Product Operations Manager

**A Little About Us**

We are a dynamic team of entrepreneurs and passionate travellers, working towards building the leading group travel company of choice for North Americans. Our mission is to take the pain out of travel while delivering innovative world-class travel experiences for our customers. Our collections include a rich variety of cultural tours to Europe, South America, Africa and Southeast Asia. Our secret-sauce? Select destinations, engaging experiences and fully guided tours combine to create a worry-free experience from the time our travellers are picked up at home until they are dropped off at the end of their tour. We want to help travellers indulge in the travel experience of their dreams and build memories to last a lifetime.

Travel is booming and we're looking to grow our team to help keep up with demand This is where you come in - we need your help reaching travellers and turning them into our happy customers and fanatical promoters Intrigued by our customer-centric mission? Read on.

As a **Product Operations Manager**, you will play a critical role in innovating, planning, budgeting and improving the operations side of our tours. Although your role is behind the scenes, your contribution will directly impact our ability to deliver customer delight. We believe that being successful in product operations management begins with being a champion. **As the leader of a close-knit team, you will**:
**Champion our product roadmap and innovation**
- Oversee the documentation, communication and quality assurance of our current product line
- Drive product innovation and optimization based on customer feedback
- Maintain a firm understanding of the competitive landscape ensuring our strategic position and product mix
- Play a key role in new destination selection and itinerary design with the support of industry and consumer insights

**Champion the financial health of our operations**
- Manage current inventory availability by product line
- Forecast future inventory requirements by product line
- Contribute to the projection of foreign exchange needs
- Lead the projection of gross margins by tour and ensure we meet targets
- Oversee invoices and vendors payments

**Champion tour operations and contracts**
- Lead a team of land and air specialists who execute on the roll-out of our tours
- Plan and communicate a roadmap of departures, including key dates that ensure no details are forgotten.
- Ensure alignment of our specific tour requirements with our buyers to ensure air and land contracts meet our needs and budget for any specific tour itinerary
- Maintain relationships with our key land and air partners
- Drive pre-tour land and air contracts finalization and approvals
- Oversee the timely fulfillments of our contracts
- Ensure suppliers are fulfilling their contractual obligations
- Oversee the preparation of Group Gurus for their upcoming tours (budgeting, itinerary training, troubleshooting, intricacies unique to the visited destination)
- Attend post-tour meetings with arriving Group Gurus to drive operational insights.

**Champion product communication, training and systems**
- Manage our CRM and Sales portal to ensure product and pricing accuracy
- Drive internal and external communication of all product iterations and innovations
- Keep updated documentation related to product improvements/optimizations
- Review product-centric Marketing communication for accuracy
- Drive product training and support tool creation for internal teams

**Champion the customer experience on tour**
- Coordinate with team members and suppliers to ensure that our customer experience at destination is meeting (surpassing) our quality bar.
- Our travellers will be exploring countries around the world and around the clock; troubleshoot operations issues that may arise during a tour, while maintaining a seamless customer experience.

**What We're Looking For**
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience
- Minimum of 5 years of experience in a similar capacity
- Proven experience working with partners, managing contracts and service agreements
- Experience with budget management
- Management experience
- Passion for creating unique experiences and delighting customers
- Ambition for yourself and for our company - believing goals are to be exceeded and celebrated
- Personal travel experience
- Strong geographical knowledge
- A good understanding of travel trends
- Project management with a strong attention to detail and organizational skills
- A personable manner and a willingness to help people
- Ability to multitask, and work irregular hours when required
- Autonomous, self-aware and self-starting
- Proactive, takes ownership of projects and enjoys being accountable for results
- “Refuse to lose” attitude and mindset

**What We Offer**
- Competitive salary and bonus plans
- Group benefits plan (medical, dental & travel insurance)
- Join some of our tours and experience the Approach difference abroad
- Opp