General Manager, Operations Transformation

**Work type**:
Full Time**Location**:
Brisbane**Job type**:
Consulting & Strategy, Airline & Network Operations, Senior Management**Applications close**:
**General Manager, Operations Transformation**:
Hello. We’re Virgin Australia. We’re the airline that’s always done things a little different. Our way. The Virgin way. We’re on a mission to make flying better than ‘nice’. And to do that, it takes a team of talented people who are passionate about customer experience, doing the right thing always, with a focus on safety - in the air, on the ground and in our workplaces. A team who values real diversity and inclusion, in a big brand with big ambitions.

**What you’ll be doing**

This is an exciting, newly created role that will report directly into our COO. The objective of the General Manager, Operations Transformation role is to support the COO with two primary responsibilities:

- Developing a consolidated Transformation Plan, encompassing all proposed Transformational Change across the Operations division, including creation and sponsorship of an Implementation Plan through FY26;
- Ensuring Operational Excellence - working with all the GMs in Operations, to ensure that the right skills are in place to deliver effective process redesign, as well as drive efficiency, quality, and best practice.

There are several opportunities to innovate and transform the Virgin Australia (VA) operational landscape using process and technology. VA needs to focus on these opportunities to maintain and further extend its competitive edge, while shaping the future of our operations structure and cost base.

The GM Transformation, Operations is responsible for identifying and implementing improvement opportunities in all Operational areas, managing major change initiatives, and supporting the delivery of significant operations transformation programmes of work, including the tracking, and reporting of benefit realisation to ELT and Board.

**Further responsibilities include**:

- Responsible for planning and defining the cost budget for the Operations Transformation team
- Responsible for tracking/measuring actual spend and ensure alignment with approved budget. Take corrective/preventative actions as required
- Accurate and timely reporting on benefit realisation of all transformation initiatives
- Drive a “low cost” mindset and approach, whilst meeting defined business objectives
- Define and continuously improve the team structure, roles, and responsibilities
- Lead the division in strategic thinking and planning exercises
- Plan, prioritise, allocate work to various teams, managers, and team members. Define targets for each area
- Foster a collaborative, safe, passionate and fun team environment, living the Virgin Australia Values
- Ensure effectiveness of cross departmental and divisional communication to ensure critical information is available to all stakeholders
- Establish and manage Strategic initiatives across Operations from assessment to implementation
- Continually work to identify improvements in operations to drive improved safety and operational performance
- Participate in wider business engagement programs including regular two-way communications forums where stream strategic plans intersect with Operational Transformation delivery, covering flight operations business performance and strategic plans
- Drive a collaborative cross functional fast paced and dynamic working environment
- Define strategy for digital operations transformation and develop a roadmap with investment cases where appropriate to implement strategy and plan over multi year time horizon
- Programme Delivery - responsibility for the successful delivery of the operations transformation programmes / project portfolio, including a large range of projects of varying sizes and complexities.
- Ownership of the Operational PMO
- Ensure programmes / projects are delivered according to agreed budget / time / scope
- Develop, resource and maintain appropriate management processes, communication and information systems to support operational transformation
- Establish/reassess and/or collaborate on KPIs inc. but not limited to:

- Cost (capex / opex / fuel saving, automation etc)
- NPS / Customer Satisfaction / Complaints
- System Performance / reliability
- Employee Engagement

**You’ll be great in this role if you**
- Have extensive experience in leadership roles that report directly into Executive Leadership Teams
- Have at least 5+ years’ experience in an operationally focused role, ideally within aviation
- Know Business Strategy and the frameworks around crafting strategies that deliver on financial and organisation goals
- Have a strong ability with numbers and you can leverage off data insights, to drive strategic decisions for the business
- Have worked for large, complex, corporate businesses, ideally in a listed environment
- Communicate exceptionally well across all levels of a business. You have the ability to craf