Data & Analytics Capability Lead managing enterprise analytics platforms and standards across U.S. Commercial organization. Collaborating with leaders to enable data - driven decision - making in a matrixed environment.
About the role
- Director of Strategic Supplier Relations at Thales, enhancing partnerships with seat manufacturers for in-flight entertainment. Leading commercial negotiations and aligning strategic initiatives in aviation.
Responsibilities
- Thales is looking for a Director, Strategic Supplier Relations to act as a key liaison between Thales In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) InFlyt Experience and aircraft seat-manufacturers.
- Develop and execute a strategic plan for partnerships and alliances with seat manufacturers (line-fit and retrofit) that align with Thales’s IFE/connectivity/cabin-experience roadmap and our airline customers’ needs.
- Identify, onboard and nurture key seat-manufacturer relationships: evaluate potential partners, build business cases, structure collaboration models.
- Work closely with internal Thales teams to ensure alignment of seat-partner initiatives with Thales’s IFE/connectivity solutions.
- Lead commercial negotiations and contract frameworks with seat partners.
- Serve as the key interface at major industry events / trade shows to promote Thales’s seat-partnership capability, build awareness and capture pipeline.
- Develop value propositions for airlines leveraging the seat + IFE/connectivity partnership.
- Monitor partnership performance: track key metrics, identify areas for improvement, and drive continuous enhancement of the partner ecosystem.
- Provide market intelligence on seat trends and ensure that Thales’s IFE/connectivity offerings remain aligned and competitively differentiated in cabin-seatings contexts.
- Collaborate with marketing/comms to craft joint partner campaigns, and ensure compliance with relevant aerospace, certification and safety standards across joint seat + Thales solutions.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree (Engineering, Business, Aviation or related) required; MBA or advanced business qualification preferred.
- 10+ years’ experience in aerospace or aviation in roles involving cabin interior/seat manufacturing, aircraft OEMs, IFE/connectivity or airline account management — with a track record of building/managing strategic partnerships.
- Strong commercial acumen: experience negotiating strategic contracts, alliance/joint-venture frameworks, bundling/commercial models;
- Excellent relationship and stakeholder-management skills: able to engage senior executives at seat-manufacturers, airlines and Thales internal leadership.
- Solid technical understanding of aircraft cabin interiors, seat-manufacturing constraints, line-fit vs retrofit business, cabin-integration and aircraft certification environment;
- Good knowledge of IFE/connectivity business in aviation and how that integrates with cabin/seat ecosystems.
- Knowledge of weight, volume, power, installation, maintenance, cost-of-ownership dynamics a plus.
- Strategic and analytical mindset: able to create business cases, evaluate market trends, prioritize opportunities and drive execution;
- Excellent communication and presentation skills; able to present compelling value propositions to airlines and seat-manufacturers;
- Willingness to travel internationally (to seat-manufacturers, airlines, trade shows, etc.).
- Strong collaboration skills: able to align internal cross-functional teams (product, engineering, retrofit, business development) and external partners;
- Results-oriented, self-driven and able to manage multiple initiatives in parallel.
- Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States for any employer at the time of hire. This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship or for assuming sponsorship of an employment visa now or in the future.
Benefits
- Elective Health, Dental, Vision, FSA/HSA, Voluntary Life and AD&D, Whole Group Life w/LTC, Critical Illness, Hospital Indemnity, Accident Insurance, Legal Plan, Identity Theft, and Pet Insurance
- Retirement Savings Plan after 30 days of employment with a company contribution and a match, and with no vesting period
- Company paid holidays and Paid Time Off
- Company provided Life Insurance, AD&D, Disability, Employee Assistance Plan, and Well-being Program
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