The Specialty Travel & Events Business Operations team is built to solve our organization's most critical, emergent challenges across business, product, and operations. As a Manager-level individual contributor, you will have the unique opportunity to scope, design, and drive high-impact initiatives that support business growth, optimization, and stability. This is a role for a first-principles thinker. You are someone who can look at a highly complex business challenge, map out the unseen connections between teams and systems, and help design a creative, elegant path forward. You aren't just managing projects; you are critically evaluating how our business runs, leveraging data to challenge assumptions, and driving the hands-on execution of some of our most important strategic initiatives. What You'll Do * Drive Strategic Initiatives: Execute on high-impact, 0-to-1 operational initiatives end-to-end. Investigate complex, ambiguous problems, develop rigorous work plans, and drive day-to-day execution. * Solve Complex Systems Problems: Identify operational bottlenecks and help design scalable processes that allow cross-functional teams (Sales, Operations, Data Analytics, Finance, etc.) to work together seamlessly. * Synthesize Data into Strategy: Dig into raw business data (using Excel, SQL, or other systems) to reveal patterns and truths behind operational challenges. Translate these findings into clear, actionable recommendations for leadership and cross-functional partners. * Balance Trade-offs: Anticipate roadblocks and partner with leadership to find the right balance between strategic business goals and technical or financial constraints. * Manage Change and Execution: Clearly communicate progress, manage stakeholder alignment, and guide cross-functional teams through process changes without losing momentum. * Unblock and Accelerate: Anticipate technical bottlenecks, call out trade-offs between business desires and constraints, and keep project teams aligned and moving forward. What We’re Looking For * Experience: 4–6 years of experience in business operations, strategy, or a highly strategic cross-functional operations role in a fast-paced environment. * Influence Without Authority: Proven track record of managing cross-functional relationships, building alignment, and driving results across diverse teams without direct management authority. * Analytical Tooling: Strong comfort with data. You should be highly proficient in Excel/Google Sheets and comfortable using SQL (or eager to leverage it) to query databases, join tables, and extract your own insights. * Education: BA or BS degree (or equivalent practical experience). * Natural Systems Thinker: You intuitively see how different parts of an organization, workflow, and technology stack interconnect. You don't build temporary "band-aid" fixes; you design systems that hold complex, interdependent relationships in balance. * Intellectual Humility & Curiosity: You approach problems with a "beginner’s mind." You have the self-critical awareness to challenge your own initial assumptions, ask deeply thoughtful questions before forming a plan, and actively seek out diverse perspectives to find the best solution. * Data-Driven Critical Thinker: You don't make decisions based on gut feel alone. You are energized by messy, fragmented data, and you know how to ask the right questions, connect the dots, and find the narrative within a raw dataset. * High Momentum (Anti-"Swirl"): You move quickly and decisively. While you are thorough, you do not get caught in analysis paralysis or allow yourself to be dragged sideways by organizational noise. You know how to maintain focus and keep projects moving forward. * Collaborative & Growth-Minded: You love being in rooms with brilliant people who challenge you. Instead of feeling intimidated, you use those environments as fuel to grow, learn, and elevate your own capabilities. Preferred Experience * Prior experience in business operations or strategic program management in a high-growth tech environment. * Experience driving organizational change management alongside system or process rollouts. The posted pay range represents the anticipated low and high end of the compensation for this position and is subject to change based on business need. To determine a successful candidate’s starting pay, we carefully consider a variety of factors, including primary work location, an evaluation of the candidate’s skills and experience, market demands, and internal parity. For roles with on-target-earnings (OTE), the pay range includes both base salary and target incentive compensation. Target incentive compensation for some roles may include a ramping draw period. Compensation is higher for those who exceed targets. Candidates may receive more information from the recruiter. Pay Range $81,000—$180,000 USD Navan uses AI-assisted Automated Employment Decision Tool (Metaview) to assist with evaluating resumes against job qualifications for this role. All final decisions are made by human recruiters and hiring managers. Human oversight: Metaview does not automatically reject candidates or make final hiring decisions. Our recruiters and hiring managers review all outputs and make the final hiring decision regarding every application. * Your rights: If you prefer to have your application reviewed without AI assistance, you may request a human evaluation by entering your email here. Your decision to do so will not affect how your candidacy is evaluated. Please refer to our Candidate Privacy Notice for more information about our processing of personal data, and your rights.

Manager, Business Operations, Specialty Travel & Events

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