Customer Service Operations Manager (Airline)

2139 Gate Gourmet, Inc; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 65,000 - 67,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

401k with company match

Company sponsored life insurance

Medical, dental, vision plans

Voluntary short-term/long-term/dis%20s

Voluntary life, accident, and hospital

Employee Assistance Program

Employee Discounts

Free hot healthy meals

Job summary

Gate Gourmet is seeking a Manager, Ops, Customer Service to support the unit and serve as the liaison between airline customers and Gate Gourmet operations. This role reports to the General Manager for the unit.

The position entails collaboration with the commercial team, overseeing orders, ensuring invoice accuracy, and maintaining up-to-date customer specifications through audits while coordinating with production and purchasing. Travel up to 25% is required.

Qualifications

• High School Diploma or GED required.
• Associates degree or degree from a 4 year university or college preferred.
• Proven Account Management skills; minimum 3 years of account/project management experience.

Responsibilities

• Agree on performance expectations with the commercial team and deliver against these expectations with GM/Unit staff.
• Approve specialty orders, uplifts, and ensure invoice accuracy and timelines (with GM consent).
• Maintain current knowledge of specifications and customer expectations through routine audits with production team.
• Ensure supply chain/purchasing has current data and supports purchasing needs.
• Communicate customer goals and represent client interests to the local GGI team.
• Provide regular input on all account activity and weekly call reports to GM/Account Director.
• Coordinate between customer and GGI for special events (menus, transportation, logistics).
• Manage the T-minus schedule to facilitate changes and coordinate departments.

Skills

Account management

Customer relationships

Communication

Analytical skills

Team collaboration

Education

High School Diploma or GED

Associates degree preferred

Tools

IFX system

Unimatic

Job description

We’re looking for motivated, engaged people to help make everyone’s journeys better. Reporting to the General Manager for the unit, the Manager, Ops, Customer Service is responsible for supporting the operational unit with meeting customer requirements and needs. This position will act as a liaison between the airline customer and the Gate Gourmet operational unit.

Annual Hiring Range

• $65,000 - $67,000

Benefits

• Paid time off
• 401k, with company match
• Company sponsored life insurance
• Medical, dental, vision plans
• Voluntary short-term/long-term disability insurance
• Voluntary life, accident, and hospital plans
• Employee Assistance Program
• Employee Discounts
• Free hot healthy meals for unit operations roles

Main Duties and Responsibilities

• Agrees on performance expectations with the commercial team and works with GM/Unit staff to deliver against these expectations
• Approves (w/GM consent) specialty orders, uplifts, and responsible for invoice accuracy and timelines.
• Works closely with the production team in order to maintain a continuous knowledge of current specifications and customer expectations through routine audits.
• Ensures supply chain/purchasing has current up to date data and support purchasing requirements.
• Ensures that all processes and procedures related to specific flights are completed, quality standards are met, and additional revenue opportunities documented on invoice.
• Communicates the customer goals and represents the customer interests to the local GGI team.
• Strong understanding of unit capabilities and services, and effectively communicates all offerings to the client w/GM approval.
• Reports to the GM and or Account Director, providing regular input on all account activity, including service status and call reports on a weekly basis.
• Provides coordination between customer and GGI on special events such as Menu Presentation (scheduling, transportation, security, specs available, tent cards, tasting equipment, unit tours, beverages, etc.).
• Owner of T-minus schedule to facilitate changes and bringing all departments together for success.
• Maintains a professional appearance at all times.
• Treats the customer with dignity and respect.
• Internal & External Communication Daily reconciliation of delays and communications need activities as required.
• Communicates daily to the GG operations team of any spec changes, performance issues, call backs, inspections, etc from previous day.
• Drives root cause analysis.
• Weekly recaps of delays vs. targets, FAC’s, and Update with customer on weekly basis and local station management.
• SR (Shared Responsibility) Ensures that customer issues are dealt with in an efficient manner, informing the General Manager and Commercial leader (PAM. Local Director) of any problems that may arise.
• Weekly inventory status checks.
• SR Provides regular two-way communication between the client and local GGI, to provide strong team representation and set proper client expectations.
• Inventory Management Ensures customer inventory sheet to be current and up to date par levels. Manages inventory process taken accurately and on time. Results reviewed before submission to the customer. Communicate to the customer when par levels need to change.
• SR Provides customer feedback to help customer reduce costs through inventory management. Warehouse space, issue here is to not be a warehouse for obsolete or excessive inventory.
• SR Ensures that Customs requirements, GGI Bonded policy and local Agriculture (compliance agreement) are implemented.
• SR Quality Assists internal department on quality/compliance through weekly specification checks and audits (chef tables, packing diagrams, CCP’s, VSIE process, safety). Compares FACs against goals. Ownership of CSI and drives the process as outlined in GG policy and procedures.
• Cost Management Conducts weekly documented billing checks to ensure items billed. Reviews monthly service order to ensure all service items captured and aligned with CXP and Sales force.
• Targets Manages to a customer-specific set of KPI’s – reports on this performance to the commercial team, agrees performance targets to these KPI’s (e.g., delays, complaints, audit results) with Commercial VP and GM Annual (or quarterly) customer feedback survey on each aspect of the role – communication, inventory management, Quality cost management/invoice accuracy, and customer service orientation (does the customer view this role as representing their interests in the unit).

Education

• High School Diploma or GED required
• Associates degree or degree from a 4 year university or college is preferred

Work Experience

Proven Account Management skills required in order to create, maintain, and enhance customer relationships Minimum of 3 years of account/project management experience.

Technical Skills

• Extremely detail oriented
• Technical and analytical competence (understands software, hardware, networks, etc.)
• Motivated, goal oriented, and persistent
• High level of initiative and works well in a fast paced, team environment
• Handles stressful situations and deadline pressures well
• Plans and carries out responsibilities with minimal direction
• Full knowledge of any customer specific requirements in Service Agreement and delivers as listed below:
• Delta Airlines: Full knowledge of IFX system; Owner of change notice distribution list; understands the unit performance grading system; ensures the AC Damage reporting process is followed; full knowledge of Delta build tool.
• United Airlines: Full knowledge of Unimatic (aircraft operation); Full knowledge of IBSOPS (meal board location); Ensures PSS (passenger counts) is used for forecasting; Ensures AirServ/AirVision is used for flight finalization; Ensures Sky Net is used for packaging/general requirements; Full knowledge on the use of Igaps (real flight info)
• American Airlines: Understands AA evaluation and evaluation definitions; Full knowledge of AMOS & Sabre systems; Ensures food/equipment inventories in AirVision; Ensures equipment distribution is updated in AirVision; Ensures monthly IUR is documented in AirVision; understands the PMP process.
• British Airlines: Knowledgeble/Ensures BA IFX tools are used in operation; Maintains chronological telex and bulletin information; Analysis TCS and BBSC sheets for BA performance; Full knowledge of AirServe and train staff on the use; Owner of TP006 accuracy for each scheduled change
• Virgin Airlines: Take weekly photos of menu items and submit them to Virgin; Monthly review of TP006 and distribute the flight information; Must have full knowledge of Skylogistix; Must have full working knowledge of AirServ.

Language / Communication Skills

Excellent written and oral communication skills Bilingual is a plus.

Job Dimensions Geographic Responsibility

• Geographic Responsibility: Unit
• Type of Employment: Full-time
• Travel %: Up to 25%
• Exemption Classification: Exempt
• Work Environment / Requirements of the Job: Normal office environment
• Organization Structure
• Direct Line Manager (Title): General Manager, Unit
• Number of Direct Reports: Varies by unit
• Estimated Total Size of Team: Varies by unit
• gategroup

Competencies Required to be Successful in the Job

• Thinking – Information Search and analysis & problem resolution skills
• Engaging – Understanding others, Team Leadership and Developing People
• Inspiring – Influencing and building relationships, Motivating and Inspiring, Communicating effectively
• Achieving – Delivering business results under pressure, Championing Performance Improvement and Customer Focus

Values

• Excellence: We put the customer at the forefront of everything we do, taking time to understand their needs, wishes and desires.
• Passion: Hospitality, in its purest form, comes down to a single, core principle: care. We do everything with thoughtfulness, attention, and care. We have a growth mindset, a resilience that makes us determined to bounce back from failures and setbacks.
• Responsibility: We care about what we do, and we understand the impact we have on others and the planet. We always look out for each other –creating a safe workplace environment is everyone’s responsibility.
• Respect: Every job matters. We each do our part to ensure our colleagues and our customers succeed in their goals. We respect each other’s voices and foster a workplace that supports inclusion and belonging. We are all one gategroup.

gategroup is an equal opportunity employer committed to workforce diversity. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, disability status or other category under applicable law. For further information regarding Equal Employment Opportunity, copy and paste the following URL into your web browser: http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/posters/pdf/eeopost.pdf

For further information, please visit www.gategroup.com.