I. JOB DESCRIPTION
1. Job purpose
The Operations & Guest Experience Manager leads the end-to-end delivery of tour operations across Northern Vietnam and owns the standard of service that reaches the traveler. Managing a small operations team and the regional guide pool, the role ensures every booking from assigned accounts/agents is executed accurately and on time, that guides are assessed, developed, and available to the required quality, and that guests — including luxury and FIT clients — receive a consistently premium experience. The role is the operational and quality backbone for the North: turning confirmed sales into flawless on-the-ground delivery, resolving issues and complaints decisively, and protecting service quality, cost control, and the company's reputation.
2. Accountabilities / Main Responsibilities
- Lead and manage the North operations and guide teams to achieve agreed performance targets.
- Oversee daily operations to ensure seamless, efficient, high-quality service delivery on every tour.
- Ensure all bookings from assigned accounts/agents are well-organised and meet the expectations of both agents and end clients.
- Own guide quality: assess, develop, and build a qualified guide pipeline (notably German-speaking) aligned to business growth.
- Uphold service standards and act as the escalation point for complaint and conflict resolution.
- Drive continuous improvement using operational performance data and post-tour feedback.
- Maintain strong supplier, partner, and stakeholder relationships; support Sales & Marketing on growth initiatives.
- Coach, develop, and manage 2 Operations Executives to a high-performance standard.
3. Responsibilities / Tasks
3.1 Operations Management & Delivery
- Direct daily land operations across the North to ensure smooth, efficient, on-standard delivery.
- Ensure bookings from assigned accounts/agents are correctly executed and verified via the Operations Executives; review readiness ahead of arrival.
- Provide direction and resolve operational challenges across the full booking-to-travel cycle (FIT and GIT).
- Arrange or approve emergency guide/supplier replacements for last-minute changes.
3.2 Guide Management & Development
- Own the North guide pool: recruit, assess, and quality-score guides against defined service standards.
- Build and maintain a strong pipeline of qualified guides — notably German-speaking — in step with business growth.
- Coach guides, close performance gaps, and coordinate briefing/training.
3.3 Service Quality & Guest Experience
- Maintain consistent service standards in line with company values and brand positioning.
- Act as the frontline/escalation point for complaint and conflict resolution — respond fast, resolve fairly, protect the relationship and brand.
- Develop strategies that drive customer satisfaction, loyalty, and repeat business.
- Run root-cause reviews on incidents and complaints; implement fixes to prevent recurrence.
3.4 Team Leadership & Development
- Lead, coach, and develop 2 Operations Executives; set priorities, hold standards, manage performance.
- Foster a collaborative, high-accountability working environment.
3.5 Performance Management & Continuous Improvement
- Analyse operational performance data to identify optimisation and improvement opportunities.
- Implement initiatives that lift productivity, efficiency, and service quality.
- Stay current on industry trends, regulations, and best practice to drive innovation.
3.6 Supplier & Stakeholder Management
- Develop and maintain strong relationships with suppliers, partners, and overseas stakeholders.
- Represent the company in partner meetings, with VIP clients, and on FAM trips (as directed by the Head of Operations), capturing insights for continuous improvement.
3.7 Reporting & Business Support
- Prepare regular (bi-weekly / monthly) reports on operations and guide-team performance for management.
- Collaborate with Sales and Marketing to support business-growth initiatives.
- Oversee accurate operational records and master-file integrity maintained by the team.
3.8 Cost & Expense Oversight
- Oversee guide cash advances and expense settlements processed by the Operations Executives; approve within delegated limits.
- Protect operational cost control and margin (supplier rates, guide utilisation, replacement costs).
4. Performance Standard
- Team achieves ≥ 95% of monthly operational performance targets.
- 100% of assigned-account bookings reviewed and confirmed ≥ 5 working days before arrival.
- ≥ 98% booking-data accuracy maintained in the master file.
- Guide quality score ≥ 4.3 / 5.0 average across the active North pool.
- German-speaking guide pipeline: maintain a ready bench of ≥ [X] [confirm] qualified guides; grow qualified pool ≥ 20% YoY.
- Customer satisfaction (CSAT) ≥ 4.5 / 5.0 (or ≥ 90%);
- Complaints acknowledged within 4 working hours; resolved or escalated within 48 hours.
- Replacement guide secured within 12 hours for emergencies / last-minute changes.
- ≥ 95% on-time settlement of guide cash advances and tour-expense balances (team, under oversight).
- 100% of bi-weekly / monthly reports submitted on time.
- Zero unresolved quality lapses attributable to guide or process failure per quarter [confirm tolerance].
5. Authority
- Direct and reassign the 2 Operations Executives and the North guide pool; assign and arrange emergency replacement guides.
- Approve guide cash advances and routine tour expenses within delegated limits.
- Approve compensation or solutions for operational issues/complaints within delegated authority; escalate matters beyond threshold to the Head of Operations.
- Negotiate and confirm supplier/guide arrangements within approved rates and budgets.
- Request information, approvals, and clarifications from Sales and other departments to complete operational delivery.
II. REQUIREMENTS
1. Knowledge & Experience
- Diploma or Bachelor's degree in Tourism, Hospitality, Business Administration, Languages, or a related field.
- 4+ years in tour operations / DMC / travel operations, with 1–2 years managing or supervising a team; inbound tourism strongly preferred.
- Solid knowledge of Northern Vietnam destinations, routing, and land operations.
- Proven experience managing and assessing tour guides; existing German-speaking guide network a strong advantage.
- Proven ability to run FIT and GIT bookings simultaneously to a high standard.
- Familiarity with booking / tracking systems, master-file management, and supplier networks.
- Fluent English (working language); German an advantage.
2. Skills & Competencies
- Excellent organisational and time-management skills with the ability to multitask under pressure.
- Strong leadership, coaching, and team-management skills.
- Excellent organisation and time-management; able to multitask under pressure.
- Strong problem-solving, judgement, and service-recovery / complaint-handling ability in fast-moving situations.
- Strong communication and relationship-building with suppliers, guides, agents, and customers.
- Data literacy for performance analysis and reporting; numeracy for cost/expense oversight.
- Proficiency in MS Office / Google Workspace and booking / tracking tools.
3. Personal Attributes
- Service-oriented, proactive, and resourceful; detail-driven and accountable.
- Calm and composed under pressure and during urgent operational needs.
- Decisive and fair in conflict resolution.
- Flexible with working hours — tours may run on weekends/holidays, with on-call availability for emergencies.
- Collaborative team player across regions and functions.
