Chief Operating Officer

About Us

Travalyst is a not-for-profit organisation working to identify – and help bring about – the systemic changes needed in order for sustainable travel to be taken out of the niche, and into the mainstream.

We believe tourism can, and must, play a key role in achieving a sustainable future for our world; so we’re convening the key players, and catalysing the necessary action, to change the impact of travel, for good.  We are committed to being a driving force that redefines what it means to travel, helping everyone explore our world in a way that protects both people and places, and secures a positive future for destinations and local communities for generations to come.

We were founded in partnership with Booking (dot) com, Expedia, Google, Skyscanner, Trip (dot) com Group, Tripadvisor, and Visa. The Travalyst Coalition now includes eleven of the world’s leading companies and brands associated with travel working with us to make travel more sustainable.

Travalyst provides supportive, independent and neutral governance, empowering our Coalition of some of the biggest – and occasionally competing – travel companies and service providers to share data and accelerate change. The goal is to bring credible, consistent sustainability information to the mainstream, helping both travellers and travel companies make better, greener choices.

About the role

Travalyst is recruiting its first full-time COO. This is a broad role, supporting Travalyst’s CEO and a growing Executive Leadership team to enable delivery of this first-of-its-kind global initiative. Now in its 5th year, the Travalyst team and organisation is scaling quickly to drive progress and accelerate impact.

About you

You will be able to demonstrate a track record in successful organisational design and implementation, including the development of effective but adaptable systems and processes and their roll-out across a complex organisation with multiple partners and stakeholders. You will manage and lead on finance, governance and risk, ensuring that Travalyst is run according to the highest standards for a UK not-for-profit organisation. 

Proven scale-up operational experience, in a sustainability-focused organisation and/or a UK not-for-profit, is essential. Strong project management skills, enabling effective prioritisation and decision-making and excellence in delivery, would be of huge benefit in the role. 
 

Areas of responsibility: 

Governance, Legal & Risk

·       Be accountable for governance structures and processes, including reviewing and revising governance documentation annually

·       Ensure compliance with UK statutory and legal obligations 

·       Support the Travalyst Board and CEO to ensure effective risk management and mitigation 

·       Support CEO with preparation of Board packs and attend Board meetings as an Observer 

·       Act as Company Secretary 

·       Provide oversight of legal discussions and documentation, working with pro-bono legal team where needed

Financial Management

·       Oversight of financial management and administration, including near and longer-term financial planning, modelling, and cash flow management

·       Manage outsourced Finance Director, bookkeeper accountants and auditors for budgeting, statutory accounting, audit, payroll, and tax - and evolve the Finance function as the organisation scales

·       Support the CEO on funder management, leading on financial and operational aspects of fundraising, including leading grant application processes, budgeting and grant reporting

HR and Organisational Design

·       Oversight of HR management and administration, including resource planning and recruitment

·       Managed outsourced HR and recruitment consultants on professional development, culture & engagement, employee lifecycle management and recruitment initiatives

·       Evolve HR function as the organisation grows

·       Oversee workforce planning and recruitment for new hires supported by outsourced HR

·       Ensure compliance of all existing legal/ contractual agreements with employees, consultants and suppliers

Operations and Strategy

·       Support the CEO on the development of Travalyst’s annual strategic planning and lead on the accompanying operational plan

·       Support the CEO in managing Travalyst Coalition Partners, including acting as the relationship lead where required

·       Lead on Travalyst’s procurement process and manage key supplier relationships including all contracts, policies, and procedures

·       Support the team to evolve Travalyst’s operating model, develop and manage systems and processes to ensure successful delivery of ongoing workstreams and new projects or initiatives

Resourcing & Project Management

·       Lead on development and implementation of project management and delivery processes, ensuring excellence in delivery across project teams

·       Lead weekly touchpoints to prioritise resources and workload, and track progress against milestones

·       Focus and role model excellence in delivery through strong project management skills and ways of working 

IT

·       Lead the roll-out of new internal technology to support effective delivery 

·       Act as data protection officer (DPO) for the organisation, providing oversight and following best practice and regulation with regards to information, governance, data protection and adherence with UK GDPR

·       Provide oversight of IT and data security