Head of Innovation and Research

Job Description

SynopsisValue creator with innovative solutions to drive best practices of retailing and airline pricing with thoughtful leadership. Lead and manage the team responsible for evolving and administrating the RM & offer optimization ecosystem. Design and implement processes, systems, and analytical models in areas of pricing, ancillaries, demand forecasting, inventory optimization and revenue integrity to drive incremental revenues and improve business team efficiency. Generate buy-in and collaborate with internal stakeholders and external service providers to drive innovation to create value for the organization with industry-first solutions. Research, assess and recommend cutting edge technologies/models applied in the RM space and lead proof of concepts implementation Accountabilities

• Define the strategy, lead the implementation and adoption of the RM technological ecosystem, ensuring business value generation.
• Lead transformation initiatives that deliver revenue uplift for Etihad, for all phases of the projects - ideation, building the models, converting models into solutions, conducting successful implementation and change management of the solution.
• Lead, mentor, coach, and empower teams to manage RM solutions stability and quality with the calibration of models, periodic system parameters review, and systems health diagnostics. Balance the existing systems management and maintain a long-term view work towards building future business capabilities.
• Ensure effective engagement between Solutions & Innovation team, market management, IT, and relevant stakeholders to define the priorities of product road map and deliver product roadmap as per the plan to deliver revenue benefits.
• Drive research and development of innovative solutions by active participation in industry forums and influence the product road maps of solution providers to match the strategic direction of Revenue Management. Collaborate with solution providers in customer engagement programs on subjects like willingness to pay, continuous pricing, and new evolving areas of research.
• Manage the capital and operating expenses budget of projects within the allocated budget prioritizing spend on valuecreation projects.

Education & Experience

• Bachelors degree Computer Science, Engineering, Statistics, Operations Research or Economics.
• Postgraduate degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Statistics, Operations Research, Economics, MBA or equivalent academic qualification
• Minimum 8 years of experience in Revenue Management commercial areas or operations research/systems areas within the aviation, hospitality, retail, or technology industries.
• Relevant experience leading a team of Data Scientists designing, implementing, and maintaining Operations Research and/or Data Science models used in commercial/operational processes.
• Business oriented professional with deep analytical skills, innovative and entrepreneurial mindset.
• Desirable: experience in the usage of data science programming languages (R, Python) and cloud-based data warehouse (Azure synapse analytics, Google Big query, Snowflake).
• Desirable: Experience in Dev-Ops and ML-Ops methodologies and tools.

About Etihad AirwaysEtihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, was formed in 2003 and quickly went on to become one of the worlds leading airlines. From its home in Abu Dhabi, Etihad flies to passenger and cargo destinations in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia and North America. Together with Etihads codeshare partners, Etihads network offers access to hundreds of international destinations. In recent years, Etihad has received numerous awards for its superior service and products, cargo offering, loyalty programme and more. Etihad is recognised as one of the worlds leading airlines in response to COVID-19 and was the first airline in the world to fully vaccinate its crew on board. Etihad sees tackling the climate crisis as the most important issue of our time, and through strategic partnerships with major global aviation brands and OEMs, Etihad is relentless in its pursuit of industry decarbonisation. To learn more, visit

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About Company

Etihad Airways is the second flag carrier airline of the United Arab Emirates. Its head office is in Khalifa City, Abu Dhabi, near Abu Dhabi International Airport. Etihad commenced operations in November 2003. It is the second-largest airline in the UAE after Emirates. The name Etihad is Arabic for United.