Gregory Howard
West Wodonga,Australia
Summary
With many decades in roles such as Tour Guiding/Driving, Operations, Reservations, hospitality and more, I enjoy connecting with people and leading teams to achieve goal orientated results.
Overview
37
37
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Albury Operations Manager
Outback Spirit Tours
04.2019 - Current
- Supervised operations staff and kept employees compliant with company policies and procedures.
- Empowered employees to take ownership of their responsibilities, leading to increased accountability and improved performance outcomes.
- Conducted regular performance reviews, identifying areas for improvement and developing action plans to address them.
- Managed inventory and supply chain operations to achieve timely and accurate delivery of goods and services.
- Led hiring, onboarding and training of new hires to fulfill business requirements.
- Developed and maintained relationships with external vendors and suppliers.
- Enhanced customer satisfaction by establishing clear communication channels and addressing concerns promptly.
- Achieved higher employee retention rates by fostering a positive work environment and providing opportunities for professional growth.
- Handled problematic customers and clients to assist lower-level employees and maintain excellent customer service.
- Reported issues to higher management with great detail.
Driver Guide
Outback Spirit Tours
04.2016 - Current
- Working as a driver guide based in Broome WA doing the Kimberley / Pilbara regions
- Involves touring largely off road in remote areas of WA including the Gibb River Road and the Bungle Bungles
- Daily commentary, tour confirmations and dealing with on road issues as they arise
- Followed all relevant traffic laws and safety regulations.
B Double Driver
Ron Finemore Transport
10.2014 - Current
- B Double driver for the general division based in Wodonga
- Involves transferring of general freight intra and interstate
- Experience in loading and unloading with load restraint gates, curtains and a variety of general goods for Woolworths Limited
- This includes load restraints
Tour Director
AAT Kings
12.2010 - 09.2014
- Undertaking tours of Australia by coach and also capital to capital fly around tours
- Duties include the delivery of accurate commentary of all areas including history and recommendations of attractions, restaurants and tours
- Provide excellent customer service at all times even when under duress
- Organise and liaise with various departments and attractions to ensure a timely and smooth running of the tour
- Administer first aid when required
- Be responsible for all tour reconciliations and budgets
- Excellent product knowledge of the AAT product for optional tour sales Australia wide
Manager Foreign Language Tours
AAT Kings
12.2007 - 12.2010
- Dedicated and skilled business professional with a versatile administrative background in Language Tours and coach operations
- This included the day to day running of the department including rostering, allocation of guides, problem solving and working under pressure and timely deadlines
- Recruitment of language guides, payroll and budget control
- Offer advanced computer skills in MS Office Suite and other applications/systems
- Interpreting from Japanese to English and vice versa
Coach Driver
AAT Kings
12.2006 - 12.2007
- Provide Commentary tours for conscious image Coach Company in the Northern Territory and the Kimberley region
- Duties included preparation of tours and long distance touring with Australian and international clientele
- Driver training and development of new drivers including mentoring and tour preparation assistance
Coach Driver / Operations Manager
Terra Australis Tours
05.2001 - 12.2006
- Employed as a coach driver/guide and performed Safari Tours all over Australia with Foreign Exchange student organizations including Rotary International
- Extended Tours with Australian Senior Citizens to various Australian destinations
- Operations Manager including rostering and allocation of drivers recruitment, accounts Payable and Receivable and the day to day operation of the company
Coach Driver / Operations Manager
Australian Panoramic Tours
05.1997 - 05.2001
- Employed as a Coach Driver for Sydney Day Tours in English and Japanese
- Country NSW extended touring driver for Senior Citizen Groups
- Operations Manager for Coach and Japanese Division which included the allocations of Japanese Driver Guides and Coach Drivers
- Payroll and Recruitment, problem solving and dispute resolution
- Also during this time I was chosen to be an Operations Controller for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games
- Contracted to roster and allocate for the Sydney Based Sponsor Fleet for the Olympic Games
- Responsible for a fleet of 275 Coaches and 310 Drivers for Olympic movements during the 2000 Games
Coach Driver - Operations Assistant
Clipper Tours
05.1994 - 04.1997
- Employed as a Coach Driver for Sydney based day tours and extended touring and NSW Ski Tours to the NSW Snowfields
- Operations Assistant for a fleet of 35 coaches and 10 limousines
- High pressure position in a constantly changing operational environment
- Duties also included telephones enquiries and reservations and the day to day running of the coach division
Japanese Interpreter / Customer Service Agent
Northwest Airlines
01.1993 - 05.1994
- Japanese Interpreter and Ground Crew for image conscious Airline
- Duties involved Japanese Group check in, immigration formalities, boarding calls, office and arrival passenger assistance
- Interpreting from English to Japanese & vice versa
- Customer service enquiries in Japanese and English
English Teacher / Japanese Language Student
05.1990 - 12.1993
- Travelled, worked and lived in Sapporo City Japan for a period of 3 years
- Taught English (ESL) and studied Japanese at the Nihongo Academy - private one on one tuition
- Also worked for Japanese Real Estate Company teaching communications and English conversation to Japanese Staff
- Lived in a Japanese home stay for 18 months to learn culture awareness and Japanese customs and Language
Coach Driver
Clipper Tours
05.1988 - 05.1990
- Provide Commentary day tours in Sydney and intrastate areas
- Did some extended touring and performed ski tours to the NSW Ski fields
- A lot of night driving involved
- Started to develop my Japanese Language skills and was a dedicated driver for Japanese contract work for Sydney day tours
Coach Driver
Murray Australia
05.1987 - 05.1988
- Provide Commentary day tours in Sydney areas
- Predominately Japanese customers and this was the commencement of my Japanese Studies
- Coach driver for Sydney to Canberra Express Service
- Also charter work when required
Education
High School Diploma -
Pendle Hill High School
Wentworthville, NSW11.1981
Skills
- Problem-Solving
- Team Leadership
- Operations Management
- Customer Service
- Employee relations and conflict resolution
- Planning and Implementation
- Staff Training
- Staff Management
- MS Office
Certification
- Charles Darwin University Cert 3 Tourism & Guiding Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park 2010
- Charles Darwin University Cert 3 Tourism & Guiding Kakadu National Park 2011
- St Johns First Aid Certification
- VIC MC Driver's License
- VIC Drivers Accreditation
- Forklift Licence
- [Name of Certification] [Issuing Organization] [Year Month]
Accomplishments
- Earned the “Professionalism” Award in 2023 for Journey Beyond Excellence Awards.
- Monday.com certified Super User JBRE/OST 2024.
- NT Brolga Awards Winner Specialised Tourism Services AAT Kings Language Department two years running in 2009 & 2010.
- UNSW Qantas Language Proficiency Test Advanced Credit Level 5 Japanese
INTERESTS
- Travelling
- Gardening
- Aircraft
- Languages
- Cooking
- Real Estate
- Movies
- Photography
Travelling
My love of travelling began at the age of 15 and to date have been to 51 countries around the world including Europe, the Americas, South Korea, Japan, New Zealand to name a few. Being a lover of languages I lived in Sapporo City Japan for 3 years achieving fluency. I have also studied French, German, Italian, Indonesian and Latin.
Additional Information
not yet
Languages
Japanese
Professional Working
Timeline
Albury Operations Manager
Outback Spirit Tours
04.2019 - Current
Driver Guide
Outback Spirit Tours
04.2016 - Current
B Double Driver
Ron Finemore Transport
10.2014 - Current
Tour Director
AAT Kings
12.2010 - 09.2014
Manager Foreign Language Tours
AAT Kings
12.2007 - 12.2010
Coach Driver
AAT Kings
12.2006 - 12.2007
Coach Driver / Operations Manager
Terra Australis Tours
05.2001 - 12.2006
Coach Driver / Operations Manager
Australian Panoramic Tours
05.1997 - 05.2001
Coach Driver - Operations Assistant
Clipper Tours
05.1994 - 04.1997
Japanese Interpreter / Customer Service Agent
Northwest Airlines
01.1993 - 05.1994
English Teacher / Japanese Language Student
05.1990 - 12.1993
Coach Driver
Clipper Tours
05.1988 - 05.1990
Coach Driver
Murray Australia
05.1987 - 05.1988
- Charles Darwin University Cert 3 Tourism & Guiding Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park 2010
- Charles Darwin University Cert 3 Tourism & Guiding Kakadu National Park 2011
- St Johns First Aid Certification
- VIC MC Driver's License
- VIC Drivers Accreditation
- Forklift Licence
- [Name of Certification] [Issuing Organization] [Year Month]
High School Diploma -
Pendle Hill High School
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