Senior Manager, Travel Disruption Operations

The Senior Manager, Travel Disruption Operations at Navan is responsible for overseeing all operational activities that are critical to delivering exceptional experiences for our clients. This leader acts as the primary escalation point for urgent incidents, managing incident response end-to-end while driving continuous improvement across processes and systems. The Senior Manager ensures consistent quality, efficiency, and adherence to operational standards, serving as a key resource for field teams and directly supporting client experience initiatives. This position requires strong leadership, a customer-first mindset, rigorous attention to detail, and the ability to thrive in a high-pressure, dynamic environment.

What You’ll Do:

• End-to-End Incident Management: Oversee and manage SEV 1 and SEV 2 incidents from detection to resolution, collaborating closely with internal and external teams to ensure appropriate severity levels are assigned and that each team executes their respective incident response playbooks effectively
• Real-Time Risk Monitoring: Continually monitor critical systems and client touch points in real time, identifying and addressing anomalies or potential incidents before they impact clients.
• Principal Escalation Point: Act as the primary escalation contact for high-priority incidents, collaborating across engineering, operations, and executive leadership to drive timely and effective solutions.
• Data Analysis and Trend Identification: Analyze operational and incident response data to identify trends, recurring issues, and root causes; partner cross-functionally to drive proactive solutions.
• Post-Mortems: Lead thorough post-mortem analyses for major incidents, providing both internal and, when necessary, customer-facing reports. Ensure follow-up actions are executed and tracked to completion.
• Process Improvement: Update and evolve Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) after incidents. Champion continuous improvement to enhance reliability and reduce incident frequency and impact.
• Resource for Field Teams: Serve as the go-to expert for field and client-facing teams on all aspects of incident management, escalation protocols, and resolution processes.
• Stakeholder Communication: Communicate operational impacts, status updates, and incident reports to stakeholders at all levels with clarity and urgency.
• KPI Ownership: Identify, develop, implement, and supervise key performance indicators (KPIs) for the Travel Disruptions Operations function to ensure optimal traveler outcomes and high operational standards.
• Project & Program Leadership: Lead cross-functional programs or initiatives that support organizational KPI’s, focusing on automation, operational efficiencies, and optimizing/preventing poor traveler experiences within the travel disruptions framework. Develop action plans to unlock business and operational value.
• On-Call Rotation: Participate in on-call rotations to support 24/7/365 operational coverage as required.
• Team Development: Mentor and develop members of the Client Experience Operations team, fostering engagement, growth, and achievement of team goals.
• Customer Obsession: Champion Navan’s travelers in everything you do—ensuring they are informed, supported, and set up for success, wherever they are in the world.
• Support Client Experience: During periods of spare bandwidth, actively contribute to broader client experience projects and initiatives to ensure Navan’s service standards remain industry-leading.
• Other duties as assigned.

What We’re Looking For:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience in a relevant field (business, technology, operations, or similar)
• 5+ years’ experience in SaaS, technology operations, customer support, or similar environments, including direct experience managing high-severity (SEV 1/2) incidents
• Demonstrated success in incident management, crisis resolution, and driving continuous operational improvement
• Proven ability to communicate effectively and confidently with both technical and non-technical stakeholders, including executive leadership and clients
• Proficiency in incident management and monitoring tools (e.g., PagerDuty, OpsGenie, Datadog) and Microsoft Office/Google Workspace
• Exceptional customer service, problem solving, and analytical skills
• Ability to work independently with a strong sense of urgency and meticulous attention to detail
• Flexibility to support variable hours, including weekends and holidays, as part of a global support rotation
• Legally eligible to work in the country where the position is located