North America Tour Guide Manager

We are looking for a full-time North America Guide Manager to join our Operations Team.

This role is strategically critical to the success of ExperienceFirst in North America. As our Guide Manager, you will be the primary owner of the guide experience; from recruitment and onboarding, through performance management, scheduling and ongoing development.

You will play a hands-on role in building, supporting and optimising a high-performing network of local guides, ensuring that every guest experience meets (and exceeds) ExperienceFirst standards. You’ll act as the bridge between our guides and the wider business, translating company objectives into clear expectations, tools and support for our guide community.

This role will be based in New York, with hybrid working (2–3 days per week in the office), and will require ad hoc travel across the US to support guides and assess operations on the ground. You will collaborate closely with the People Experience Team and the Guide Manager Europe, as well as local operations and product partners.

What this role involves…

• Leading the recruitment and onboarding of new guides across North America, including interviewing, selection and ensuring strong alignment with ExperienceFirst standards and values.

• Managing and coordinating our team of Ticket Concierges and Guide Trainers

• Working closely with the People Experience Team and the Guide Manager Europe to maintain and continuously improve a comprehensive training programme, coordinating a network of guide trainers across multiple cities.

• Ensuring guides are equipped with the tools, resources and information they need to deliver outstanding guest experiences.

• Implementing and maintaining performance metrics to assess guide quality, consistency and effectiveness.

• Providing regular coaching, feedback and support to guides, fostering continuous improvement and professional development.

• Conducting regular audits, ride-alongs and quality assessments to maintain the highest levels of service delivery.

• Staying up to date on industry trends and best practices impacting guides, including remuneration approaches, licensing requirements and tourism-related regulations.

• Fostering a positive, inclusive and connected guide culture, promoting collaboration, communication and mutual support across cities.

• Organising opportunities and events (within a pre-approved budget) for guides to socialise and connect, both with fellow guides and with non-guide team members at ExperienceFirst.

• Acting as the key liaison between guides and non-guide teams, ensuring feedback, concerns and ideas are heard, addressed and communicated clearly.

• Developing and managing guide schedules to align with seasonal demand, business needs and individual availability.

• Forecasting guide requirements based on seasonal patterns, growth plans and historical performance data.

• Collaborating with operations, safety and people teams to ensure clear safety and incident management processes are in place, and that incidents are appropriately supported, documented and resolved.

• Identifying opportunities to optimise and improve systems and processes related to guide management, recommending and implementing changes to improve efficiency, consistency and scalability.

• Travelling to different locations as required to meet guides, assess operations and provide in-person support.

What we need from you…

• Must have prior experience as a guide, working closely with guides, or leading a guide network.

• 3+ years’ experience leading people; experience leading a remote or distributed team is a strong plus.

• Previous experience in recruitment and training, with a clear understanding of how to identify, onboard and develop high-performing teams.

• Outstanding organisational and time management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities across locations.

• Confident using a wide range of software tools and keen to learn new systems. Platforms we use include G-Suite, Slack, Monday.com and CRM tools.

• Very strong communication skills, with the ability to translate business objectives into clear, practical goals and expectations for a diverse guide cohort.

• Demonstrated experience using data to inform people decisions, including hiring, training, performance and engagement.

• Familiarity with basic incident management processes; experience handling operational incidents is an advantage.

• Willingness and ability to travel across North America on an ad hoc basis.

• At ExperienceFirst, we are not just looking for team members who we know will perform well. Instead, we highly value team members who bring the mindset, attitude and behaviors that it takes to be an integral part of our team. Therefore, you must be motivated by and feel closely aligned with our four company values:

Why should you consider joining ExperienceFirst?

ExperienceFirst is a global travel brand born in New York in 2009, now operating across North America and Europe with thriving destinations including New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Paris, Madrid and Barcelona. 

Over the next three years, we’re entering a new phase of growth which will see us expand into new markets, evolve our product portfolio into a curated selection of premium private experiences, and build a scalable operational and technology foundation for the future.

As we grow, we’re investing intentionally in improving our products, technology, customer experience and on-the-ground operations so we can continue to deliver world-class premium experiences at scale. Joining now means becoming part of a pivotal chapter: helping shape the systems, standards, and innovations that will define the future of ExperienceFirst.

Salary

You can expect an annual salary of $65,000 and $75,000, depending on experience.

Interested? Great! Here’s what will happen next…

Remember… if you are keen to learn more about this opportunity but feel that you do not meet 100% of the criteria set out here, we still want to hear from you! Our recruitment process is designed to spot not just great experience, but we’re equally focused on identifying strong potential and transferable skills in our candidates. 

In short, we simply cannot wait to hear from you! 

You can expect the following experience from our fully remote interview journey: