Manager - Supplier and Warranty Management

Belonging to Air Canada means belonging to a Canadian symbol. Air Canada was recently voted the best airline in North America. Take off your career by joining our innovative and diverse team at the forefront of passenger air transport.

The Manager - Supplier and Warranty Management holds a key leadership position within the Technical Operations department. They are responsible for optimizing supplier performance and warranty recovery in the areas of airframe, engine, and component maintenance. The person in this position will supervise a team of 10 professionals, providing them with guidance and the necessary leadership to ensure effective supplier performance management and maximize warranty recovery.

They must also ensure compliance with Air Canada's technical, regulatory, and budgetary requirements while promoting cost reduction, operational efficiency, and fleet reliability. They will lead a team responsible for managing supplier relationships, commercial agreements, and warranty claim recovery, ensuring maximum value is derived from contracts and warranties through robust processes, performance monitoring, and continuous improvement initiatives.

Responsibilities:

Leadership in supplier management

• Oversee supplier performance in component maintenance, ensuring compliance with service level agreements and operational objectives.
• Lead and mentor a team of 10 direct reports, fostering a culture focused on high performance, accountability, and collaboration.
• Develop and manage commercial agreements with suppliers, including negotiation and execution in collaboration with Strategic Procurement.
• Establish, maintain, and control an annual budget and a long-term financial plan of $500 million, while reviewing and managing associated risks and opportunities.
• Establish and monitor key performance indicators for cost, reliability, quality, and turnaround times; lead quarterly and annual performance reviews.
• Lead cost control and transformation initiatives through process optimization and product improvement strategies.
• Manage hierarchical recourse to suppliers for technical and commercial issues, ensuring timely resolution.
• Oversee reconciliation and settlement of supplier invoices and ensure compliance with Regulation 52-109.
• Liaise for all supplier activities requiring hierarchical recourse (technical and commercial).
• Demonstrate actual performance against objectives and ensure regular follow-up.

Leadership in warranty management

• Optimize warranty claim recovery for existing and future aircraft airframes, engines, and components.
• Implement and maintain warranty detection and claims management processes in Air Canada Maintenance Material Requirements Planning system and other enterprise resource planning (ERP) tools, as needed.
• Manage claims and rejections, ensuring they are resolved and settled in a timely manner.
• Forecast and manage the annual warranty recovery budget (approximately $10 to $15 million) and report on performance indicators.
• Collaborate with Engineering, Air Canada Maintenance, and Aircraft Programs to identify warranty opportunities and improve terms during contract negotiations.
• Train and support front-line teams on warranty processes and determination of warranty rights.

Strategic and operational responsibilities

• Define and document processes, maintain control manuals, and ensure compliance with regulatory and company standards.
• Participate in daily operational conference calls and provide updates on component availability and recovery plans.
• Lead the preparation of the annual budget for component maintenance and warranty recovery, in collaboration with Finance and Planning teams.
• Foster strong cross-functional relationships to ensure smooth implementation of supplier and warranty strategies.

Qualifications

• University degree in business, engineering, supply chain, or a related technical discipline, or equivalent industry experience.
• At least ten years of experience in supplier management and supply chain operations; warranty management experience, desirable.
• Strong leadership skills and proven ability to motivate and develop teams in a multidisciplinary environment.
• Proven expertise in supplier performance management, contract negotiation, cost-benefit analysis, and process improvement.
• Excellent analytical, planning, and organizational skills; proficiency in Microsoft Office 365 suite, as well as material requirements planning systems and integrated management software packages.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, particularly in negotiation and stakeholder management.
• Proven punctuality and reliability to promote overall team success in a fast-paced environment.
• Experience in the aviation or air transport industry, an asset.

Employment conditions:

Candidates must be eligible to work in the country concerned at the time an offer of employment is presented and are responsible for obtaining the necessary work permits, visas or other authorizations. Proof of eligibility must be provided before the start date.

Language requirements

All things being equal, preference will be given to bilingual candidates.

Diversity and inclusion

Air Canada is firmly committed to diversity and inclusion and aims to create a healthy, accessible and rewarding work environment that values the unique contribution of our employees to the success of our company.

As an employer that guarantees equal access to employment, we encourage the most diverse applications in order to be able to build a varied workforce representative of our customers and the communities where we live and offer our services.

Air Canada thanks all applicants for their interest, but only those selected for an interview will be contacted.