Associate Manager of Customer Service
EF Ultimate Break Boston, MA Are you hungry to bring your customer-centric leadership to an innovative and fast-growing organization? Are you an ambitious and self-motivated rock star? Seriously – are you?  As a critical leader for our Customer Service team, you’ll make sure our travelers have remarkable experiences at every touchpoint—from the moment they sign up for a trip, to making their preparation process seamless and engaging, to ensuring that they have experiences on tour worth raving about. You will oversee day-to-day operations, manage customer escalations, and develop and implement strategies to enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty.  The ideal candidate has a strong background in customer service, excellent communication skills and a passion for travel.  The team:The Ultimate Break Customer Service team manages the entire customer journey—starting from the moment they book until they return from their trip—both proactively and reactively. As the Associate Manager of Customer Service, you both coach and roll up your sleeves to help your team succeed in all of the above areas—pretty cool, and very important for our business.The role:

 Team Leadership:

Lead, mentor and develop a team of Trip Specialists, focusing on skill development, fostering a collaborative and positive work environment, and supporting long-term career goals.Conduct regular performance check ins and provide feedback, coaching and development opportunities.Drive team engagement and morale through effective leadership, recognition, and incentives. Operational Support:Set and drive goals and KPIs related to customer retention, satisfaction ratings, and sales of travel insurance, optional excursions, and other ancillary revenue products.Provide advanced knowledge of products, policies, and internal processes to your team.Equip team members with tools and strategies to troubleshoot and resolve complex customer and business issues creatively and effectively.Model and teach high-level communication skills to handle challenging customer interactions, build trust, and enhance customer loyalty.Guide team members in time management, prioritization, and efficiency to improve overall performance and productivity.Identify and implement process improvements to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and quality of the service provided to customers.Customer Interaction:Monitor customer interactions and feedback (written and verbal) to ensure a high-standard of service is delivered consistently and to identify trends and areas for improvement.Handle escalated customer concerns and complex situations directly when necessary, providing exceptional service and effective resolutions and coach team on how to handle similar issues in the future.Join the phone queue or handle emails and chat messages during high-volume periods to support the team and ensure timely customer service.Demonstrate exemplary service and positive resolutions to set a high standard for your team. Cross-Functional Collaboration:Collaborate with Sales, Marketing, Product Development, Operations, Tour Directors, Travel/Flights, Technology, and Finance to drive continuous improvement initiatives and enhance overall service delivery. Project Management:Lead projects from conception to implementation, including developing new processes, updating customer communications, designing training content, and working with Technology to address system improvements or fixes. Who you are:Associate or Bachelor’s degree, preferably in business, hospitality, psychology or a related field. At least 3+ years’ relevant work experience and at least 1+ years’ managing a team; hands-on experience in team training or coaching preferred.Thrive in a fast-paced environment where change is the norm.An effective leader, with a strong positive presence. You tactically understand how to build a top-performing team and excel at developing individual team members.A problem-solving whiz. You love a complex challenge and are able to “cut through the noise” to find a clear path forward.An exceptional communicator—in all circumstances, and especially when things get tough. You handle difficult conversations strategically, empathetically, calmly, and with confidence.An activator who gets things done. You independently identify opportunities to improve how we work, and drive initiatives forward to completion.Highly organized and efficient. You’re able to juggle, prioritize, and execute a high-volume and broad range of tasks daily / weekly / beyond.Have good judgment & decision-making skills. You resolve sensitive customer or staff needs responsibly and effectively. And when emergencies arise on one of our trips, you balance providing top-in-class support for our travelers alongside business/financial/liability considerations.Are an unflappable force for good. You recognize and shine light on team successes, you champion individual team members’ goals, and when the days are hard you lead the way forward with authenticity, grit, and positive energy.Hungry to learn and grow. We can’t wait to learn about your professional interests & goals, and help you crush them!  Why You’ll Love Working Here: Perks, Benefits and Earning Potential  Work in our North American Headquarters where you’ll enjoy comprehensive professional development, frequent social programming, and employee-run social groups (including our “EF-finity” groups: Black@EF, LGBTQ+@EF, Latinos@EF, Asians@EF and Parents@EF). In addition, you can expect: Paid International Business Travel opportunitiesCommitment to professional growth: robust monthly calendar of trainings, workshops, and TED Talk style sessions Four (4) weeks paid vacation your first year, ten paid holidays plus two floating holidays. 25% company match on your 401(k) Market-leading medical, dental and vision coverage, along with life and disability insurance Wellness benefits including onsite and virtual classes run by EF instructors and a yearly fitness reimbursement$1500 annual tuition reimbursement and $500 annual charity matching EF Product Discounts (discounts on travel, international language schools, childcare with our Au Pair product and more) Dependent care, healthcare, and commuter Flex Spending Accounts (FSAs) Discounts at local venues and businesses Compensation: First year on-target earnings of $65,000 - $70,000 with some bonus opportunity About EF Education First At EF we believe that the world is better when people try to understand one another. Since 1965, we have helped millions of people see new places, experience new cultures, and learn new things about the world and about themselves. Our culturally immersive education programs—focused on language, travel, cultural exchange, and academics—turn dreams into international opportunities. When you join EF, you join a multicultural and diverse community working across 600 schools and offices in 50 countries, all with one shared mission of opening the world through education. Whoever you are, whatever you are passionate about—we welcome you and want you to bring that to work every day. EF is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and we are committed to inclusion and belonging across race, ethnicity, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, age, religion, ability, parental status, experience and everything else that makes you unique.