Head of Business Applications

Collinson is the global, privately-owned company dedicated to helping the world to travel with ease and confidence. The group offers a unique blend of industry and sector specialists who together provide market-leading airport experiences, loyalty and customer engagement, and insurance solutions for over 400 million consumers.

Collinson is the operator of Priority Pass, the world’s original and leading airport experiences programme. Travellers can access a network of 1,500+ lounges and travel experiences, including dining, retail, sleep and spa, in over 650 airports in 148 countries, helping to elevate the journey into something special. We work with the world’s leading payment networks, over 1,400 banks, 90 airlines and 20 hotel groups worldwide.

We have been bringing innovation to the market since inception – from launching the first independent global VIP lounge access Programme, Priority Pass to being the first to sell direct travel insurance in the UK through Columbus Direct and creating the first loyalty agency of its kind in the travel sector with ICLP. Today we still invest heavily in innovation to ensure that we continue to deliver superior customer experiences.

Key clients include Mastercard, American Express, Cathay Pacific, British Airways, LATAM, Flying Blue, Accor, EasyJet, HSBC, Chase, HDFC.

Our mission is focused on doing good beyond profit, which for us means we seek out opportunities for our people to share in our success and that we give back to the communities and people within which we work.

Never short of ambition, the success of our business is delivered through the diverse and talented team of over 2,200 global colleagues.

Purpose of the job

The Head of Business Applications (GBA) role joins our Global Business Systems Team

supporting applications, across our portfolio, including but not limited to MS Dynamics 365 F&O,

Workday (being implemented in phases from early 2026) and MS Office Applications in relation to

the Modern Workplace. The role reports into the Director of Global Business Applications

Users to be supported across our global offices, with core Finance users based in Cape Town.

Role is pivotal to remaining phases of the MS Dynamics 365 F&O Project being deployed as well

and further “run and maintain” support mode in the coming 12+ months, with less reliance on

external support partners.

To work / partner with our external support partners to further develop and maintain systems and

processes, including delivery enhancements

Explore the ongoing product enhancements that are delivered as part of both MS Dynamics and

Workday.

To review AI opportunities and how they can be used to streamline recurring / repetitive tasks as

well as utilising them as part of the support offering to the end users,

Drive further expansion of MSD across the globe to countries not in original phases of the project

To manage user support and training, troubleshooting, and problem solving

Key Responsibilities

Responsible for the integrity of including but not limited to MS Dynamics, Kofax OCR, Zoho,

Cascade, (Workday in the future), Docentric, Access Dimensions, Banking / Treasury systems

Responsible for the uptime of the applications, together with managing upgrades / enhancements.

Identify, propose and implement process improvements across key Finance processes, for

example across Purchase to Pay or Order to Cash

Management of the support team, including looking to develop the team in each of their roles

Ensure system permissions are in line with delegated authorities and approval limits

Ownership of the procedures to support an effective control environment for GBA systems

Support / lead various projects / BAU Enhancements and initiatives from a GBA perspective

Provide a professional and approachable point of contact for stakeholders

Support and where required to lead in Audits, both Internal and External

Ensure SLAs are tracked and met across Finance Applications and thereafter Workday.

Liaise with Group Finance, act as key finance partner for system support

Oversee the development of new applications, as well as manage technical support to users.

Knowledge, skills and experience required

Qualified Accountant and experience of Finance and HR applications

Possess strong analytical / problem-solving skills, work independently and in a team environment

Experience of succeeding in a deadline driven environment

Experience of high-volume businesses

Strong MS Office skills, especially Excel

Able to communicate confidently and effectively at all levels within an organisation

High level of accuracy and strong attention to detail

Proficiency in IT systems and software

Good communication and customer service skills

Ability to prioritize tasks and work independently

Strong verbal and written communication skills to effectively collaborate with technical and non-

technical stakeholders.

Previous experience in IT or application management roles is often preferred

Person Specification

Experience of managing a team of 4 to 5 individuals across global locations

Managing / directing the team with the ability to lead / direct operations and BAU Enhancements

Ability to provide input to the GBS RoadMap and understand how operations feed into it as well

Demonstrates strong organizational skills, working to strict deadlines

Commercially aware, delivers results and can identify opportunities for cost saving and efficiencies

Excellent communication, interpersonal, and collaboration skills

Demonstrates excellent technical skills and is an excellent problem solver

Good Team player, able to work with wide variety of stakeholders

Demonstrates good written communication skills, including documentation and correspondence

Demonstrates ability to be flexible and adaptable

Ability to work in a dynamic and fast paced environment

Organizational and leadership skills

We are focused on continually evolving our purpose driven, high performing culture, providing an environment where our people have the opportunity to achieve their full potential and do interesting and meaningful work. Our company values are: Take Action, Do the right thing, One team and Be insight led. These help guide everything we do internally in terms of how we think, act and interact, right through to how we deliver value to our customers and clients.

In your application, please feel free to note which pronouns you use (For example - she/her/hers, he/him/his, they/them/theirs, etc).

If you need any extra support throughout the interview process, then please email us at ukrecruitment@collinsongroup.com