Lead Operations Coordinator — Luxury Travel

Wagner Bespoke Travel; Santa Monica (CA); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Luxury retreats

Tech stipend

Travel perks

Job summary

Wagner Bespoke Travel in Santa Monica seeks a Lead Operations Coordinator to own complex trips end-to-end and raise team performance. You will work closely with the Founder and Operations Director, handling high-stakes itineraries and building repeatable systems.

The role evolves toward formal leadership as the firm grows, with on-call support and supplier relationship management. You will mentor coordinators, ensure flawless execution, and contribute to capacity planning and tooling decisions

Qualifications

• 5+ years of operations, travel, or hospitality experience; mentoring or training others is a strong plus.
• Owned complex, time-sensitive logistics end-to-end with a track record of flawless execution.
• Systems thinker who documents, standardizes, and improves messy processes.
• Lead by doing and maintain high personal standards.
• Ambition to grow into people leadership and earn it through performance.

Responsibilities

• Own our most demanding, high-stakes trips end-to-end and act as escalation point when issues arise.
• Mentor and coach coordinators, sharing expertise and modeling standards.
• Review trip flows to catch issues and ensure itineraries, quotes, and communications meet standards.
• Serve as a senior point of contact for suppliers (hotels GMs, DMCs) and negotiate on behalf of clients.
• Own weekend on-call coverage and emergency protocols to support clients without burning out the team.
• Collaborate with Founder and Operations Director on capacity planning, hiring, tooling decisions.

Skills

Operations management

Logistics coordination

Client communication

Mentorship

Systems thinking

Tools

AXUS

Excel

Google Suite

Job description

Wagner Bespoke Travel, a successful and growing boutique luxury travel advisory firm based in Santa Monica, is hiring its first Lead Operations Coordinator. Our operations team — currently two coordinators, soon three — handles the A-to-Z of trip execution for ultra-HNW clients traveling worldwide. As we grow, we need a senior operator who can raise the bar for how this team works — and grow into leading it.

This is a player-coach role. You'll own our most complex trips and stay deep in the day-to-day, while also building the systems, standards, and habits that make excellence repeatable across the team. You won't be managing anyone on day one — but this role is deliberately designed to grow into team oversight as the firm scales, and we're hiring someone with that trajectory in mind.

Where this Role Goes

You’ll join as a senior member of the operations team, working directly with the Founder and Operations Director. As you master our clients, suppliers, and workflows — and as the team grows — the role expands into formal team leadership: setting priorities, developing coordinators, and running operations as a function. We want someone who's excited to earn that mandate by doing the work first.

What You’ll Own

• Complex trip execution. Own our most demanding, high-stakes trips end-to-end, and serve as the escalation point when trips go sideways — the person the team turns to when things get complicated.
• Raising the team's game. Mentor and coach the coordinators — share expertise, model the standard, run trip reviews, and help each of them grow into more strategic work — without formal management responsibility (yet).
• Quality and client experience. Review trip flows across the team, catch issues before clients do, and ensure every itinerary, quote, and communication meets our standard.
• Supplier relationships. Serve as a senior point of contact for hotel GMs, DMCs, and partners worldwide, and help the team negotiate effectively on behalf of clients.
• Coverage and continuity. Own the weekend on-call rotation and emergency protocols so clients are supported at all hours without burning out the team.
• Strategic input. Work directly with the Founder and Operations Director on capacity planning, hiring, tooling decisions, and how operations should evolve as the firm grows.

You Might Be a Fit If You

• Have 5+ years of operations, travel, or hospitality experience — mentoring or training others is a strong plus
• Have owned complex, time-sensitive logistics end-to-end and know what "flawless execution" actually takes
• Are a systems thinker — you see a messy process and instinctively want to document, standardize, and improve it
• Lead by doing: you're credible with the team because you do the work yourself, at a high standard
• Want to grow into people leadership and are excited to earn it, not just be handed it
• Communicate with polish — with clients, with luxury hotel GMs abroad, and with the team
• Stay calm as the escalation point when trips go sideways
• Are hyperorganized, detail-obsessed, and comfortable holding others to that same bar with warmth and clarity

Wishlist

• Deep familiarity with ultra-HNW luxury travel: destinations, hotel brands, and clientele expectations
• Experience with AXUS or similar itinerary/travel workflow platforms
• Prior experience in a boutique or founder-led business

Logistics and Requirements

• Must live in the Los Angeles area
• Onsite 4 days per week in Santa Monica, 1 day remote
• Experienced in Excel and Google Suite
• Oversees (and participates in) rotating weekend on-call

Salary and Benefits

• Salary Range: $110,000 – $130,000 + Bonus
• 401k matching, tech stipend, two luxury retreats yearly, and more
• Travel perks available after 6+ months (heavily discounted hotel stays, etc.)