Job Description

Role Overview

• Audit the legacy setup
• Map out new operational flows
• Potentially support building business cases for future headcount and operational structures

Key Responsibilities & Deliverables

Flights Settlement Architecture

• Financial Target Operating Model (TOM):
  Design the end-to-end operational blueprint for both Merchant of Record (MoR) and Agency/Pass-Through payment models
• Clearinghouse & IATA Mapping:
  Define requirements for onboarding onto ARC (Airline Reporting Corporation) and IATA BSP (Billing and Settlement Plan) globally
• Exception & Leakage Architecture:
  Map workflows for high-risk aviation financial events such as:
  • Involuntary refunds
  • Schedule changes
  • Chargebacks
  • Agency Debit Memos (ADMs) mitigation
• Cross-Functional Translation:
  Translate airline finance regulations into clear business requirements for Core Tech, Product, Treasury, Tax, and Legal teams
• Risk & Collateral Framework:
  Support Treasury with:
  • Financial exposure risk assessments
  • Bank guarantees
  • Cash float requirements
  • Multi-currency FX management

Enterprise Integration & Stakeholder Alignment

• Corporate Finance Bridging:
  Partner with Treasury, Tax, Internal Audit, Accounting, and Order-to-Cash teams to align settlement flows with corporate controls
• Legacy Evaluation:
  Audit existing flight workflows to determine reuse potential

Operational Gap Sizing & Business Case Definition

• Capacity & Capability Analysis:
  Identify gaps in tools, systems, headcount, and expertise required for airline cash cycles (e.g. BSP remittance, ADM disputes)
• Business Case Creation:
  Develop executive-level business cases and target team structures to secure investments

Required Experience & Expertise

• Aviation FinTech Background:
  10+ years in financial operations within travel distribution (OTA, airline, GDS, or consolidator)
• Clearinghouse Mastery:
  Deep expertise in IATA BSP, ARC, NDC, and settlement-with-order frameworks
• Enterprise Matrix Navigation:
  Proven experience operating across large, complex organisations
• Sizing & Strategy Toolkit:
  Strong analytical background in capacity planning, cost optimisation, and business case development
• Zero-to-One Experience:
  Track record of building flight financial back-office or reconciliation ecosystems from scratch
• Documentation Skills:
  Ability to create structured SOPs and process maps from complex global regulations
• Business Translator:
  Ability to translate finance processes into product and technical requirements

Contract Timeline & Deliverables

Months 1-2: Discovery & Alignment

• Global regulatory, IATA/ARC, and legal compliance requirement mapping
• As-is audit of legacy flight tech and corporate finance capabilities
• Identification of cross-functional dependencies

Months 3-4: Target Operating Model

• End-to-end Flight TOM
• Cash-flow architecture
• Currency hedging frameworks
• Settlement procedures aligned with corporate finance
• Collaboration with Product to translate into tech requirements

Months 5-6: Transition to Delivery

• Finalisation of SOPs
• Readiness training for internal teams
• Support handover to operational leads
• Operational gap analysis and resource sizing report
• Business case for required teams and tools

Months 7-9: Handover

• Full handover to permanent Operations lead