Consulting Manager, Airlines Industry

The Company

Cognizant (NASDAQ:CTSH) is a leading provider of information technology, consulting, and business process outsourcing services, dedicated to helping the world's leading companies build stronger businesses. Headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey (U.S.), Cognizant has over 340,000 employees as of January 2025. Cognizant is a member of the NASDAQ-100, the S&P 500, the Forbes Global 1000, and the Fortune 500 and is ranked among the top performing and fastest growing companies in the world.

Cognizant Consulting

At Cognizant, our consultants orchestrate the capabilities to truly change the game across strategy, design, technology and industry/functional knowledge to deliver insight at speed and solutions at scale. Our consulting services elevate the unique abilities and business aspirations of customers and employees and build relationships based on trust and value.

Role Overview:

The role involves collaborating with customers within the aviation industry (Airports Airlines Ground Handlers and Air Navigation Service Providers) to solve some of the most critical operational challenges that is affecting the industry. The Consulting Manager should be a proven IT business analyst within depth experience in managing requirements stakeholder engagement and demonstrate robust domain expertise across any retail/transport sector.

The Consulting Manager needs to have strong domain knowledge including areas such as customer & commercial (CRM, Loyalty, Selling/Servicing channels, etc.), Operations (crew management, flight operations, Airport operations, Aircraft handling, etc.), MRO & Cargo ( Maintenance support, cargo tracking, etc) and Back Office ( ERP, HR, Finance, etc,).

The role necessitates comprehensive necessary knowledge and experience in understanding and improving business processes and translating enhancements and business requirements into technological developments. The role requires leading customer / business operations workshops including workshops with senior management and operational colleagues.

The role requires the ability to work in Agile projects as Product Owner / Lead business Analyst. Effective communication is an essential skill for playing this role. The role is expected to contribute towards business development practice development (including mentoring team building and though leadership).

Responsibilities

• Business Development & Practice Growth:
• Participate in business development activities such as creating proposals and giving presentations.
• Share knowledge internally to foster growth and improve practice capabilities.

Client Engagement & Project Delivery:

• Engage with clients to understand their needs and gather project requirements.
• Help manage project timelines, milestones, and expectations.
• Work within agile environments, collaborating with product owners and team members.
• Assist in process mapping, defining user personas, and designing customer journeys.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure the successful implementation of solutions.

Functional & Technical Expertise:

• Provide insights to support the selection and implementation of technology solutions.
• Assist with data collection and analysis to inform decision-making.
• Help visualize data to ensure clients understand complex information clearly

Domain-Specific Responsibilities:

Airlines Practice:

• Assist with Passenger Experience Transformation projects such as Omni-Channel & PSS modernization, GDS ecosystem enhancement, loyalty program transformation, and next-gen contact center strategies, driving automated processes like AirAssist for improved refunds.
• Support Flight, Ground & Airport Operations by optimizing crew management, baggage handling, and operations control center efficiencies, while addressing challenges such as Irregular Operations (IROPS) to reduce flight disruptions and improve airport operations.
• Collaborate on Engineering Modernization initiatives such as modernizing MRO Systems, enhancing Predictive Maintenance, leveraging Digital Twins & IoT for real-time monitoring, and upgrading legacy systems like TPF for better operational integration.
• Contribute to Sustainability projects by supporting Sustainable Fleet Management, Waste Management Dashboards, and Sustainability Reporting to help airlines achieve eco-friendly and compliant operations.
• Help implement Data-Driven Modernization, such as Booking Data Management, Customer Data Platforms, and partner/provider data solutions to enhance customer insights and operational efficiency.
• Assist in Application & Platform Modernization to ensure airline systems are scalable, secure, and aligned with current technological standards, including initiatives in Infrastructure Modernization and Digital Engineering.

Key skills & experience:

• Extensive experience in delivering IT transformation projects.
• Ability to manage multiple stakeholders at various levels within client organisation.
• Ability to foresee risk identify dependencies and managing them in advance.
• Strong Communication Skills
• Team / interpersonal skills
• Analytical /Problem Solving skills.
• Experienced and credible in economically regulated business scenarios specifically Aviation.
• Experience in working with onsite/offshore model.
• Experience in delivering complex projects on time/on budget.