Senior Onboard Manager

Armstrong Collective is the parent company of Rocky Mountaineer and Canyon Spirit, unforgettable rail experiences in Western Canada and the American Southwest. Since 1990, we have grown to become the largest privately-owned luxury rail company in the world, having welcomed over 2.4 million guests onboard. We are committed to living our values: Create Meaningful Moments, Be One Team, Achieve Extraordinary Outcomes. We foster a work environment of respect, integrity, and honesty; where diversity is valued, and talent is developed to support the growth of our team members and our company.

This is a year-round role based in Denver, Colorado with weekly travel from Denver to Salt Lake City on our trains during our operating seasons.

The Senior Onboard Manager reports to the Director, Guest Experience. This position is accountable to oversee all onboard operations for our Canyon Spirit (“CS”) route.

This position is deemed Safety Alert. This position requires the incumbent to periodically access an active railway area where impaired performance could result a significant incident affecting the health and safety of team members, guests, team members, the public, property, or the environment.

 

Key Areas of Accountability 

 

Team Engagement & People Leadership

• Provide leadership, guidance and support in all aspects of Onboard Management, Operations for Front of House, and Culinary teams. 

• Promote crew engagement through the creation and implementation of team recognition programs.

• Foster teamwork, collaboration and accountability onboard, while empowering team members to achieve individual and department goals.

• Drive a culture of service excellence by enlivening the Service Fundamentals and Onboard Standards.  

• Enhance workplace culture, reflecting the values of Canyon Spirit while promoting a “One Team” mindset.

• Champion and communicate new and existing programs, processes and initiatives, with a focus on continuous improvement. 

• Support recruitment, onboarding, training and development of new and existing team members, including succession planning and identifying future workforce needs. 

• Ensure successful execution of pre-season training and collaborate in the development and delivery of training modules for onboard service (in partnership with the Guest Experience Training team).

• Champion intra- and inter-departmental team building initiatives, establishing strong working relationships and effectively communicating with stakeholders.

• Responsible for the professional development of the Train Manager’s through regular performance management, goal planning and reviews. 

• Ensure team engagement through regularly scheduled in season crew socials. 

 

Safety & Emergency Response 

• Accountable for the promotion of positive safety behaviors leading to the reduction of accidents, injuries, and illnesses.

• Proactively identify, report, and eliminate safety hazards and escalate as required.

• Engage onboard leadership in a culture of safety through audit, coaching and training.

• Support Workplace Health and Safety Committee activities and initiatives.

• Oversee onboard safety training and emergency preparedness including adherence to the onboard SMS program. 

• Participate as necessary in CS Emergency Response Management Plans.

 

Service Delivery

• Oversee development, revision and adherence to SOP’s.

• Drive understanding and use of guest metric reporting, providing leadership, coaching and support to the Onboard team to improve guest experience.

• Act as the main contact for Destinations, GEC, Rail Operations, Sales, Marketing, and Product Operations regarding guest issues.

• Work with Research & Analytics team to measure outcomes of change initiatives and make recommendations

• Innovation, redefining Onboard Guest Experience 

• Manage Onboard document library for service standards, storytelling and processes. 

• Monitor feedback from Onboard teams and guests, and follow up on “pain points.”

• Ensure the train is provisioned to standard in partnership with Onboard Management and Logistics Teams.

• Partner with the Director, Guest Experience to give direction to Procurement on product selection.

• Support menu development in collaboration with the Director, Culinary Strategy and Chef de Cuisine. 

• Drive consistency, accountability, and standards across trains.

• Champion intra and interdepartmental team building initiatives by establishing strong working relationships and effectively communicating with internal and external partners.

• Champion and communicate change initiatives within both Onboard operations and Armstron