General Manager
Salary: £60k-£65k
Location: Hybrid/Remote
Hours: Full time
About Swoop
We are a global community of over 100 adventure travel enthusiasts - ex-guides, avid travellers, and those with an adventurous spirit - spanning five continents. Since 2010, we’ve helped more that 15,000 people experience the trip of a lifetime in Antarctica, Patagonia and the Arctic. Our success is rooted in our intimate knowledge of these incredible regions, our deep care for their preservation, our commitment, as a B Corp, to doing what’s right for people and the planet and, above all, our connectedness as a global team.
About the role
This is an exciting opportunity to play a leadership role at Swoop Antarctica, as General Manager. As our existing GM transitions into re-founding our Arctic business post Covid, you will step in to shape our success on the next phase of Swoop Antarctica’s journey.
As the GM Antarctica, you will be responsible for the performance of the largest part of the Swoop business. You will maintain ANT’s impressive and sustained growth while ensuring a strategic focus that continues to expand and improve the customer offering while protecting the continent for generations to come. That strategic focus will ensure the business moves forward in terms of product, partners and digitisation while further improving profitability.
You’ll report into the CFO and play a key role within the Management Team. You’ll also collaborate with the GM Patagonia and CEO to shape the strategy and long term vision, and with the Head of Sustainability to deliver on our biodiversity and decarbonisation commitments.
Day to day you’ll work with the Heads of Marketing, Sales and Customer Service to align Swoop’s work toward annual goals and targets. You’ll line manage the Antarctic Product and Content roles to ensure that our teams and our websites convey our expertise and deliver on the strategy.
We expect that you will enhance our partner Account Management capabilities and scale our systems as the number of partners increases, product complexity grows and new commercial opportunities arise. You will play a key role in the digitisation of our destination and partner knowledge base.
Key responsibilities
You will be responsible for the financial contribution of Swoop Antarctica and owning its P&L as well as delivering and refining its 3 year plan
Through annual planning/budgeting, quarterly reviews and monthly trading meetings align the work of Marketing, Sales and CX around destination tactics and initiatives
Line Management of ANT Product Manager to shape product strategy, commercial delivery and product training; and ANT Content Manager to ensure our website is up to date, engaging and the ultimate guidebook to Antarctic tourism
Optimising revenue per booking through commercial terms negotiated with new and existing partners, collaboration with Sales and Marketing and supporting improved cost per booking in Sales (through conversion optimisation) and CX (through systems, training and content efficiencies)
Ensuring that Swoop leads the way in Sustainability and promotes those partners with best sustainable practices, ensuring that our B Corp score increases at the 2026 review
Designing and implementing an Account Management architecture (including systems, processes and ways of working)
Accountability for highly targeted and customised internal training, including the programme of research trips for 50+ Sales and CX Swoopers each season
As a key member of Swoop’s Management Team, bringing the benefits of your knowledge, experience and commerciality to all parts of Swoop
About you
A seasoned senior product leader of a travel company > £100m with deep experience of leading a product team
Experience owning and growing multi-year, multimillion commercial partnerships
A proactive and autonomous senior leader comfortable reporting into the C suite
A strategic thinker with a completer-finisher approach
An excellent communicator and a great collaborator
Have experience of successfully delivering significant and sustained growth
Implemented product/account management systems for medium/large travel company
Passionate about travel - and experience of Expedition Cruising an advantage
A great fit with all Swoop values:
Really know our stuff: exudes curiosity and hunger for product knowledge
Passion for our places: can sell a place as well as anyone
Lead the way: proven driver of change, hunger to transform, desire to be seen as a leader within the industry
Do the right thing: must be able to balance people and planet with profit
Make the most of our time: Strong desire to put structure around complexity, and passion for systems and processes
Enjoy the journey together: keen to be a key part of our Swoop team - enjoying our annual Swoop gathering and making a difference at all levels, confident and comfortable spending time with both legacy and new partners
Employment details
Salary:
Total salary including bonus of between £60k and £65k, depending on experience
Company bonus currently of £1,800 in addition
Holiday:
Twenty-five days paid holiday, in addition to your birthday and public holidays
Working Hours:
Full-time, 37.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday, with some flexibility and availability required outside of these hours to support the incident and emergency team.
Location:
Remote - This role is primarily remote, but we value face-to-face interactions for collaboration, training and team building. Monthly/bi-monthly visits to our Bristol office may be required or Hybrid - A mix of remote work and office time in our Bristol location. This allows for flexibility while ensuring opportunities for in-person collaboration and team connection.
In your first few months, more frequent visits to Bristol are likely to be required.
Benefits Include:
Familiarisation trips to our destinations
Opportunity to work-and-travel
Annual Swoop Summer Adventure
Monthly company bonus
Company laptop and phone
Wellbeing support
How to apply
To apply for this role, please submit your CV along with a cover letter detailing your relevant experience and explaining why you are the right fit for this position to careers@swoop-adventures.com. The closing date is 1st January 2025.
Supporting you to be yourself
Swoop is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer for all Swoopers all over the world. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, or veteran status. We support Swoopers to feel they can be absolutely themselves, because only then, we will get the best out of each other.
