Interim Head of Flight Financial Operations

Interim Head of Flight Settlement & Financial Operations

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

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
.

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.

• 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

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

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

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

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

• 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

• 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

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