Tour Manager
Sockeye Cycle Co.
Skagway, Alaska
Lead a team guiding bike tours as our Skagway Tour Manager based in Southeast Alaska!
Seasonal
Job Starts: Apr 29, 2024
Spend your summer on a bike!
Bicycle tours, rentals, sales, and service for over 30 years!
Our main location, Skagway, is a small town with lots of tourist visitation in the summer attracting many seasonal workers and creating a vibrant community. It is surrounded by water, mountains, trails, and wilderness with options for lots of outdoor exploring.
Jobs in the Spotlight
About Sockeye Cycle Co.
We specialize in bicycle tours of Alaska and the far North. Our two full-service bike shops are located in the coastal communities of Haines and Skagway at the end of Southeast Alaska's Inside Passage. Both communities have road access to the Yukon and border large areas of protected wilderness.
The Employee Experience
We have opportunities available for different types of bike-based guiding and support positions.
In Skagway, AK, we offer bicycle tours and rentals daily to visitors of the busy cruise port. Skagway based guides can expect full-time work with 1 to 2 days off per week. Our Skagway location offers inexpensive, high quality employee housing. Our housing features shared kitchen and laundry, private and shared rooms, a deck with a glacier view, and is located downtown just minutes away from hiking and biking trails. Road access to the Yukon and ferry access to the rest of SE Alaska offers lots of opportunities to explore the area.
Haines, AK, is the base for our multi-day tours, and we also have less frequent day tours. Haines guiding positions in 2024 can be part-time or full-time with a combination of day tours and multi-day trips.
We are also interested in interviewing 1 - 2 Fairbanks based guides for some tours in June and July.
Our tours are not only about riding bikes but also sharing information on the area and local history with visitors from all over the world. Our guides must be knowledgeable in local plant, wildlife, cultural, and natural history information. We provide in depth training and learning opportunities throughout the season for individuals to continue to increase their knowledge base.
Outside of work, we plan staff trips to many popular events including: a road bike relay, a weekend mountain bike festival, the Southeast AK State Fair, and other events and music festivals in the area.
Ideal Candidate
We're looking for reliable, trustworthy team members that enjoy working with groups, leading tours, and teaching/interpretation. The main qualifications are:
- A desire to be on a bike in all weather and to facilitate bike rides for hundreds of guests of all backgrounds.
- The ability to learn and communicate information about our area to small groups of guests in an engaging way.
- Must be a US citizen or have a green card or work visa for the USA.
- Must be able to drive our tour vans. This requires you to be 21 years of age and pass a medical DOT physical (can be obtained after job offer). You must also have a clean driving record and provide a DMV report covering the past three years. You also need to get an AK drivers license or have a Real ID compliant license from your current state.
- Current CPR and First Aid certification is required (can be obtained after job offer).
- All employees must be able to travel into Canada regularly.
- All employees will sign a contract when hired and agree to work for the term of the contract (usually 3-5 months).
Room and Board
We have housing in Skagway available for our employees. The group housing is located in the same building as the business, and consists of 10 bedrooms with 3 bathrooms, a large kitchen, a common area, and free laundry. The large south facing deck has a view of the Harding Glacier and is a popular spot on sunny days and for cooking out. The house is fully stocked for kitchen needs, cleaning supplies, and most other communal items. Wifi is also included and reasonable speed for everything except heavy data usage. Rent costs $250 (shared room) to $400 (private room) per person. The term of your lease will match your employment term, so you'll only pay rent when living/working in Skagway.
We can help with finding and securing housing in Haines, though at this time do not have housing that we offer directly.
Employee Perks
We provide a thorough paid training session at the beginning of the season. We offer competitive pay, partially subsidized housing, and a fun teamwork environment.
Other perks of the job are the ability to use good quality rental bikes (gravel road bikes, touring bikes, mountain bikes, ebikes, etc.) and take staff trips to great mountain bike trails, wilderness rides, and other areas outside of town. Our team also qualifies for industry pro deals on bikes, parts, and a wide variety of outdoor apparel.
Getting Here and Getting Around
Skagway and Haines are connected to the Alaska Marine Highway system as well as the Alaska/Canada Hwy (Alcan). Most people end up flying to Juneau then taking a ferry from Juneau up to Skagway or Haines. It is also possible to take the AMHS ferry all the way up from Bellingham, WA, a three day trip. Driving is also an option, and also takes 3-4 days of travel through Canada from the US border. Everything is accessible by walking or biking when in town though there are lots of great nearby destinations that can be accessed if you do bring a vehicle.
For Fun
Recreational opportunities abound! You can walk out of our shop/house door and be at a number of trails in minutes. Cycling, running, climbing, skiing, boarding, fishing, hiking, kayaking, and more are easily available nearby. We spot eagles, bears, mountain goats, waterfalls, and glaciers on tour. Haines and Skagway are great communities for outdoor oriented individuals and draws a fun mix of familiar faces and new workers up for the summers.
How to Apply
Click APPLY HERE and fill out an application on our website
Based on your qualifications and when we receive your application, we will conduct phone interviews, check references and hire as needed. The bulk of our hiring takes place November through March, though we consider qualified applications at all times.
Contact Info
- Sockeye Cycle
- skagway@sockeyecycle.com
- (907) 983-2851
- www.sockeyecycle.com
