBO BusOps LT. Initiates and leads projects aligned to (improve) scorecard KPIs.

• Build and maintain lasting relationships with key stakeholders and peer group across all departments.

• From a functional perspective, collaborate with and support the Director Business Operations - CBO Office, the craft leader for Business Operations at Booking.com, in craft maturity initiatives such as the community's learning and development and driving consistency in their ways of working to ensure Business Operations is the strategic value-adding business partner to key stakeholders and leadership.

Requirements:

• In depth experience with corporate, strategic and/or operational planning with cross-functional business units, corporate functions and business functions.

• Solid experience working and executing initiatives within a company.

• Experience working with digital customer-facing cross-functional (especially product and development) teams and lifecycles focused on delivering customer outcomes.

• Financial knowledge (e.g. how to read a P&L) and have an ability to understand key business drivers.

• Ability to think strategically and connect dots where others have a limited view; able to identify challenges and opportunities and drive solutions/actions recommendations and follow up.

• Craft skills: Strong process, program and project management, and problem solving skills including experience with change management approaches and phases.

• Solid data and insights analytical skills, comfortable in facilitating effective governance and business as usual initiatives.

• Independently use quantitative and qualitative data to drive decision making and lead by example.

• High bar of excellence delivering quality outputs and leadershipready presentation materials.

• Change management experience (including methodologies and best practices).

• Exemplary role in effective communication, including “embracing change/ growth” mindset. Encourages people to become change agents & embrace change. Explicitly communicates: why change, what will change, how, when, where and whom it impacts (with possible outcomes and costs). Adjusts communication style to the audience to help them understand and accept the change.

• Be a role model of all Booking.com values, including a protagonist / learner / one-team mindset.

• Ability to build and maintain lasting relationships and connections with diverse teams, across the organization and outside.

• Highly organized and structured and make sure all processes run smoothly and in a reliable manner. Able to envision and design effective tools and resources to drive process optimization.

• Strong leadership skills, ability to influence and steer leadership and senior management. Ability to influence VP level and productively interact with SVP level.

• Ability to break up highly complex problems into actionable and easy to understand solutions.

• Be able to design and implement processes which aims to improve our internal partners' needs and expectations.

• 12+ years relevant professional experience

• Bachelor's degree required. Master's degree preferred