Sr. Manager, Travel and Logistics

K. Wood Partners; Dallas (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

K. Wood Partners in Dallas, TX seeks a Senior Manager, Travel & Logistics to lead end-to-end planning and hands-on execution of complex travel for a Principal and family. You will travel ~100 days/year with the Principal, manage VIP arrangements, and coordinate with security, aviation, and the broader family office team.

You’ll build multi-country itineraries, negotiate hotel contracts, and reconcile travel expenses while maintaining utmost discretion and privacy in high-profile engagements.

Qualifications

• Proven track record planning and personally executing high-level travel for UHNW individuals, executives, or principals.
• Hotel relationships and contracting experience, including rate negotiation and terms.
• Ground transportation and security coordination experience in home and destination settings.
• Private aviation experience with coordination with flight crews.
• International experience and cultural fluency across regions.
• VIP handling including wardrobe/packing coordination and concierge-level service delivery.
• Financial acumen with travel budget management and expense reconciliation.
• Project management skills with deadlines, milestones, and adaptivity.

Responsibilities

• Plan and execute end-to-end travel for the Principal and family across domestic and international trips.
• Travel 100 days per year with the Principal and coordinate logistics in real time.
• Coordinate private aviation, ground transportation, accommodations, and on-site experiences.
• Provide VIP handling for the Principal and guests, including confidentiality and discretion.
• Collaborate with security teams and the broader family office and corporate teams.

Skills

Itinerary planning

VIP handling

Budget management

Team leadership

Cultural awareness

Job description

The Senior Manager, Travel & Logistics is responsible for the end-to-end planning and hands-on execution of highly complex, fast-moving travel for a very busy Principal — both personal and business trips, domestic and international. This is a working, on-the-road role: the Senior Manager travels with the Principal approximately 100 days per year, personally executing and troubleshooting travel in real time, and spends the remaining time in the office planning the next trip and reconciling the last. The Principal's total travel exceeds 200 days per year and is supported by two travel leaders working in tandem, along with a team of travel assistants — this role and a peer Travel & Operations Leader divide and coordinate that load together.

The role's scope extends beyond the Principal to the Principal's immediate family — his wife and two adult children — planning and executing their travel whether they are traveling alongside the Principal or independently.

This is a high-trust, high-discretion position. The right person treats no task as too small or too big — from a dinner reservation to a multi-country, multi-aircraft itinerary involving the Principal's family, friends, and colleagues, some of whom are themselves public figures or UHNW individuals — and brings calm, resourceful problem-solving to constant, often last-minute change.

Beyond trip travel, this role also serves as the Principal's personal "handler" at any and all engagements, personal or business — including brand activations and hosted events, media appearances, high-profile brand/location openings, sporting events, festivals, and concerts. Delivering seamless logistics and movement at these engagements is a core, non-negotiable expectation of the role, executed in close coordination with the traveling security team.

Key Responsibilities

Trip Planning & Pre-Trip Preparation

• Build and maintain project plans for each trip, with clear deadlines and milestones, and document processes extensively in line with established travel planning standards.
• Build detailed, minute-by-minute itineraries for domestic and international trips, balancing business obligations, personal commitments, and downtime.
• Manage hotel sourcing, negotiation, and contracting, securing optimal rates, terms, and room configurations for the Principal’s party.
• Arrange ground transportation, security coordination, and other on-site logistics in advance of arrival.Coordinate wardrobe preparation and packing requirements aligned to itinerary, climate, and events.
• Research and account for cultural norms, local customs, holidays, and relevant events (social, cultural, sporting, business) in every destination to avoid conflicts and identify opportunities

On-the-Road Execution & VIP Support

• Travel with the Principal roughly 100 days per year to personally execute logistics in real time and resolve issues on the spot.
• Provide VIP-level handling for the Principal and accompanying guests — including the Principal’s wife, adult children, friends, and colleagues, some of whom are frequently celebrities or other UHNW individuals.
• Manage reservations and concierge-level services (dining, entertainment, local experiences) with the same rigor as core travel logistics.
• Pivot itineraries seamlessly in response to frequent, often last-minute changes, without disrupting the Principal’s schedule or experience.
• Exercise ultimate discretion and diplomacy in all interactions, protecting the Principal’s privacy and reputation at all times.

Family Travel Support

• Plan and execute travel for the Principal’s wife and two adult children, whether they are traveling with the Principal or on independent trips of their own.
• Apply the same standard of itinerary quality, hotel/ground/aviation coordination, and VIP handling to family trips as to the Principal’s own travel.
• Proactively identify and resolve scheduling overlaps or conflicts between simultaneous Principal and family travel, prioritizing and reallocating resources (assistants, drivers, aircraft) as needed.
• Maintain family members’ preferences, documents, and travel profiles (passports, loyalty programs, dietary and accommodation preferences) with the same rigor as the Principal’s own.

Personal “Handler” & Engagement Support

• Serve as the Principal’s dedicated handler at any and all engagements, personal or business in nature — examples include brand activations and hosted events, media appearances, high-profile brand/location openings, sporting events, festivals, and concerts.
• Own end-to‑end logistics and movements at each engagement — arrivals, holding, staging, transitions, and departures — so the Principal experiences seamless, uninterrupted flow from one moment to the next.
• Partner closely with the traveling security team, who also accompany the Principal to support his movements, to ensure logistics and security protocols are fully aligned before and during every engagement.
• Anticipate on-site contingencies (schedule slippage, press/fan interaction, venue changes) and adjust movements in real time without disrupting the Principal or the event.

Private Aviation & Ground Transportation Coordination

• Serve as the primary point of communication with the staff pilots, coordinating flight scheduling, crew logistics, and aircraft availability.
• Apply working knowledge of private flight operations (flight planning basics, FBOs, permits/customs for international legs, crew duty-time considerations) to build realistic, executable air travel plans.
• Work alongside the pilot team to ensure planes and FBOs are stocked and maintained, and pre-flight SOPs are meticulously followed and updated as frequently as necessary.
• Coordinate drivers in home markets and in destination markets while the Principal is traveling, ensuring seamless handoffs between air, ground, and venue.

Financial Management & Reconciliation

• Manage travel budgets and expenses across both personal and business trips, maintaining fiscal responsibility throughout.
• Reconcile expenses on a trip-by-trip basis, maintaining thorough documentation in line with family office and corporate financial processes.
• Track vendor contracts (hotels, ground transportation, aviation-related vendors) and support renewal or renegotiation as needed.

Team Collaboration & Process Governance

• Work closely with the peer Travel & Operations Leader to balance and coordinate the Principal’s full travel load across both roles.
• Partner as a standing team with the Principal’s traveling security team on all trips and engagements, jointly owning the seamless coordination of movements.
• Direct and support a team of travel assistants, delegating appropriately while retaining accountability for outcomes.
• Follow and help refine standard travel planning processes and documentation practices used across the family office and corporate team.
• Operate within the structure and systems of the broader family office and corporate team, escalating and communicating proactively rather than working in a silo.

Required Qualifications & Experience

• Proven track record of planning and personally executing very high-level, complex travel for UHNW individuals, executives, or high-profile principals.
• Hotel relationships & contracting experience, including rate negotiation and contract terms.
• Ground transportation and security coordination experience in both home-market and destination settings.
• Private aviation experience, with a solid understanding of private flight operations and direct experience coordinating with flight crews.
• International experience, including working across multiple countries and demonstrated cultural fluency across a wide variety of regions and customs.
• VIP handling experience, including wardrobe/packing coordination and concierge-level service delivery.
• Financial acumen, with experience managing travel budgets and performing detailed trip-level expense reconciliation.
• Project management skills, with a demonstrated ability to build project plans, manage deadlines, hit milestones, and adapt quickly when plans change.
• Experience supporting multiple family members concurrently, including managing simultaneous or overlapping travel across a Principal and their spouse and/or adult children.
• Experience serving as a personal handler at high-profile engagements (brand activations, media appearances, location openings, sporting events, festivals, concerts), working alongside professional security personnel

Key Skills & Competencies

• Exceptional itinerary building, time management, and organizational skills
• Outstanding resourcefulness and critical thinking, especially under pressure and in high-stress scenarios
• Ultimate discretion, diplomacy, and sound judgment with sensitive or confidential information
• Strong written documentation habits and process discipline
• Comfort operating with frequent, last-minute change without losing composure or quality
• Strong team orientation — willing to work within existing structures, systems, and a shared-coverage model rather than as a sole operator
• Fiscal responsibility and comfort owning a budget
• Deep cultural awareness and understanding of relevant global events, customs, and etiquette

Work Environment & Travel

• Approximately 100 days per year traveling directly with the Principal, both domestic and international.
• Remaining time is spent in the office, focused on forward trip planning and reconciling completed trips.
• Must be available for irregular hours, short-notice scheduling changes, and time-zone shifts consistent with the Principal’s travel patterns.
• Works in close partnership with a peer Travel & Operations Leader and a team of travel assistants as part of a broader family office and corporate support structure.