General Manager, EMEA Operations

At Intrepid Travel we exist to inspire, create, share and lead the best travel experiences ever – for both people and the planet. More than 34 years later, we’re proud to be a certified B Corp with hundreds of trips in over 100 countries.

We are looking for a General Manager, EMEA Operations to help lead and strengthen Intrepid’s operational delivery across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In this senior leadership role, you’ll be responsible for driving operational excellence across our regional country office network, ensuring trips are delivered safely, consistently and in line with Intrepid’s global standards.

Working closely with regional and global leaders, you’ll help shape operational strategy, embed best practice, and support teams to perform at their best in a fast‑moving, complex environment. You’ll play a critical role in developing and empowering operations leaders across the region, providing guidance, oversight and support while fostering a strong performance and safety culture. You’ll also take a lead role in serious and major incident management, ensuring appropriate response, supervision and continuous improvement.

This role is ideal for a senior operational leader with strong DMC or comparable experience, proven incident and risk management capability, and the confidence to make sound, strategic decisions while working collaboratively across a global matrix organisation. This role is open to candidates across the EMEA region and will be based from an Intrepid office with weekly hybrid visits, ideally within a DMC location. Eastern or Western Europe is preferred, with locations such as London, Zagreb, or Valencia.

Some of the experience you’ll bring with you may include:

• Demonstrated senior operational leadership experience within a DMC or similar environment
• Proven experience leading incident management and operational risk response
• Strong experience in end‑to‑end operational implementation and product delivery
• Ability to lead, mentor and develop managers across diverse, cross‑cultural teams
• Highly developed stakeholder management and relationship‑building skills
• Strong project management, organisational and prioritisation capability
• Analytical, solutions‑focused mindset with the ability to drive continuous improvement
• Solid understanding of complex operating models and regional networks
• Willingness to work flexibly and undertake regular business travel
• Proficiency in French, Dutch, or another European language (preferred)

Desirable qualifications:

• Tertiary qualifications in business, project management or a related discipline
• Strong cross‑cultural awareness and understanding of international business practices

You’ll bring clear leadership, strong communication skills, and a calm, considered approach to decision‑making in high‑pressure situations. If you’re motivated by building strong teams, improving how things are done, and supporting safe, responsible travel at scale, we’d love to hear from you!

Please note: We recognise that AI use in applications is becoming more common. We run all applications through an AI washer, so if you choose to use AI, please do so with care and include something personal – it really makes a difference! We also reserve the right to close this advert earlier than stated if we receive a high volume of applications.

Our people reflect the diversity of our customers and the communities we visit. Intrepid is made up of 71 nationalities in over 30 countries, and we recognise that diversity makes us a stronger business. We support a culture where people can be themselves and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, including First Nations People, LGBTQI+ people, those living with a disability, or from disadvantaged backgrounds, and all people from different ethnicities, races, and religions.

Rewarding and developing our people is important to us, some of our work perks include:

• Flexible work arrangements, work‑from‑home and the ability to ‘work from anywhere’ 4 weeks a year
• A free Intrepid trip every year, plus generous discounts for families, and close friends
• 5 extra days of leave a year for use on Intrepid trips
• A minimum of 10 weeks paid parental leave for all parents, and other additional leave provisions.
• Access to e-learning platforms, professional development and mentor programs
• 20 hours of volunteer leave every year to use on causes most important to you
• Employee Assistance Program, a 24/7 service that offers counselling for you and your family

We are Real. Together. Ambitious. Impactful. These are our values and to us they’re more than just words, they are the pillars of our success and every day it’s our people and the work they do that bring them to life. We aim to ensure diversity, equity, and inclusion stay part of our recruitment process. If you require any reasonable adjustment to participate in the recruitment process, please contact us at careersupport@intrepidtravel.com with your name, location, and the adjustments you require, we will then be in touch to support your application.