Job description
Delivery Director, Asia-Pacific
ABOUT CONTEXT
Context is a global day tour operator that connects intellectually curious travelers with local subject matter experts in over 60 destinations around the world. Our guests often tell us that we are the best part of their trip, and we take great pride in creating unforgettable moments that are treasured for a lifetime.
Context is a B-Corp and a long-standing company founded in 2003. We have been backed by growth equity since 2017.
ROLE: Delivery Director, Asia-Pacific
LOCATION: Remote role, based out of Japan (Tokyo / Kyoto preferred)
Salary: commensurate with experience
JOB DESCRIPTION
The Delivery Director, Asia-Pacific role is a key senior leadership team hire and will oversee our fast-growing region. As the in-house regional expert, you will be responsible for visioning and executing the overall regional strategy, which includes:
- creating a portfolio of commercially compelling experiences,
- sourcing, building, and nurturing a dynamic community of experts,
- securing local partnerships (venues, restaurants, tickets, car services, etc) to enhance the region’s operations, and
- expanding our current Asia-Pacific presence beyond Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka into net new destinations across Japan as well as other countries including but not limited to Korea, Vietnam, and Cambodia.
You will be responsible for the successful end-to-end delivery of all our Asia-Pacific experiences and will oversee all the associated operational functions including client experience, expert community, fulfillment, and portfolio development.
In this role, you will report to the Vice President of Global Delivery, with a dotted line to the CEO. You will also work closely with all of our other senior leadership team members across Europe and the Americas.
ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Regional strategy
Vision and execute against regional strategy to drive brand loyalty, growth, and profitability.
The Regional Director role is directly responsible for the following activities:
Commercial
- Proactively identify and cultivate high-value commercial partnerships with local businesses, luxury hotels, tour operators, DMCs, and travel advisors to drive direct bookings and premium experience offerings.
- Develop and implement revenue-generating initiatives, such as co-branded experiences, upselling opportunities, and cross-promotions with regional partners to maximize per-guest spend.
- Develop and implement merchandising strategies that address customer needs and desired outcomes
- Hit monthly sales and profitability targets
- Represent Context at industry events, networking forums, and tourism boards to establish the brand as a preferred partner for exclusive, high-end travel experiences in the region.
Portfolio
- Identify portfolio gaps and unique commercial opportunities based on research, source-market demand, and macro trends
- Understand regional competitive landscape, ensure portfolio is priced competitively and to meet overall company objectives
- Ensure sales and marketing teams understand the depth and breadth of regional portfolio and expert network
Venue, Vendor + Supplier Relationships
- Seek out opportunities for building new relationships with on the ground venues, vendors & suppliers; nurture and maintain those relationships as we scale and grow the region.
Supply
- Inform regional supply strategy, including expert recruitment and offboarding, prescheduling, tour assignment distribution, and ticket inventory
Experts
- Nurture expert engagement through community events, training, and 1:1 relationships
- Establish tour distribution strategy by destination to meet individual and regional targets
- Understand the regional landscape for competitive guide fee requirements and establish strategy to ensure Context is current
Client Experience + Operations
- Understand and address frequent on-the-ground challenges for customers
- Activate best-in-class client experience and operations by providing destination-specific training and resources for US- and Europe-based teams
Regional functional management and team oversight:
- Develop, grow, and nurture the regional team. Direct managerial responsibility over 2 reports to start. We anticipate the need for additional hires down the road; the hiring plan will be reviewed together after 6 to 12 months, based on the overall company strategy, global and regional performance.
- Oversee the region’s full lifecycle of end-to-end operations and workflow from customer planning and selection to booking, fulfillment, post-booking changes, delivery, feedback, repeat booking, and brand advocacy.
WHAT YOU’LL BRING
- Minimum 10 years of work experience, including at least 3 years in a leadership role with demonstrated growth in the travel industry
- Deep knowledge of Japan, extensive travel experience in other Asia-Pacific countries, and an infectious desire to share this knowledge with others
- Deep understanding of the needs and interests of North American travelers to Asia
- Extensive contacts in the region, with a strong view of the best local partners, venues, restaurants, and sites that will help our guests to experience hidden gems they wouldn’t have otherwise ever known about.
- Excitement to work in a fast-paced environment
- Commercial savviness and a proactive, self-starter mentality
- Strong verbal and written communication skills (active listening, collaboration, etc.)
- Fluency in English and Japanese, additional languages are a bonus!
- A curious, open mind, and a willingness to learn and grow
In exchange, we are thrilled to offer:
- A supportive, mission-oriented work environment with colleagues who care
- Unlimited access to digital lectures and, audio guides, and in-person small group tours
- Annual learning & wellness stipend to pursue personal and professional interests
- Tech stipend
- Flexible PTO (with no caps, encouraged minimums, and parental leave)
- A remote-first work policy
- An annual company retreat to connect and celebrate with colleagues in person. (Past locations include New York City, Philadelphia, Lisbon, Barcelona, and Mexico City. In 2024 we took the whole company to our birthplace, Rome, to celebrate our 20th anniversary.)
Context Travel is an equal-opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.
