Customer Experience Manager

The Sightseeing Operations & Customer Experience Manager reports directly to the CEO and leads the day-to-day operations of Sightseeing Operations. This role oversees high-volume tourism and attraction operations, ensuring exceptional customer experiences, operational efficiency, and strong team performance across on-site and partially remote teams. This is a hands-on, highly visible leadership role in a fast-paced, guest-facing environment. The successful candidate will be an accessible and proactive leader, who is confident handling real-time operational challenges, customer escalations, and decision-making under pressure. While aviation experience is a plus, the primary focus is tourism and hospitality experience, team leadership, strong problem-solving skills, and advanced operational analysis using Central Reservation Systems (CRS) and Excel.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead daily sightseeing tour operations across the Downtown Manhattan Skyport and Linden Airport.
• Oversee reservations, customer service, ground operations, and scheduling
• Serve as the primary on-site escalation point for customer and operational issues for sightseeing operations.
• Ensure high levels of guest satisfaction through visible, accessible leadership.
• Manage and lead both on-site teams and remote customer service reservation teams.
• Drive operational performance using reservation data, demand trends, forecasting and reporting.
• Utilize advanced Excel skills to support staffing, scheduling, capacity planning, and reporting.
• Ensure operational and helicopter landing capacity limits are monitored and maintained in accordance with company requirements.
• Collaborate closely with flight operations, sales marketing and administrative teams to support business objectives.
• Lead hiring, scheduling, performance management, and annual reviews of supervised team members.
• Identify opportunities to improve processes, efficiency, and customer experience.
• Support new product launches, promotions, and operational scalability initiatives.
• Drive B2B Marketing and serve as primary liaison for travel trade partners, including OTAs, Tour Operators, Cruise lines, concierge services and other distribution partner to maintain and grow relationships and lead annual update processes.
• Maintain and strengthen key industry relationships through participation and presentations at annual IPW Conferences, trade shows, networking events and other tourism industry events.
• Prepare operational reports and performance metrics for executive leadership.

Qualifications and Experience

• 5–7+ years of management experience in tourism attractions, sightseeing, hospitality or related guest experience operations.
• Proven experience leading high volume, customer facing operations.
• Demonstrated ability to be present, accessible, and effective during customer escalations and operational issues.
• Experience managing both on-site teams and remote teams.
• Advanced Excel proficiency, including operational tracking, reporting, trend analysis and forecasting.
• Strong experience with central reservation systems (CRS), booking platforms, and demand data.
• Strong problem solving, decision making, and communication skills
• Assist with developing and maintaining front desk and guest service procedures to ensure consistency, efficiency, and compliance with company standards.
• Maintain a polished, professional, and service oriented presence, consistent with a premium aviation and hospitality environment.
• Demonstrate the ability to multitask and make sound decisions under pressure in a fast paced aviation environment.
• Possess strong communication, interpersonal, organizational, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to work effectively with both customers and internal teams.
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Tourism, Management, Aviation, or equivalent experience.

Preferred Experience

• Aviation or airline operations exposure
• Experience in tourism, attractions and experiences
• Multi-site operational leadership
• Bilingual (Spanish or French preferred)
• Experience with VOIP systems or Central Reservation Systems (e.g., Xola, PEEK Pro, TripWorks, Fare Harbor)
• Previous experience in hospitality, luxury hotels, private aviation, concierge services, VIP guest services, or a similar customer facing environment is highly preferred

Why Join HeliNY

• High-impact leadership role for NYC’s premier sightseeing company
• Direct influence on customer experience, operational performance, and revenue growth
• Opportunity to lead with visibility, ownership, and autonomy
• Thrive in a dynamic environment where every day brings new opportunities and challenges

Pay: $80,000.00 - $90,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• Dental insurance
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance

Work Location: In person