About the role
We’re looking for a Lounge & VIP Hospitality Manager to join the newly created Transformation & Commercial Strategy team at Edinburgh Airport. This is a senior position that will play a key role in identifying and executing new revenue initiatives, with a particular focus on evolving and overseeing Edinburgh Airport’s premium lounge offer.
The airport is at a really exciting point in its history as we look ahead to annual passenger numbers increasing to over 20 million by 2030 and even more beyond. To satisfy this growth, the footprint of the airport will expand across almost every area.
The Transformation & Commercial Strategy team will be laser-focused on ensuring that the major capital projects underway to deliver this transformation provide high quality space, in the right place and at the right time, to maximise the offering available to our diverse and growing passenger base. The team will also take the lead on exciting new commercial initiatives.
A key initiative is the opening of the first ever premium business lounge operated by Edinburgh Airport. The new lounge will open before the end of 2026 and is expected to welcome over 200,000 guests annually. The Lounge & VIP Hospitality Manager will be primarily responsible for ensuring the efficient, high-quality, commercially successful operation of the lounge.
The Lounge & VIP Hospitality Manager will be responsible for leading and optimising the airport’s hospitality and premium passenger services, with a particular focus on premium lounges. The role will be centred on maximising commercial performance, enhancing premium passenger experiences and ensuring lounges are designed and operated to deliver strong revenue, high satisfaction and operational efficiency.
Working as part of a high-performing Commercial Team, the Lounge & VIP Hospitality Manager will be responsible for leading and coordinating the outsourced lounge team on a day-to-day basis, ensuring high levels of engagement, service and operational performance.
They will actively manage revenue generation and operational costs, optimising EBITDA by overseeing supplier ordering, cost control, service, hospitality and excellence standards defined by Edinburgh Airport and agreed with the outsourced partner.
We’re looking for agile, enthusiastic individuals who are excited about joining a high-performing team with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to shape the future of an iconic national asset. This role is primarily based at Edinburgh Airport, with occasional travel as required to support commercial development activities.
About the recruitment process
The recruitment process will involve an initial informal discussion over Teams followed by two in-person interviews. One of these will include a presentation – a chance for you to demonstrate your enthusiasm for bringing your strategic commercial thinking to support Edinburgh Airport’s growth!
To support the process, we will also ask you to complete an Insights Discovery profile.
We are committed to creating an inclusive recruitment process, and supporting diverse ways of thinking and working, so if you require adjustments in the recruitment process, please let us know on your application. You can find out more about our interview process here.
What you’ll be doing
The role requires effective management of resource, problem solving and a strong grasp of numbers. It is essential that the Lounge & VIP Hospitality Manager fosters a strong working relationship with outsourced teams in order to motivate high performance, consistent standards and cost discipline.
Key responsibilities include (but are not limited to) the following:
Operational Oversight & Partner Management (Outsourced Services)
- Oversee day-to-day lounge and hospitality operations, leading the outsourced team to consistently deliver high-quality service and premium standards
- Continuously review food and beverage offerings, service standards and guest experiences
- Ensure outsourced partners comply with agreed Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and achieve Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), with a continual focus on optimising the cost base without compromising the agreed standards of quality and service
- Work with outsourced partner to ensure compliance with aviation security requirements, health and safety standards, food safety regulations and airport operating procedures
- Lead, coordinate and audit the performance of the outsourced lounge team to ensure consistent delivery of agreed high standard of hospitality and customer experience
- Ensure the lounge is consistently clean, organised and presented to appropriate standard
Financial Management & Commercial Performance
- Manage lounge capacity to maximise guest numbers, working alongside our Digital team to optimise commercial performance and yield
- Monitor and control operational costs, including outsourced labour, food and beverage and other supplier costs
- Agree ways of working with outsourced lounger partners to facilitate real-time tracking of all costs, allowing for immediate corrective action as required
- Prepare and deliver regular financial and operational reports (daily, weekly and monthly) directly to the Head of Transformation & Commercial Strategy, including revenue, consumption, cost analyses, budget control and passenger usage statistics
- Identify and implement opportunities to maximise revenue from lounge operations, including access models, pricing strategies, airline agreements and bundling opportunities
- Maximise profit potential through capacity management, stock and cost control and upselling
- Collaborate with partners to analyse passenger demand, utilisation, dwell time and yield to optimise capacity, service levels and financial performance
- Work closely with the Commercial Strategic Analytics team to develop forecasts, budgets and performance improvement initiatives
- Demonstrate the agility to identify, lead and support on new commercial initiatives that arise in a growing, fast-paced environment
Stakeholder Collaboration
- Work with outsourced partner to lead and develop hospitality teams, promoting a customer-focused, commercially aware culture and developing training programmes as required to instil the EDI service standard across teams
- Act as lead point of contact for lounge partners, airlines and other key stakeholders, including developing new relationships where required
- Develop a strong internal network, with a particular focus on operational teams
- Drive continuous improvement through performance data, passenger feedback and industry benchmarking
- Work closely with the Marketing function and external agencies as required to develop marketing materials that will excite the market ahead of launching new initiatives
- Develop strong external relationships with business partners, stakeholders and peers within the wider Vinci group and with counterparts at other UK and international airports
Lounge & Premium Hospitality Strategy
- Lead the development, enhancement and optimisation of lounge offerings to meet evolving passenger expectations and airline requirements
- Provide subject-matter expertise on lounge operations, including layout, service models, food and beverage concepts, staffing structures and guest experience
- Lead on the design, setup, refurbishment and expansion of lounge facilities, ensuring operational practicality and commercial viability are embedded from the outset
- Support the Head of Transformation & Commercial Strategy with the identification, development and execution of other lounge and VIP initiatives at Edinburgh Airport that will enhance passenger experience and grow revenue
What we’re looking for
The Lounge & VIP Hospitality Manager role is particularly well-suited to candidates with a background in lounge / hospitality operations, with the ideal candidate ticking most of the following boxes:
- Educated to degree level or equivalent.
- Solid understanding of lounge operations, operating models, and revenue drivers, including quality standards, customer service, food and beverage management, and operational performance.
- Demonstrable experience in hospitality management, ideally within airport lounges; candidates with experience in restaurant groups, hotels, airlines, or other catering or premium service environments will also be considered.
- Direct financial management experience, including revenue generation, budget control, cost control, and EBITDA monitoring.
- Proven ability to improve commercial outcomes through pricing, product design, service optimisation, and demand management.
- Existing relationships with key partners (e.g. airlines and pass providers), or the ability to quickly establish strong working relationships.
- Demonstrable experience identifying, developing, and delivering new business initiatives, with a creative approach to bringing forward new and relevant ideas.
- Positive and tenacious attitude with a strong drive to achieve successful outcomes.
- Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to lead diverse teams, particularly outsourced teams, resolve operational incidents, and manage challenging situations effectively.
- Analytical and commercially minded, with a focus on balancing passenger experience and financial performance.
- Natural leadership ability, capable of inspiring and influencing large teams beyond direct line management responsibilities.
- Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
- Strong problem-solving skills, with the ability to identify solutions and overcome challenges.
If your experience ticks some of the boxes but looks slightly different to what we’ve listed here, we encourage you to still apply. You could add something we didn’t know we needed.
What we’ll offer you
- Pension scheme- employer contributions can be up to 7%
- 32 days holiday, based on full time roles, increasing with service
- Annual discretionary bonus
- Supporting your health and wellbeing- private healthcare after 1 years’ service, access to our Employee Assistance Programme and occupational health services
- Free car parking on site and when you go on holiday
- We offer a range of other benefits, find out more here
Why EDI?
We are Edinburgh Airport, where Scotland meets the world. The success of the airport comes down to our people, and you can help us deliver even more big days for our passengers and colleagues. The development of your career is important to us, and we’ll support and encourage this every step of the way. We offer in-house and external training, both role specific and based on your objectives.
As a business we’re driven by our values – they’re at the core of our culture and everything we do. We will ask questions based on our values during your interview, as we’re looking for people who will demonstrate these values day-in, day-out. So if this sounds like you, apply now and get ready for your career to take off.
As a Disability Confident Leader, we are committed to ensuring applicants with a disability can participate fully in our recruitment process. Please let us know in your application form if you require any adjustments, such as parking arrangements or alternative methods of communication.
We give colleagues the opportunity to engage with different people and projects, within our business and beyond. You can get involved in a variety of different employee groups, including Diversity, STEM, Wellbeing, or create your own community – it’s important to us that you can share your interests and be yourself at work.
