Description

Responsibilities:

The Aviation Department is seeking an experienced Concession Assistant Manager to support key concession programs and initiatives with internal and external partners to advance strategic commercial and customer experience (CX) objectives in connection with 500+ terminal concessions at the Port Authority’s airports – Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), LaGuardia Airport (LGA), John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), and New York Stewart International Airport (SWF).

Under the supervision of the Manager, Concessions and Strategic Customer Experience this position serves a crucial role in supporting the guidance and direction of the Concessions & Strategic Customer Experience unit staff towards advancing strengthen compliance, industry intelligence, strategic analysis, business financing and customer experience initiatives. This will improve customer perceptions and maximizing revenue generation in the Aviation Department.

Reports to the Manager, Concessions a Strategic Customer Experience, the Assistant Manager, Concession & Strategic Customer Experience (Principal Property Representative) is responsible to support leading the unit in cross-function expertise and in ongoing complex negotiations. The selected candidate will also support the overall management and administration of central agreement responsibilities including administration agreements execution; prepare authorization documents; coordinate all aspects of negotiations and development with other agency staff such as Law, Comptroller’s, Audit, and Risk Management; and act as a liaison between airport staff and concessionaires to resolve outstanding issues, develop strategies to implement business policy and customer service initiatives, and establish business relationships with stakeholders and industry partners.

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  Assist the Concessions Manager and the Aviation Commercial Officer (ACO) in the development and implementation of strategies, policies, standards and provide guidance to external stakeholders.
• Prepare executive and stakeholder briefings and internal management reports including responses to executive requests for concessions statistics and assemble customized data analysis & visualizations, as requested.
• Provide strategic guidance for the preparation of annual Revenues Budget and Long-Range Revenue Forecasts including validating assumptions made with respect to continued concession operations and other variances.
• Annually review portfolio assignments across staff to confirm appropriateness for level of position, workload balance, and development opportunities.
• Mentor property reps on concessions business deals, expectations and share knowledge of account practices.
• Prepare analytics and presentation documents, including an annual “Year in Review” report highlighting concessions activity at our facilities, “Quarterly Briefings” sharing industry trends with all stakeholders, as well as required data analytics and business intelligence reports.
• Provide a wide range of project management and support including relationship building, collaboration among internal and external airport staff, managing impending deadlines, and driving initiatives to completion in a fast-paced environment.
• Maintain weekly updates to unit communication meetings and task tracking platforms.
• Address and coordinate the resolution of all escalated tenant issues and enforce the terms and conditions of all assigned agreements by a pre-determined date that meets the needs of the material stakeholders.
• Ensure availability to serve as Concession SME for special projects and initiatives such as various solicitation processes, RFPs, forum panels, industry committees, conferences or working groups as assigned.
• Collaborate with Commercial and CX Strategy to interpret customer and sales Data Interpretation data reports, such as ASQ scores, and identify and address specific Root Cause Analysis causes of low performance within concessions aligned with revenue.
• Manage agreements for the provision of services aimed at driving a world-class customer experience at the Port Authority’s airports, airport terminal concessions direct lease agreement EWR TB through Fraport Airports (the Port Authority contracted concession manager for Terminal B), to continue developing, leasing, and ensuring a high level of service in each terminal’s ever-changing retail, food and beverage concessions mix.
• Negotiate, prepare, and coordinate timely concession agreement execution at assigned Port Authority’s Airport terminals, including those for Concession Management Companies/Developers:
• Serve as a liaison / primary point of contact between the Port Authority, tenants, and contractors.
• Coordinate with Concession Program manager on operational issues and requests.
• Administer and coordinate the Tenant Alteration Application (TAA) process.
• Manage reports, performance, and compliance with the provisions of agreements, including tracking payments.
• Ensure timely responses to customer inquiries and complaints.
• Amend / supplement existing lease agreements, lease exhibits, and permits.
• Review audit findings with permittees and issuing procedural and policy statements to account representatives.
• Drive change to improve the services provided to customers.

Qualifications:

Candidates must present the following qualifications to be considered eligible for this position:

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration or a related field from an accredited college or university or a minimum of at least 10 years of experience in lease negotiations, contract management, concessions management, or related financial analysis experience.
• Experienced in performing business negotiation related to property management and services business transactions.
• Minimum 3 years of experience in an airport setting.

Desired:

Ideal candidates will present the following profile:

• Previous experience with airport concessions.
• Demonstrated staff and people management skills and experience.
• Advanced proficiency in MS Suite (Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Teams, SharePoint, Outlook, etc.).
• Any experience with any data management tools or databases.
• Experienced in utilizing project management techniques with the ability to establish plans, set priorities, coordinate activities, delegate tasks and responsibilities, and manage resources to achieve goals.
• Demonstrated customer service focus, with a track record of driving business decisions that improve the customer experience.
• Demonstrate effective oral, written and communication skills to support recommended solutions to senior management and others.
• General knowledge of policies and procedures related to the leasing and capital authorization process in a government agency.
• Experienced in decision making, problem solving and conflict resolution.
• Working knowledge of SAP Real Estate Module software including data entry and reconciliation and Salesforce software programs.
• Demonstrates comfort and awareness of emerging trends in technology, connected retail experience, digital apps, and passenger behavior to effectively integrate concessions with a connected airport experience.
• Thorough knowledge of Port Authority policies and procedures relating to the leasing and capital authorization process.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively interact with senior level management of various disciplines both inside and outside the Port Authority.
• Demonstrated experience working collectively with colleagues in the implementation of the business-related goals and objectives.