Job Description

Synopsis
At Etihad, delivering exceptional guest experiences is an integral part of who we are. The Head of Guest Support & Relationships plays a pivotal role in shaping how we recover service failures, manage guest feedback, and deliver compassionate, efficient support across every touchpoint.
This leadership role oversees the strategic direction and operational delivery of our global Guest Relations function and outsourced contact centre network. You'll champion innovation, quality, and accountability across internal teams and vendor partnerships, ensuring every interaction reflects Etihad's brand values and commitment to service excellence.
If you are a seasoned operations leader with a passion for customer experience, stakeholder collaboration, and performance transformation, this is your opportunity to make a lasting impact on our guests worldwide.
Accountabilities

• Strategy & Vision: Define and implement a long-term Guest Support strategy aligned with Etihad's service recovery philosophy and brand promise.
• Operational Leadership: Lead global Guest Relations operations, including complaint handling, baggage claims, and disruption management, across both in-house and outsourced teams.
• Vendor & BPO Governance: Own the full lifecycle of vendor performance, including setting KPIs and SLAs, managing compliance, resolving risks, and driving commercial alignment across BPO partnerships.
• Performance Insights & Improvement: Develop and manage centralized performance dashboards and analytics to improve NPS, D-Sat, FCR, and root cause resolution across guest-facing channels.
• Service Standards & Quality: Define, monitor, and uphold service quality standards across all guest recovery and contact centre operations, ensuring consistency with Etihad's brand and regulatory requirements.
• Digital Transformation: Drive automation and digital enablement initiatives in collaboration with IT and Transformation teams to enhance complaints and support journeys.
• Leadership & Capability Building: Inspire and develop a high-performing, geographically distributed team, including internal leaders, SMEs, and vendor staff, while building talent pipelines for future growth.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Act as a senior liaison with Legal, Procurement, Airport Services, Network Operations, and other departments to address systemic issues and embed guest-centric thinking across the business.
• Executive Engagement: Present strategic insights, business cases, and service recovery trends to the Executive Leadership Team to drive continuous improvement and innovation.
• Crisis & Escalation Management: Lead the function's response to high-profile complaints, regulatory escalations, and guest recovery efforts during disruption or crisis scenarios.

Education & Experience

• Minimum 12 years of experience in guest support, contact centre operations, or customer experience leadership.
• Proven expertise in BPO/vendor management, SLA governance, and contract performance oversight.
• Strong background in guest satisfaction metrics (NPS, FCR, DSAT, etc.) and operational performance improvement.
• Demonstrated experience influencing cross-functional stakeholders and leading large, multi-site teams.
• University degree is preferred.
• COPC certification or Six Sigma Green Belt is preferred.
• PMP or equivalent project management certification is an advantage.

About Etihad Airways
Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, was formed in 2003 and quickly went on to become one of the world's leading airlines. From its home in Abu Dhabi, Etihad flies to passenger and cargo destinations in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia and North America. Together with Etihad's codeshare partners, Etihad's network offers access to hundreds of international destinations. In recent years, Etihad has received numerous awards for its superior service and products, cargo offering, loyalty programme and more. All this ties into Etihad's ambitious Journey 2030 strategy. The airline plans to double its fleet size and triple the number of customers over the next six years as it sets out to be the airline everyone wants to fly!
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