Alaska Native Voices Manager

Job Description

Job Description

JOB TITLE: Alaska Native Voices Manager

DEPARTMENT: Alaska Native Voices / Tourism & Destinations

REPORTS TO: Director, Alaska Native Voices

LOCATION: Hoonah or Juneau, Alaska (with regular regional travel)

UPDATED: June 18, 2026

JOB CLASSIFICATION: Regular, Full-Time, Seasonal Peak

FLSA STATUS: Exempt

Job Summary

The Alaska Native Voices Manager leads the day-to-day operation and growth of Alaska Native Voices (ANV), Huna Totem Corporation’s cultural heritage program. ANV honors the traditions, stories, and wisdom of Alaska’s Indigenous people, especially the Huna Tlingit, and shares them with the world through our Native Cultural Heritage Guides. This role carries that mission forward while building a thriving, revenue-generating tour operation aboard cruise ships, in Glacier Bay National Park, and across our ports.

The Manager works closely with operational leadership, including the Excursions Director and Senior Director, to develop, enhance, and execute exceptional cultural experiences while supporting ANV’s continued expansion into premium, experiential tours led by trained Native Cultural Heritage Guides. This position serves as both a business leadership role and a cultural stewardship role, ensuring operational growth and long-term sustainability never come at the expense of authenticity or the values embodied in Haa Shagóon; honoring our ancestors and preserving our heritage for future generations.

This is both a business leadership role and a stewardship role. The right person balances commercial results with cultural integrity, cares deeply about the guides and the communities we serve, and is willing to step in personally; including boarding cruise ships by ladder from a moving vessel; to make sure the experience is delivered to standard.

Key Responsibilities

Revenue & Cruise Line Partnership

• Develop and grow the ANV tour portfolio, identifying new opportunities to expand offerings and increase per-guest revenue.
• Build and maintain strong, trusting relationships with cruise line partners, vendors, and destination stakeholders.
• Track tour performance, guest feedback, and revenue against targets, and adjust offerings to improve results.
• Represent ANV professionally as the program’s primary operational point of contact with commercial partners.

Tour Operations & Execution

• Plan and execute tours flawlessly across cruise ships, Glacier Bay National Park, and port destinations, ensuring every experience meets ANV’s standards for quality and authenticity.
• Lead the launch of new experiential, upscale port tours led by trained Native guides.
• Coordinate the daily logistics of tour delivery, including scheduling, staffing, equipment, and on-site problem solving.
• Board cruise ships to support and supervise guides, including boarding by ladder from a moving vessel when required by sea conditions and ship operations.
• Step in to personally lead or guide a tour when needed to ensure guests are served and commitments to partners are met.

Guide Support, Travel & Logistics

• Arrange travel, lodging, and logistics for guides across multiple communities and tour sites.
• Recruit, train, schedule, and support Native Cultural Heritage Guides, helping them grow in both delivery skills and cultural knowledge.
• Serve as a steady, encouraging point of contact for guides in the field, removing obstacles so they can focus on storytelling and guest experience.
• Ensure guides have the materials, transportation, and information they need to succeed at each location.

Cultural Stewardship

• Protect and advance the cultural integrity of every ANV experience, honoring the traditions and values of the Huna Tlingit and the descendants of the Xunaa Káawu.
• Work closely with cultural advisors and community members to ensure stories and content are shared respectfully and accurately.
• Champion the ANV mission internally and externally, ensuring commercial growth never comes at the expense of authenticity.

Physical Requirements & Work Environment

• Must be able to climb a ladder from a moving boat onto a cruise ship and safely transfer between vessels in open-water conditions.
• Must be able to travel by small aircraft and travel regularly to remote communities, including Gustavus, Hoonah, and Klawock, among other locations.
• Work is performed in a mix of office, vessel, dock, and outdoor field settings, often in variable Southeast Alaska weather.
• Must be able to stand, walk, board vessels, and remain active outdoors for extended periods, and to lift and carry tour equipment and supplies.
• Work is seasonal in nature; extended hours, early mornings, weekends, and holidays are required during the peak tourism season.
• This position may be based in Hoonah or Juneau, Alaska, with frequent travel throughout the region.

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor’s degree required; an additional four (4) years of relevant experience may be substituted in lieu of a degree.

Experience

• Minimum five (5) years of tourism management experience required.
• Demonstrated success driving revenue and managing commercial partnerships, ideally with cruise lines or destination tour operators, preferred.
• Experience leading guides, field staff, or teams in a customer-facing operation.
• Experience coordinating travel and logistics across multiple remote locations preferred.
• Knowledge of, or connection to, Alaska Native culture and communities, especially the Huna Tlingit, strongly preferred.

Skills & Competencies

• Strong business and commercial sense, with the ability to grow revenue while protecting cultural integrity.
• Excellent organization and logistics skills, with the ability to execute complex operations flawlessly under pressure.
• Warm, people-first leadership style that earns the trust of guides, partners, and community members.
• Clear, authentic communication skills with guests, partners, and team members.
• Physical readiness and comfort with vessel boarding, small-plane travel, and active outdoor field work.
• Proficiency with standard business and scheduling tools (Microsoft Office Suite and similar).

Huna Totem Corporation is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer, with Native Preference under P.L. 93-638.