Manager, Catering Product

**Description**

**Being part of Air Canada is to become part of an iconic Canadian symbol, recently ranked the best Airline in North America. Let your career take flight by joining our diverse and vibrant team at the leading edge of passenger aviation.**

Air Canada's guiding brand principles - Flight Path - puts the customer at the centre of everything we do. A welcoming, thoughtfully designed, and loyalty-building customer experience, supported by glowing-hearted hospitality, is critical to executing on the company's customer-centric vision.

Reporting to the Director, Inflight Product, this role's primary responsibility will be overseeing the catering products and services offered to airline passengers, ensuring they align with our brand values and customer satisfaction goals. Additionally, you will play a vital role in managing the onboard buy on board retail program, driving the development, implementation, and management of initiatives to enhance the overall retail experience for passengers.

Collaborative relationships with operational groups and business partners are key to the success of this job. Working closely with their peers in the Inflight, Finance and Catering Operations teams, the Manager, Catering Product will develop the catering product that support Air Canada's customer experiences goals and commercial strategy, while ensuring innovation, excellence, implementation consistency and quality assurance.

**Key Functions & Accountabilities**
**Catering Product**
- Product Development & Menu Planning:

- Lead the development of catering products, considering diverse passenger preferences, dietary restrictions, and cultural considerations.
- Work closely with catering partners to plan menus that align with airline branding, commercial strategy, and passenger expectations.
- Ensure menu variety, taking into account different flight durations, regions, culinary trends and passenger demographics.
- Conduct meal presentations with caterers and support new station start-ups.
- Create and maintain documentation associated with meal development; meal grids, catering documentation, onboard cabin crew serving instructions and billing files.
- Vendor Management:

- In partnership with Strategic Procurement, lead the catering product tender process, including specification requirements, vendor review and selection, AFC presentation.
- Manage relationships with catering suppliers, ensuring they meet quality, safety, and regulatory standards.
- Negotiate contracts, pricing, and terms with vendors to optimize value and maintain cost-effectiveness.
- Customer Feedback Analysis:

- Collect and analyze customer feedback on catering services.
- Use insights to continuously improve and refine catering offerings, addressing any areas of concern or opportunities for enhancement.
- Cost Management:

- Develop and manage budgets for catering products, optimizing costs while maintaining high-quality standards.
- Identify opportunities for cost savings and process efficiencies.

**Retail Buy on Board Program**
- Program Development:

- Identify, analyze and evaluate software and hardware that optimize the purchase experience for crew and passengers.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to design and implement retail programs that align with the airline's brand and customer experience objectives.
- Benchmark industry trends, pricing fluctuations and competitor offerings to ensure a differentiated and financially sustainable program.
- Implement initiatives to enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty through retail offerings.
- Sales Strategy & Vendor Management:

- In conjunction with In-Flight service team & retail partners, develop and sales strategies to optimize revenue from onboard retail services.
- Work closely with airline partners and vendors to negotiate favorable terms, pricing, and contracts.
- Build and maintain strong relationships with retail vendors and partners.
- Monitor vendor performance, resolve issues, and explore opportunities for collaboration.
- Budget Oversight:

- Develop and manage budgets for retail program, ensuring cost-effectiveness and a positive return on investment.
- Data Analysis and Reporting:

- Utilize data analytics to track and analyze retail performance metrics.
- Generate regular reports for stakeholders, providing insights into sales trends, customer preferences, and the overall success of retail program.

**Qualifications**
- Bachelor's or master's degree in business administration, airline Strategic Sourcing and/or Economics is an asset.
- Minimum 5 years' experience in management consulting, product management, food/culinary field or in-flight service catering & logistics, or the equivalent
- Proven experience in retail management, preferably within the airline industry is an asset.
- Experience managing complex projects with multiple stakeholders and be able to develop and execute project plans within scope, timeline, and budget.
- Excellent communication and inte