Head of Operations

£57,000 – £95,000 depending on experience and scope + benefits + bonus

Glasgow, UK (Hybrid)

Macs Adventure is looking for a Head of Operations to take full ownership of our operational engine, scale our teams and systems, and ensure every trip delivers an exceptional experience. If you’re a commercially savvy leader who thrives on performance, efficiency, and results, this is your chance to make a real impact in a fast-growing adventure travel brand.

In this role, you’ll lead the end-to-end delivery of outstanding customer experiences across all Macs Adventure trips. You’ll manage the operational backbone of the business—ensuring systems, processes, and teams scale effectively while maintaining service excellence, quality, and strong margins. Working cross-functionally, you’ll drive operational performance, reduce cost-to-serve, enhance supplier reliability, and unlock technology-enabled efficiencies that power growth.

This is a pivotal role for a commercially astute operator and inspirational leader with a passion for process, people, and the transformative power of travel.

About Macs Adventure

Macs Adventure is a fast-growing, international tour operator on a mission to become the world’s leading active travel company. We offer self-guided walking and cycling holidays to over 40,000 adventurers annually across the UK, Europe, and across the world.

With our goal to welcome 100,000 adventurers annually by 2030, we’re scaling rapidly—and putting customer experience, operational excellence, and digital transformation at the heart of our journey. We employ over 170 people across the UK, US and Germany who share our purpose to create #macsmoments by leading, advocating & enabling self-guided, active travel as a positive force for people and planet.

In November 2024, we proudly achieved B Corp certification, marking a significant milestone in our journey toward sustainable, values-driven growth.

Our Culture

We’re an ambitious, forward-thinking business with a bold vision for the future, and our culture reflects these ambitions. We’re an action-oriented, fast-paced organisation and we like to have fun along the way. We’re looking for people who can grow with Macs and join us on our journey. It’s not the easy route and we’re looking for people who enjoy challenges, love learning, want to make an impact and align with our core values:

• Love the journey: A Macs trip is all about the journey, not the destination. We are all believers in Macs’ unique brand of self-guided, active travel and shout about it. As more travellers convert to the Macs Way, we accept our business will grow and change. We welcome new connections, and embrace to new opportunities. Carpe diem!
• Take a different path: We’re not different for different’s sake; but we won’t succeed if we’re just the same as everyone else. We devise creative solutions to problems, find new ways of doing things, and trust colleagues who are doing so too. We are brave and feel empowered to take the initiative. We ask ourselves: is what I’m doing authentically Macs?
• Tread thoughtfully: We are considerate, empathetic and try to put ourselves in our customers’, suppliers’ and each other’s shoes. We support local, and find ways of having less negative impact on the planet. We find ways of having positive impact on people and communities. We are fair, and we do the right thing.
• Go the extra mile: We know that creating a perfect #MacsMoment involves going that bit further. We imagine the best feedback we can get and set out to earn it. We take ownership and accountability – it’s yours, not someone else’s, problem. We step up and help our team mates when they need us.

What you’ll do;
Operational Excellence & Service Delivery

• Oversee the full trip operations lifecycle from booking to departure: documentation, itinerary build, supplier confirmation, customer documentation, and trip management.
• Ensure high quality, reliable, on-time delivery of all trips, with service metrics aligned to NPS, CSAT, and rebooking rate targets.
• Continuously improve and streamline processes to reduce friction, errors, and manual effort using lean, digital-first approaches.
• Step back and take a transformational approach to process design and digitization, as needed.

• Lead, mentor and grow a high-performing operations team in Glasgow and internationally.
• Foster a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and customer obsession.
• Build a structured operations team with clear roles, KPIs, and opportunities for development.

• Collaborate with product and supply teams to improve partner reliability, pricing, and service delivery.
• Build scalable supplier management processes including SLAs, issue resolution, and performance tracking.
• Work closely with the tech/product team to digitise supplier engagement and documentation.

• Drive improvements in core metrics: first-time-right itinerary delivery, rebooking rate, cost-to-serve, and Ops workload efficiency.
• Identify opportunities for automation, outsourcing, and system upgrades across operations.
• Serve as the business process owner for operational systems (e.g., VSource, documentation tools, CRM workflow automations).

• Establish team-level KPIs and dashboards to monitor performance and inform decision-making.
• Collaborate with Finance and SLT to manage team budgets and resource planning.
• Own crisis response and trip disruption protocols in collaboration with Customer Experience and Commercial teams.

What you’ll bring;

• 5+ years’ experience in a senior operations role in a scaling, multi-team, customer-focused business (ideally travel, e-commerce, or logistics).
• Demonstrated success in managing and scaling operational teams with a focus on efficiency and quality.
• Deep understanding of operations systems, workflow automation, and continuous improvement methodologies (Lean/Six Sigma/Kaizen etc.).
• Excellent leadership, coaching, and communication skills.
• Ability to manage complexity, ambiguity, and high-pressure situations with calm and clarity.

Not essential, it would be a bonus if you have;

• Experience with international operations and supplier networks.
• A background in the travel, adventure, or active holiday industry.

The knowledge and skills we’ve listed represent “the perfect candidate”. No one’s perfect and we know the ‘confidence gap’ can stop brilliant people applying. If you love the sound of this opportunity please apply, we’d love to hear from you.

You could belong here;

To deliver adventures for more than 40,000 customers we need to build a company that’s reflective of their diversity. We’re building an inclusive workplace that promotes and values difference, where everyone, from any background, can do their best work and be proud to belong.

What we’ll offer

As well as your salary;

• ANNUAL LEAVE: We’re an inclusive employer and celebrate diversity. We want you to be able to take holidays that matter to you, so 8 public holidays are included in your annual leave allowance of 33 days, which increases to 35 days after 5 years’ service.

• BIRTHDAY BOOSTER: An extra day off on your birthday!

• PENSION: We offer a contributory pension scheme.

• DISCOUNTS: You are eligible for great discounts on Macs Adventure trips!

• TRAVEL INSURANCE: We provide you and your spouse/partner/children with annual worldwide travel insurance.

• FLEXIBLE WORKING: A flexible work culture - you’ll be able to work from home as well as coming into our hub office in Glasgow 3 days per week to collaborate with colleagues.

• GETTING TOGETHER: Regular team, management and leadership meetings and retreats.

• CULTURE: An innovative, fast growth, international and solution focused culture, where we work hard to embed our values across the business.

• L&D: We support your self-guided learning journey to make the most of your strengths.

• WELLBEING. We'll support you in looking after your health and wellbeing so you can do your best work.

• TRAVEL: Occasional international travel may be required.

• IMPACT: The opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives and the planet.