Operations Manager

About the role

We are looking for an experienced Travel Agency Operations Manager to lead day-to-day booking operations, vendor relationships, and service delivery for EMA's corporate and premium clients. This is not a call centre or case management role - those functions sit with EMA's existing assistance centres in Malaysia. This role is focused on the travel agency side of the business: ticketing, GDS operations, supplier relationships, booking quality, and client servicing standards. You will be the operational back bone that turns EMA Travel from a concept into a functioning, professional travel agency - and you'll work closely with the founder to shape processes from day one.

Responsibilities

• Travel Agency Operations
• Own end-to-end booking operations: flights, hotels, ground transport, and ancillary services
• Manage GDS systems and ticketing infrastructure (e.g. Amadeus, Sabre, or Galileo)
• Ensure booking accuracy, fare optimisation, and adherence to corporate travel policies
• Establish and maintain SOPs for booking, rebooking, cancellations, and refunds
• Vendor& Supplier Management
• Negotiate and manage relationships with airlines, hotels, ground transport providers, and consolidators
• Source competitive net fares and corporate rates to protect margin
• Manage relationships with the GDS provider and any travel technology vendors
• Client Service Delivery
• Define and uphold service standards for corporate and premium clients
• Act as the operational escalation point for booking-related client issues
• Work with the founder on onboarding new corporate accounts operationally (travel policies, billing setup, reporting)
• Cross-Functional Coordination with EMA Malaysia Assistance Centres
• Build the operating handoff between travel bookings and EMA's 24/7 assistance/case management teams in Malaysia
• Ensure Journey Shield insurance is correctly attached and documented on every booking
• Define clear escalation protocols for when a travel disruption becomes a medical or security case
• Process& Systems Build
• Design booking workflows, quality controls, and reporting dashboards from scratch
• Recommend and help implement any travel booking tools or platforms needed to scale
• Track key operational metrics: booking volume, insurance attachment rate, error rates, turnaround times
• Compliance& Licensing
• Ensure the agency operates in compliance with IATA/travel agency licensing requirements
• Maintain accurate financial and booking records for audit and reporting purposes

Requirements

• Essential
• Minimum 5+ years' experience in travel agency operations, with demonstrated experience managing a travel agency or a travel agency operations team (not just working within one)
• Strong working knowledge of GDS systems (Amadeus, Sabre, Galileo, or equivalent)
• Proven experience managing airline, hotel, and ground transport supplier relationships
• Experience with corporate/B2B travel accounts, not purely leisure/retail
• Strong understanding of travel agency licensing, IATA accreditation, and ticketing compliance
• Comfortable operating in a lean, founder- led start up environment - building processes from scratch rather than inheriting them
• Preferred
• Experience integrating travel insurance products into booking workflows
• Prior exposure to corporate duty-of-care, travel risk management, or medical/security assistance services
• Experience working with or alongside a call center /24/7 operations team
• Regional experience across Singapore, Malaysia, or wider Southeast Asia
• Personal Attributes
• Builder mentality - energised by setting up something new, not just running something established
• High attention to detail; travel bookings and insurance attachment leave no room for error
• Strong vendor negotiation instincts and commercial awareness of margin
• Comfortable working cross-functionally with medical/security operations teams who are not travel specialists
• What Success Looks Like (First 6Months)
• Booking operations, SOPs, and quality controls fully documented and running
• Clear, tested handoff process between EMA bookings and EMA Malaysia assistance centres
• 100% Journey Shield insurance attachment rate on eligible bookings
• First 3-5 pilot corporate accounts onboarded and serviced to a professional standard
• Supplier/vendor agreements in place for core airlines, hotels, and grou

Additional Information

About EMA Travel EMA Travel is EMAGlobal's new B2B travel concierge platform, integrating corporate travel booking with EMA's existing medical assistance, security response, and JourneyShield insurance infrastructure. We serve corporate clients, premium travelers, and institutional accounts who need more than a ticket - they need a protected journey. This is a founding operational hire. You will build and own the travel agency operating engine that allows Chiron to scale, while EMA's 24/7 assistance centres in Malaysia handle medical and security case operations.

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