Travel & Expense Team – Regional Travel Manager Role - APAC

Barclays UK; Mumbai; On-site; INR 4,50,000 - 6,75,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial institution in Mumbai is seeking an experienced APAC Regional Travel Manager to oversee and enhance travel operations across the APAC region. You will ensure exceptional service delivery by managing end-to-end travel planning, engage with stakeholders to resolve queries, and maintain compliance with travel policies. Strong financial acumen and vendor management skills are essential, along with experience in corporate travel management. This role offers a competitive salary and is integral to optimizing travel costs and enhancing employee experiences.

Qualifications

• Proven years of experience in corporate travel management.
• Strong financial acumen with experience managing large travel budgets.
• Hands-on experience in transformation and process simplification projects.

Responsibilities

• Deliver best-in-class travel operations across APAC.
• Engage directly with travelers and internal stakeholders to resolve queries.
• Ensure compliance with travel policies and promote efficient processes.

Skills

Communication skills

Stakeholder engagement

Vendor management

Financial acumen

Cultural sensitivity

Education

Experience in corporate travel management

Experience in financial services or large multinationals

Tools

Travel management systems

Online booking tools

Job description

Overview

At Barclays, we don’t just adapt to the future – we shape it. Embark on a transformative journey as Travel & Expense Team – Regional Travel Manager Role - APAC, where you\'ll spearhead the evolution of our Travel team. We are seeking a highly experienced and detail-oriented APAC Corporate Travel Manager to ensure all Barclays travel in the region is delivered to a world leading, consistently excellent standard. Working closely alongside the appointed travel management company and online booking tool suppliers, to monitor and make improvements to the service delivery, including the development of KPI’s and SLA’s to accurately measure performance and extract additional value. Drive a program of continuous improvement, to enhance the colleague experience when making a booking or travelling on company business. You will work closely with senior leadership in the region, excellent communication, interpersonal and problem-solving skills are critical. You will be responsible for managing end-to-end travel and travel operations, including air travel, hotel accommodations, visa processes, and ground transportation, ensuring seamless operations and exceptional service delivery. In addition, supplier management, stakeholder engagement, technology oversight, and driving operational excellence while ensuring compliance with internal policies, GST reconciliation, and external regulations. In this highly strategic role, you will focus on optimizing costs, improving processes, enhancing traveler experiences, and managing Senior Management travel requirements with a high degree of confidentiality and accuracy. You will collaborate with the appointed travel management company (TMC) and online booking tool suppliers to monitor and improve service delivery by developing KPI and SLA frameworks. Given the complexities of APAC travel, including local regulations, tax implications (GST), and compliance requirements, this role demands a proactive and hands-on approach to delivering specialized oversight and operational excellence.

Key Responsibilities

• Deliver best-in-class travel operations across the APAC region
• Partner with the Global Operations Lead of Travel to implement global travel strategy and standards across APAC.
• Engage directly with travelers, executive assistants, and internal stakeholders to resolve queries and ensure compliance with travel policies.
• Foster excellent relationships with the Barclays user group and global travel teams, providing feedback and insights to enhance service levels.
• Collaborate with the TMC and Online Booking Tool (OBT) on quarterly reviews to drive performance improvements.
• Support incident response for travel disruptions (e.g., weather, security).
• Provide end-to-end support for VIP and Executive Travel, ensuring real-time coordination and crisis management capabilities.
• Ensure the travel operation is delivered to a best-in-class standard across all geographies
• Develop deep relationships with the Barclays user and stakeholder groups, to ensure beneficial flows of feedback and instruction
• Design and develop reporting mechanisms to monitor service levels and added value savings, including KPI’s and SLA’s, using automation to ensure ongoing consistency
• Lead on the Barclays response to incidents affecting service, such as weather, security or industrial events
• Project oversight, working closely with Functions Technology to ensure all CTO requirements are met for any new technology or changes, affecting the TMC or OBT service
• Ensure the travel operations remain aligned with the sustainability and diverse supplier initiative.

To be successful as the APAC Regional Travel Manager you should have:

• Subject matter expertise in delivering operational excellence across the APAC and India regions.
• Proven years of experience in corporate travel management, in financial services or large multinationals.
• Proven ability to deliver exceptional service to colleagues and stakeholders across multiple geographies.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills
• Strong financial acumen with experience managing large travel budgets.
• Excellent vendor management skills, with a deep understanding of cultural and operational differences.
• Empathy and cultural sensitivity while maintaining consistency in global Travel & Expense (T&E) programs.
• Proficiency with travel management systems, online booking tools (OBT), and expense platforms.
• Strong acumen in corporate card programs and data -driven travel insights
• Ability to manage a wide range of responsibilities and project management simultaneously, as well as being able to respond to short term requests and service issues.
• Proven experience in managing, developing and motivating regional teams, with specific responsibility for service delivery across APAC.
• Hands-on experience in transformation and process simplification projects. Excellent communication skills and ability to influence.

Highly Valued Skills may include:

• Candidates with experience in Banking, Finance Global Capability Centre preferred.

• Good written & verbal communication skills.

• Team leading experience of at least 7-10 headcount, required.

You may be assessed on the key critical skills relevant for success in role, such as risk and controls, change and transformation, business acumen strategic thinking and digital and technology, as well as job-specific technical skills.

Location

The location of the role is Mumbai, IN.

Purpose of the role

To manage operations within a business area and maintain processes, risk management initiatives and compliance with relevant regulators.

Accountabilities

• Identification of trends and opportunities to improve areas and develop new process and procedures through the monitoring and analysis of operation data and performance metrices.
• Management of operations for a business area and promote efficient processes, risk management and compliance initiatives to support the bank\'s operations.
• Collaboration with internal stakeholders (including business leaders, project manager and SMEs) and external stakeholders (including vendors and service providers) to support business operations and promote alignment with the bank\'s objectives and SLAs.
• Management of operational professionals and provide guidance, coaching and support to improve colleagues\' delivery quality.
• Management and development of KPIs to measure the effectiveness of operation functions, utilising data and technology to support the identification of areas that require improvement.
• Compliance with all regulatory requirements and internal policies related to customer experience.
• Creation of a safe environment for colleagues to speak up, actively and regularly encourage and solicit feedback to ensure people agenda remains focused on the right areas.
• Management of attrition by working closely with HR in implementing retention initiatives for work force.

All colleagues will be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Values of Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence and Stewardship – our moral compass, helping us do what we believe is right. They will also be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Mindset – to Empower, Challenge and Drive – the operating manual for how we behave.