About the Role
The Operational Lead APAC – Events is responsible for leading the day-to-day delivery of Event Travel and Events operations across the region, ensuring a consistent, high-quality and commercially driven service. This hybrid leadership role combines strategic oversight, team leadership, client ownership, and hands-on operational delivery, ensuring ensuring both operational excellence and strong team performance. It plays a critical part in scaling the Australia and broader APAC operations while aligning with global standards.
What You'll Do
- Lead the day-to-day delivery of Events and Event Travel operations across Australia and APAC, ensuring a consistent, high-quality client experience.
- Own and deliver a portfolio of complex events and group travel programmes, ensuring projects are delivered on time, within budget, and to client expectations.
- Remain actively involved in the hands-on management of key accounts, strategic clients, and high-value projects.
- Oversee group travel logistics and event operations across Australia and APAC, including air, accommodation, and supplier management for groups of varying size
- Act as the senior escalation point for operational and client issues, ensuring swift and effective resolution.
- Lead, mentor, and develop a regional team, fostering a high-performing, collaborative, and accountable culture.
- Establish and manage team and individual objectives, providing ongoing performance management.
- Oversee workforce planning, resource allocation, recruitment, onboarding, and training to support business growth and service delivery requirements.
- Build and maintain trusted relationships with clients and suppliers, acting as a senior consultant and strategic advisor across key accounts.
- Lead client meetings, business reviews, and strategic discussions to ensure alignment with client objectives and expectations.
- Drive commercial performance through effective budgeting, supplier negotiations, cost management, revenue optimisation, and financial oversight.
- Ensure accurate and timely financial processes, including invoicing, reconciliation, and event budget management.
- Implement and champion standardised processes, systems, and best practices to improve scalability, efficiency, and operational excellence.
- Collaborate with global stakeholders and cross-functional teams to ensure service consistency, knowledge sharing, and alignment with broader business objectives.
This role is instrumental in shaping and growing Navan's Events and Event Travel capabilities across APAC. By leading high-performing teams, strengthening client partnerships, and driving operational excellence, you'll directly contribute to business growth, client satisfaction, and the continued expansion of Navan's global events offering.
What we’re looking for:
- Proven experience in Events and Group Travel operations, including group travel logistics
- Demonstrated people leadership experience, ideally within a regional or multi-market team
- Strong working knowledge of GDS systems (Sabre preferred) and travel booking processes
- Experience in managing large, complex event programmes, including multi-destination or high-volume attendee movements
- Sound knowledge of event management platforms (e.g. Cvent)
- Strong commercial acumen with a track record of driving revenue and profitability
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills
- Ability to manage multiple complex projects simultaneously
- High attention to detail with strong organisational capability
Skills Required
- Proven experience in Events and Group Travel operations, including group travel logistics
- Demonstrated people leadership experience
- People leadership experience within a regional or multi-market team
- Strong working knowledge of GDS systems
- Experience with Sabre
- Experience managing large, complex event programmes, including multi-destination or high-volume attendee movements
- Sound knowledge of event management platforms (e.g., Cvent)
- Strong commercial acumen with a track record of driving revenue and profitability
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills
- Ability to manage multiple complex projects simultaneously
- High attention to detail with strong organisational capability
What the Team is Saying
Navan Compensation & Benefits Highlights
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Healthcare Strength — The package includes medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents, along with mental health resources such as Headspace. Additional protections like disability and life insurance and options like FSA are described.
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Parental & Family Support — Paid parental leave is specified as 16 weeks for the birthing parent and 10 weeks for the non‑birthing parent, with family medical leave also available. Supportive amenities such as an onsite Mother’s Room and company‑sponsored family events are included.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Flexible/unlimited vacation and generous PTO structures are highlighted, alongside paid holidays and sick time. Bereavement leave is also offered across many locations.
Navan Insights
What We Do
Navan (Nasdaq: NAVN) is the leading all-in-one business travel, payments, and expense management platform that makes travel easy for frequent travelers. From finding flights and hotels to automating expense reconciliation, with 24/7 support along the way, Navan delivers an intuitive experience travelers love and finance teams rely on. See how Navan customers benefit and learn more at navan.com.
Why Work With Us
At Navan, we’re never satisfied with the status quo, and we know breakthrough ideas come from diverse perspectives. We are committed to cultivating a workplace that reflects the diversity of the customers we serve while fostering leadership and innovation.
Gallery
Navan Offices
Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
In-person connections is the foundation of Navan, the connections forged through face-to-face interactions improve company culture and what we can achieve together. We operate on a hybrid working model, which we define as four days a week in-office.
