Field Experts - Spring 2025

Excited to grow your career?

We value our talented employees, and whenever possible strive to help one of our associates grow professionally before recruiting new talent to our open positions. If you think the open position you see is right for you, we encourage you to apply!

Our people make all the difference in our success. 

Job Description

FIELD EXPERT PROGRAM

• To see all available TE, OpX, and TE/OpX positions, please see  Open Field Expert Positions. Carefully review the seasonality, language requirements, and additional position details for the role(s) you are interested in. 
• For full information on the Field Expert role, responsibilities, and benefits, please review the Field Expert Handbook.
• This application closes on April 11, 2025.

Who You Are  

Field Staff who seek growth, look for more responsibility, want to contribute to the quality, have an impact on our trips and regions, and embody our  TE Criteria and  OpX Criteria.

Requirements  (What You’ll Need):

• Trip Leader Performance must be 25% or greater, with a minimum of 20 guest evaluations  
• If you have fewer than 20 evals, your LPF must be 40% or greater, with a minimum of 3 trips led.  
• Eye for Quality – ability to improve trip quality (TE) and regional quality (OpX)   
• Trip leading, TPS, and/or personal experience in the region  
• Cultural knowledge and understanding of the region  
• Working knowledge of Office 365 systems: Teams, Outlook, OneDrive, SharePoint, Microsoft Word/Excel  
• Ability to meet deadlines and work independently  
• Timely and responsive with communication  
• Meets language requirements for the region  
• Biking TEs and OpXs must be tested Proficient or higher in bike skills.  
• Two-year commitment is highly recommended and preferred 
• Meeting minimum scheduling availability requirements

The primary job of a Field Expert is to remain in the field as a Trip Leader or TPS. This requires excellent planning and time management skills, especially during peak periods of the year. 

• Quantity of trips to be determined depending on timing, volume, Regional Director (RD), Regional Field Lead (RL) or Field Lead - Operations (FLO) input
• Time off will be reviewed by RD, RL, or FLO in advance to allow for planned coverage by a Quality Torch
• Complexity of the role (number of products/versions and departures for TEs, and number of units and departures for OpXs) subject to change from season to season based on growth, demand, and business needs.  

TE JOB DESCRIPTION

A Trip Expert’s objective is to maintain and improve the quality and value of their trip(s). Trip Experts are asked to view their trip through the eyes of our guests. How do our guests perceive the elements of the trip? Should we be adding activities or upgrading hotels? Are we paying too much for something that the guests do not perceive as having a high value? Trip Experts serve as our local, on-the-ground experts. They develop and maintain relationships with suppliers, propose/review trip changes and review marketing materials, contracts and costs. They collaborate with their RD and RL to make their itineraries the best they can be. A TEs main deliverables are broken into three projects: Presearch, Quality Assessment & Search, PreSeason Updates. These projects align with other business timelines and carve out time for TEs to assess the quality of their trip, research new options, develop supplier relationships and keep the product portal (soon to be Ascent) up to date.    

TE Job Responsibilities  

Primary Duties:

• Work closely with the RD and RL to understand and advise on current trip itineraries and trip improvements
• Maintain successful relationships with hotels and other suppliers
• Serve as the Backroads field representative and resolve issues as they arise in the field
• Maintain accurate and complete product portal (soon to be Ascent) itineraries, GPS routes and On Trip App information
• Complete weekly quality review of trip feedback and bring trends to RL and RD as well as feedback to suppliers, as needed
• Timely completion of Travel Planner and web page review. Review for accuracy and quality to ensure both capture the details and the spirit of the trip    

Presearch Primary Duties:

• Timely completion of Desk & Field Presearch to set the season and field staff in your region up for success
• Prepare for Field Presearch by connecting with RL and RD, setting up meetings with suppliers and creating a Field Presearch plan
• Review Product Portal (soon to be Ascent) and incorporate updates from Field Presearch in order to ensure that information is complete and accurate
• Review and update field staff resources such as Emergency Resources, FAM guide, Prep Day Checklist.
• Review and update guest resources such as On Trip App and Travel Planner  

Quality Search Primary Duties:

• Timely completion of mid-season Quality Assessment and Quality Search effort
• Problem-solve current-year quality issues
• Reflect on trip quality and research future year quality improvements  

PSU Primary Duties:

• Timely completion of Pre-Season Updates (PSUs)
• Review trip itineraries and incorporate updates from Field Presearch in order to ensure that information is complete and accurate
• Ensure all products for the following year are built out in Product Portal (soon to be Ascent). This entails reviewing and updating information used for contracting, selling your trip and setting up leaders to lead your trip.
• Review and update field staff resources Emergency Resources, FAM guide, Prep Day Checklist.
• Review guest resources. This includes GPS routes and On Trip App experience which must be created and updated for the following year.
• Capture changes to itinerary and notes for next year in Regional Team Channel  

OPX JOB DESCRIPTION

An Operations Expert’s objective is to maintain and improve the quality of our regions. From the opening to the closing of the region, OpXs are responsible for facilitating a smooth and cost-effective experience for all field staff that pass through. In addition to the primary role as TPS or Trip Leader, this encompasses welcoming Field Staff entering the region, educating them on the systems created, overseeing all aspects of field house and overflow accommodations, establishing a storage space, and maintaining that space and all Backroads equipment in an organized manner. The role as an OpX is as much about working with people as it is about working with equipment – whether coordinating with the Ops team in that hub, helping field staff solve logistical issues while on trip, or collaborating with Field Staff in the region to refine systems. Part of the mission as an OpX is to work toward constantly improving the region so that Backroads can deliver incredible experiences to guests through a balance between cost of projects and quality improvements that come from them.  

OpX Job Responsibilities  

Primary Duties:

• Work closely with the FLO and Operations Hub
• Ensure all Backroads operations policies are followed, and new initiatives are implemented
• Actively communicate with field staff entering, working in, and departing the region
• Maintain all equipment, bikes, and Backroads possessions
• Coordinate with staff during the arrival and departure of all vans, trailers, bikes, unit equipment
• Coordinate regional bed bookings and overflow
• Communicate transportation needs (i.e. rental cars for FAMs, trips, GRAFs) with FLO
• Educate field staff on systems and processes within the region
• Act as the regional point person for landlord relations
• Receive feedback from field staff and suggest improvements to FLO, implement as needed   

Region Set Up Primary Duties:

• Find field house and storage if FLO hasn’t already or if there is overflow needed
• Create and update regional documents: RON, Welcome Doc, Unit Schedule, other region-specific.
• Ensure that all utilities and cleaning services are set up, billed, and paid for in a timely manner
• Set up and stock inventory for field house, storage, and office spaces    

Mid-Season Maintenance Primary Duties: 

• Coordinate the arrival of roving mechanic in mid-season
• Coordinate mid-season maintenance including inventorying all the bikes and equipment in region and requesting equipment from the hub
• Coordinate van and trailer maintenance as needed    

End of Season Primary Duties:   

• Update RON   
• Close down field house, storage, and office spaces   
• Ensure that all utilities and cleaning services are closed down
• Return all necessary equipment to the hub