Interim Head of Flight Settlement & Financial Operations

Location: Amsterdam (Hybrid)
Contract: 6-9 months
Industry: Travel / Aviation / FinTech

The Opportunity

We are partnering with a leading global digital platform undergoing a major expansion into Flights, building its financial operations capability from the ground up.

This is a high-impact, zero-to-one engagement where you will define how billions in global airline transactions are structured, settled, and controlled.

You will operate as the subject matter authority on flight settlement, designing the operational framework that underpins the entire Flights business, working at the intersection of aviation finance, payments, and enterprise-scale systems.

The Role

As Interim Head of Flight Settlement & Financial Operations, you will be responsible for designing and delivering the target operating model (TOM) for flight-related financial flows.

You will act as the bridge between:

• Aviation settlement frameworks (IATA BSP, ARC)
• Internal finance (Treasury, Tax, Accounting)
• Product & Engineering teams

This is a strategic build role, not a BAU operations position.

Key Responsibilities

Flight Settlement Architecture

• Design the end-to-end financial operating model across Merchant of Record and Agency models
• Define how funds flow between platform, airlines, and global clearinghouses
• Lead onboarding requirements for IATA BSP and ARC frameworks globally

Complex Financial Event Design

• Create operational frameworks for:
  • Refunds (voluntary & involuntary)
  • Schedule changes
  • Chargebacks
  • Agency Debit Memos (ADM)
• Develop controls to mitigate financial leakage and operational risk

Enterprise Integration

• Align flight settlement flows with:
  • Treasury
  • Tax
  • Accounting / GL
  • Internal Audit
• Ensure compliance with corporate finance standards and global regulations

Cross-Functional Translation

• Translate aviation financial rules into clear business and technical requirements
• Partner closely with Product and Engineering to enable execution

Gap Analysis & Scaling Strategy

• Evaluate current capabilities and identify operational gaps
• Define future-state team structures, tools, and processes
• Build business cases for headcount and investment

Your Profile

• 10+ years in aviation financial operations / travel fintech
• Deep expertise in:
  • IATA BSP / ARC
  • Airline settlement processes
  • GDS / OTA / airline finance environments
• Proven experience building financial operations or settlement frameworks from scratch
• Strong track record operating within complex, matrixed organisations
• Ability to translate complex regulatory environments into structured operating models and SOPs
• Highly analytical, with experience in capacity planning and operational design

Why Apply

• Opportunity to shape the financial backbone of a global Flights business
• High visibility, working with senior stakeholders across product, finance, and technology
• True greenfield environment with full ownership of design
• Collaborative, high-calibre international team

How to Apply

For a confidential discussion, please contact Katarzyna Beller-Wajer.