Head of Travel

Clifford Chance; Newcastle upon Tyne; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading global law firm is seeking a Head of Travel to manage their travel program, ensuring compliance and cost-effective solutions. This role includes overseeing travel budgets, managing suppliers, and contributing to the firm's sustainability goals. The ideal candidate will have a strong understanding of travel best practices and previous experience in leading complex travel engagements. The firm supports a balanced hybrid working approach, with a minimum office presence expected.

Benefits

Broad range of benefits

Family-friendly benefits

Qualifications

• Strong understanding of travel best practice processes and tools applicable in comparable organizations.
• Experience in delivering large cost savings through global travel strategies.
• Proven knowledge of managing complex global travel supplier engagements.

Responsibilities

• Oversee Global Travel program and ensure operational performance.
• Manage travel budgets and identify cost-saving opportunities.
• Lead the travel team while providing guidance and support.

Skills

Understanding of travel best practices and tools

Identifying cost savings

Managing complex global travel engagements

Negotiating supplier contracts

Influencing stakeholders and suppliers

Presenting to senior leadership

Change management techniques

Job description

The Role

The Head of Travel is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the Clifford Chance travel program.

This is a global role that will require engagement with stakeholders across a number of offices. They will work day‑to‑day with the procurement team, risk teams, business stakeholders, fee earners up to Executive Director level.

The Head of Travel will be responsible for key relationships and the Global Travel programme in particular:

• Own, evolve and pursue compliance of Global Travel Policy Management of travel platform
• Negotiation contract and service management of travel‑related third parties i.e. Airlines, Hotels, Risk and Insurance partners
• Budget management
• Travel support ensuring efficient, cost‑effective and safe business travel for employees
• Collaborate with the Sustainability team and our strategic vendors to lower emissions in pursuit of our sustainability agenda
• Act as a travel subject‑matter expert across own area
• Collaborate with the Procurement team and their stakeholders
• Negotiate commercial and contract terms with suppliers
• Support initiatives to ensure growing compliance and adherence to the firm’s global procurement and travel policies
• Contribute as a Procurement team member and help drive the Procurement value proposition

Key Responsibilities

As a member of the wider Procurement team the Head of Travel is expected to run and manage Global Travel, formulating strategy and ensuring operational performance and governance including managing travel budgets, tracking spending and identifying cost‑saving opportunities and supporting the firm’s sustainability agenda.

Manage all travel platforms and complete the roll‑out of a single Global travel management platform.

Monitor travel expenses and ensure compliance with company policies.

Own and manage the supplier relationship with our Global travel service provider, collaborating to drive service improvements and increased ROI for Clifford Chance.

Lead and manage the travel team, working alongside internal stakeholders regarding their travel needs and concerns, providing guidance, training and support.

Address and resolve any travel‑related issues or emergencies promptly.

Maintain and evolve travel management information to support compliance data analysis and drive decision‑making.

Present and utilise influencing skills to articulate complex travel matters to stakeholders. Manage a team of one direct report focused on operational travel management.

Qualifications : Your Experience

• A strong understanding of travel best practice processes and tools and their application to a comparable organization
• Experience identifying and delivering large cost savings and efficiency opportunities through developing global travel strategies
• Experience leading large, complex global travel supplier engagements
• Experience negotiating and marking up supplier contracts
• Experience managing and influencing difficult stakeholders and suppliers
• Experience presenting to senior leadership teams and project committees
• Knowledge and experience of change‑management techniques to support behavioural change and service adoption in a partnership environment

Hybrid Working

This role follows our balanced hybrid working approach. As long as business needs allow, you will be supported to work in a hybrid way with the expectation of working from the office for a minimum of 50% of your time.

What we offer including our broad range of benefits and working environment

When you join Clifford Chance you will have access to a broad range of benefits to support you across many aspects of your personal and professional life including financial wellbeing, lifestyle and family‑friendly benefits. For more information on what we offer specifically in the UK, please visit our ‘What We Offer’ page on our career site.

Equal Opportunities

At Clifford Chance we understand that our true asset is our people. Inclusion is good for our team, their families, the firm and society.

We are committed to treating all employees and applicants fairly and equally regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, marital or civil partnership status, race, colour, national or ethnic origin, social or economic background, disability, religious belief, sexual orientation or age. This applies to recruitment and selection, terms and conditions of employment, including pay, promotion, training, transfer and every other aspect of employment.

We have a variety of flourishing employee networks. These networks are a place for colleagues to share experiences and advocate for change wherever they see an opportunity for improvement.

Our goal is to deliver an equality of opportunity, an equality of aspiration and an equality of experience to everyone who works in our firm.

Find out more about our inclusive culture here.

Remote Work: No

Employment Type: Full‑time