Senior Strategic Planning Manager at Wizz Air… · Budapest

Wizz Air is a leading European low-cost airline. Our mission is to provide affordable and reliable air travel to everyone, everywhere, while minimizing our environmental impact. We are proud to foster a diverse and inclusive team of over 8,000 employees from more than 110 nationalities, who share our values of inclusivity, positivity, dedication, integrity, and sustainability.

As a rapidly expanding airline, we offer exciting career opportunities across a range of functions, from flight operations to engineering, customer experience, finance, and more. We provide extensive training and development opportunities to help our employees grow and succeed in their roles. Joining Wizz Air means joining a team that is passionate about aviation, dedicated to excellence, and committed to making air travel accessible and sustainable for all. If you are looking for a challenging and rewarding career in the aviation industry, we welcome you to explore our job opportunities and become a part of our success story.

Senior Strategic Planning Manager

Based in Budapest

Purpose of the role

The Senior Strategic Planning Manager is pivotal role within the Financial & Strategic Planning department, responsible for leading a team of four Strategic Planning Managers (Commercial, Fleet, Finance and Operations). In this cross-functional role, the position-holder will design, coordinate, and oversee integrated planning processes to ensure that group-wide forecasts, cost-saving initiatives, and revenue targets are translated into executable plans—delivered reliably and on time.

Responsibilities

Planning Integration & Governance:

• Lead the integrated planning process across Commercial, Operations, Finance and Fleet, to ensure cross-functional alignment and delivery.
• Develop and maintain planning frameworks that convert strategy into operational plans with clear timelines and KPIs.
• Facilitate timely coordination between business functions to address interdependencies and mitigate execution risks.
• Ensure proper governance of business cases, including the validation of benefit tracking and accountability mechanisms.

Forecasting Support & Execution Oversight:

• Partner with Financial Planning and Controlling teams to ensure forecast assumptions are grounded in executable plans.
• Track delivery of key inputs to group forecasts (revenue, cost, capacity), identify gaps, and recommend mitigating actions.
• Support operational teams in building executable plans post-strategy approval; identify and flag risks to delivery timelines or outcomes.

Business Case Follow-up:

• Ensure ongoing follow-up of approved business cases to assess execution progress and realization of cost savings or revenue benefits.
• Hold business case owners accountable for delivery, escalating deviations and working with teams to course-correct as needed.
• Support in developing lessons learned and standardized approaches for future business cases.

Leadership Responsibilities:

• Manage and develop a team of four Integrated Planning Managers, each focused on a core functional domain.
• Promote a collaborative, performance-driven culture that emphasizes execution, accountability, and problem-solving.
• Build a strong internal network with functional leaders across the business to foster planning transparency and ownership.

Experience

5-7+ years of relevant work experience in planning, strategy execution, or business performance roles—preferably in the aviation, logistics, consulting, or transport sectors.

Hard skills

• Strong understanding of integrated business planning principles, financial forecasting, and performance tracking.
• Familiarity with airline or operational planning cycles is an advantage.
• Skilled in using planning tools, dashboards, and structured reporting to track execution and escalate deviations.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Economics, Finance, or related field is required.
• Master’s degree or MBA is an advantage.

Language

Fluent written and verbal English is a must

Skills and competencies

• Strong organizational and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple timelines and stakeholders.
• Sharp analytical thinking, attention to detail, and a proactive mindset in addressing gaps in execution.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills; able to influence without direct authority.
• Collaborative leader with a hands-on, problem-solving attitude and a passion for delivering results.

When applying, please only provide valid information regarding your educational background and certificates, as the original documents will be requested during the hiring process.

We look forward to meeting you and learning more about your skills and experience. Join the Wizz Air team and discover the world of opportunities.