It wasn’t so long ago that booking a trip to see the Eiffel Tower, stroll down New York’s iconic Madison Avenue or feel the sand between our toes on Copacabana Beach was simply a matter of a few taps on our smartphone. In fact, that’s what we do at Booking.com. We make it easier for everyone to experience the world. And while that world might feel a little farther away right now, we’re busy preparing for when the world is ready to travel once more. Across our offices worldwide, we continue to innovate. To solve for some of the most complex challenges in travel and technology, and to plan for the exciting developments that lie ahead. With strategic long-term investments into what we believe the future of travel can be, we are opening up new career opportunities that will have a strong impact on our mission.We are united in the belief that our very human desire to explore the planet’s beauty and discover more about other people and cultures will endure. The world is waiting for us. Together, we will be ready.

With over 1.6 million room nights booked every day, accommodation represents the largest share of our business to date. We are responsible for accommodation growth, with clear ownership of all marketing, product and supply related to accommodations. Our mission is to deliver the best customer experience and most varied selection of properties.

The Accommodations Business Unit plays a vital role in the company’s future success and has many processes / mutual KPIs and relationships to manage and maintain with other Business Units and Functions. The Business Operations team in Accommodations is responsible for the governance and programme management of strategic initiatives within the unit and the unit’s dependencies with other Business Units and Functions across the company - essentially establishing the connective tissue between strategy and operational execution.

The Program Manager Accommodations will be part of the Business Operations team and is responsible for the governance and E2E program management of several streams of work (or portfolio’s) within Accommodations. The Program Manager will partner with various teams across the company to support, and proactively work with them, to facilitate the work occurring between them and other business units and centralized functions. The Program Manager will support the teams in identifying and managing the relevant dependencies in order to minimize risks and challenges.

First and foremost, the Program Manager will ensure that the team's roadmaps/plans focus on agreed business priorities, dependencies and strategies, and they deliver against the shared objectives and main activities with key milestones that have been set by the Accommodations Leadership Team.

B.Responsible

• Lead independently:
  • High complexity (strategic/ critical priority) end-to-end (E2E) projects
  • Multiple medium complexity projects with global impact (cross-functional) from scoping to execution, analysis, recommendation and implementation
• Responsible with limited to no supervision to define scope, kick-off, manage and execute every phase of complex department programs, specifically:
  • Drive vision for initiative/program towards clear business objectives, scope, requirements & success criteria
  • Create clear planning documents and roadmaps together with involved teams, including setup and maintenance of dependency management
  • Establish a solid governance routine which involves (sr) mgmt updates and reporting. Holds stakeholders and business partners accountable of next steps and objectives and proactively identifies risks and issues
  • Enables teams & leaders to make quality decisions and supports prioritization exercises
• The scope of the roles goes beyond program management. Strategic and business thinking is required to improve the quality of all programs and initiatives.
• Establish a productive working relationship between Accommodations and other Units / Functions to deliver against our strategy.
• Support the delivery of Accommodations strategy through an actively managed roadmap. Create clear planning documents together with relevant stakeholders.
• With limited supervision, identify opportunities to improve the impact & experience for our customers (internal or external), partners and our business, translating this into a business cases.
• Show best practice behaviours on project management methodology.
• Supports the budget and planning yearly cycle, driving some workstreams
• Set up and run cadence for regular business performance review (e.g., MBR, QBR) at department level, supporting the creation of reports for the leadership team.

B.Skilled

• Strong project management skills/experience (minimum of 5-8 years) including experience with a range of different methodologies and techniques. Preferably having a background in Agile Project management, PMI certification and / or LEAN.
• Proven track record to independently lead high complexity (end-2-end) projects, drive multiple medium complexity projects and/or manage program portfolio of projects.
• Have a solid business understanding, independently use quantitative and qualitative data to drive decision making.
• Analytical skills and mastering data handling and measuring success, ability to tell a clear story with data/insights.
• Change management experience & mind-set.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, focused on collaboration.
• Strong stakeholder management, building and maintaining lasting relationships and connections with diverse teams, across the organisation and outside.
• Effectively communicate including large audiences.
• Ability to influence and steer leadership, senior management and groups.
• Ability to break up a complex problem into actionable and easy to understand solutions.
• Able to function well within ambiguity and in a constantly changing environment.
• Experience in Product development and/or Operations is a plus.