Director, Strategy & Operations Excellence

At Expedia Group, we help travelers explore the world, one journey at a time. As a global travel company powered by passionate people, trusted partnerships, and leading technology, we connect travelers, partners, and advertisers through our consumer brands, B2B network, and travel advertising business.

Here, you'll do meaningful work that helps millions of people discover, book, and experience travel with more ease, confidence, and joy. Our five Behaviors-Traveler First, Think Big, Operate with Excellence, Ownership Mindset, and Succeed Together-help foster a supportive environment where people can grow their careers and have the flexibility, benefits, and support to do their best work. Join us and build for travelers everywhere.

Director, Strategy & Operations Excellence

Our team works on the hardest questions in Traveler and Partner Service: where to invest, why an experience is breaking, and what to change first. We are a small but high impact team, and our results go to senior leaders who make decisions critical decisions based on our insights. 

The managers and senior managers on the team know our business well. Many started in service roles and are now experts in how it runs. As Director, you add the problem-solving leadership: choosing the right questions, structure them, hold a high bar on the analysis, and get a clear recommendation in front of the people who decide. 

You do not need to be an expert in service operations. You do need to be able to learn a topic quickly, ask the questions an expert would not think to ask, and tell good analysis from weak.  

In this role, you will:

• Frame the questions. Work with service leaders to pick the questions that matter most. Write each one as a clear problem statement with clear sense of impact and deliverables. 

• Structure the work. Break each question into hypotheses and the analyses that would test them. Write the workplan and assign it across your team. 

• Review the analysis. Read the team's work closely. Check the logic, the data and the assumptions, and send it back when it does not hold up. 

• Lead the team. Lead managers and senior managers who each run their own workstreams. Set expectations, check progress, and step in where a workstream needs help. 

• Write and present. Shape the storyline for each executive review and edit the pages yourself when needed. Present recommendations to VPs and senior leaders and defend the thinking behind them. 

• Get to a decision. Stay with each recommendation until leaders decide and the owning team acts. Check afterward whether it made a difference. 

• Develop people. Coach the team on structuring problems, analysis, writing and presenting, using real work and specific feedback.

You will also work on some problems directly, mostly at the start of a project when the question is least clear, and again when the executive storyline is taking shape.  

Experience & Qualifications:

• MBA or Quantitative graduate degree and 10+ years of experience in management consulting, corporate strategy, business operations or a similar problem-solving role. 

• 4+ years leading teams through problem-solving work from scoping to recommendation, for example as a consulting engagement manager or as the head of a strategy or business operations team. 

• Experience leading a team of at least four people, including experienced people with their own subject expertise, and coaching them on their work. 

• A record of turning an unclear question into a recommendation that leaders adopted. You can describe what you recommended, the evidence, and what changed. 

• The ability to build, read and challenge an analysis or model yourself. You are comfortable working with Excel, SQL outputs, dashboards and data teams. 

• Clear writing and speaking. You put the answer first, keep it short, and have presented to VP-level or more senior audiences.

Preferred qualifications

• Experience leading managers who have their own direct reports.

• Experience raising the problem-solving or communication skills of an existing team.

• Experience in customer service, operations, travel or marketplaces.

• Experience with Looker, Tableau or Python.

Functional skills

Problem solving · Critical thinking · Business acumen · Communication · Coaching · Influencing

#LI-MC1

The total cash range for this position in Seattle is $207,500.00 to $290,500.00. Employees in this role have the potential to increase their pay up to $332,000.00, which is the top of the range, based on ongoing, demonstrated, and sustained performance in the role.

Starting pay for this role will vary based on multiple factors, including location, available budget, and an individual’s knowledge, skills, and experience. Pay ranges may be modified in the future.

Benefits and perks

Expedia Group offers benefits and perks designed to support employees and their families, including medical, dental, and vision coverage, paid time off, an Employee Assistance Program, wellness and travel reimbursement, travel discounts, and International Airlines Travel Agent Network (IATAN) membership. Learn more about life at Expedia Group at https://careers.expediagroup.com/life.

Accommodation requests

Expedia Group is committed to providing an inclusive and accessible recruiting experience. If you need an accommodation or adjustment due to a disability during the application or recruiting process, please submit a request at https://expedia.service-now.com/askeg?id=job_accommodation.

About Expedia Group

Expedia Group includes three flagship consumer brands - Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo - along with a leading B2B travel business and travel advertising offerings. Across our brands and business, we help travelers explore the world with confidence and ease.

Important notice

Employment opportunities and job offers at Expedia Group will always come from Expedia Group's Talent Acquisition and hiring teams. Never share sensitive personal information unless you are confident of the recipient. Expedia Group does not extend job offers via email or messaging tools to individuals with whom we have not made prior contact. Our email domain is @expediagroup.com. The official place to find and apply for roles is https://careers.expediagroup.com/jobs/.

Equal Opportunity

Expedia is committed to creating an inclusive work environment with a diverse workforce. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. This employer participates in E-Verify. The employer will provide the Social Security Administration (SSA) and, if necessary, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with information from each new employee's I-9 to confirm work authorization.