JOB OPPORTUNITIES
You're a
food enthusiast
& history buff
who's outgoing? articulate? energetic?
If you love exploring every hidden nook and cranny of a neighborhood, sampling new foods, sharing stories, researching history and meeting people from around the world, then reach out to us today to learn more about working with us! You don’t have to have previous experience leading tours, but if you’ve got past experience in public speaking, group management and/or any customer-facing role, that’s a huge advantage. This is a part-time freelance position for those who have existing UAE residence visas (either a freelance visa or one sponsored by a family member) and who are not currently employed at another company.
Job Title
Food Tour Leader
Hiring Cycle & Key Dates
Our Jan 2025 hiring cycle is open for applications, so please apply online!
The following are key dates to keep in mind if you’re considering applying for this position. We’d love to have you join us, so please check your availability for these important moments!
- November 20, 2024: Final date for application submission.
- November 27, 2024 (5:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.): First-round group interview (mandatory).
- December 9, 2024 (5:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.): Second-round group interview (mandatory).
- January 7 – January 10, 2025 (9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.): Full-day training sessions (mandatory attendance on all days).
- January 15, 2025: Final date to obtain Dubai tour guide license.
- Post-December 15, 2024: Availability required for three evenings per week until the end of May 2025 and from September 15, 2025, to May 2026, except for occasional days off for religious holidays or medical/travel-related reasons.
Working Season
A tour leader can expect to be busiest during our peak season from October to May. If you don’t travel much out of Dubai during these months, this might be the right role for you!
We offer very limited tours during the summer months (June to September), which gives our tour leaders a good chunk of time to travel the world!
Why Apply?
- Free food!
- Competitive pay with a bonus gratuity option on large group tours
- Receive free upfront and ongoing training on how to become a charismatic public speaker
- Enjoy free trips to Dubai’s best attractions, as hosted by Dubai’s Tour Guide program
- Meet interesting and well-traveled people from around the world
- Explore outdoors rather than be stuck behind a screen
- Learn new stories and historical facts about the city
- Personal & professional freedom (adjust your own tour scripts!)
- Regular company sponsored team breakfasts
- Serve international media and get featured in global publications
- Opportunity for growth (into roles around business development, bespoke experiences, etc.)
- Not 9 to 5! Flexible hours
Who Are We?
Since our founding in 2013, we have been the pioneers of food tourism in Dubai and continue to be at the forefront of unique food and culture experiences that the city has to offer. A significant chunk of our guests come in because they were recommended our tours from someone else, which is a clear testament to the exceptional tour quality and superior customer service that our tour leaders offer. We are known as “Dubai’s street food experts,” and anyone who joins the team gets to enjoy that recognition as well as partake of our ongoing ‘research’ (food tastings!) across the city. While we love cloudy and cool days, we do many tours when it’s warmer too. Whatever happens out there, we really shine when adversity comes knocking!
Here's a taste of what our tour leader do — and the impact they have.
Role Responsibilities & Expectations
Our tour leaders ensure that everything runs smoothly, and that our guests have a great time on tour, day in and day out. As the face of our company, candidates must have exceptional customer service skills, be extremely punctual and organized, and be able to work well both as part of a team and individually. Our staff wear many hats: guide, server, confidant, problem solver, conversationalist, leader, caregiver, and general rock star! Leading tours and welcoming our guests is a highly sought-after position demanding lots of cultural and historical knowledge and above-all, extraordinary people skills. Those are the obvious qualifications, but no less important is the ability to work very flexible hours and have a strong sense of team pride.
Tour leaders are initially trained on one or two tours, and as your expertise and competency grows so does the portfolio of activities you can lead. While guides spend the majority of time out on tour showing our customers a great time, they also spend some of their time doing behind-the-scenes pre and post-tour work as well as help with new tour design.
What an Average Week Looks Like?
Once a tour leader is live on the field—
- Conduct 3-4 evening tours a week during peak season (October to May)
- Make reservations at tour stops in advance of tour
- Collect tour swag for the group from our coordinator before the tour
- Lead groups of up to 20 pax
- Weave captivating historical and culinary stories on the tour using real facts and research
- Complete post-tour procedures: update petty cash accounting sheet, inform coordinator on inventory used, send personalized review emails to guests
- Plan 1 lunch/dinner informal meet-up for our most loyal customers (every 6 months)
- If interested, join in developing and leading new and limited edition tours
Role Requirements
In order to be considered:
- superior command of English,
- at least 2 years of university or equivalent working experience,
- a valid Dubai tour guide license is also a must. We’ll help guide you on how to get this in place before you go live on the field,
- at least 3 years must have been completed living in Dubai.
A dynamic position like this requires sunny warm personalities who are able to graciously serve all kinds of people, and who are happy to work outside and on their feet in every kind of weather, fielding the same questions over and over, while always remaining calm and cheery.
You will be expected to be a powerful presenter and confident public speaker. Your delivery of information should be clear, inspire confidence, and engage our guests. You are compassionate, patient, and have an unwavering sense of humor. Your warmth and dynamic personality shines through as you relay information to our guests. In short, you love being with people and people love being with you!
If you’re worried about your level of experience leading tour groups, do not be! We offer a comprehensive training program in order to cover any of the hard skills required for the job.
Preferred Education & Experience
Any degrees in history, social studies, education, theater or culinary arts will be considered an advantage.
Furthermore, previous experience in working with people, performance arts, F&B, or Hospitality would also be a plus.
Apply Today
If being a tour leader sounds like your kind of gig, fill out this application form to get started.
Need more info? Check out our most frequently asked questions.
How does pay work?
You earn a competitive standard rate per shared tour. On average, a tour leader who does about 3 tours a week can make over AED 5,000 per month. For large group private tours (over 15 people), you enjoy additional gratuities. Any tips that guests hand over to you during your tour are yours to keep, 100%!
How many hours per week does a tour leader normally work?
~16 to 20 hours per week at a minimum, which includes pre- and post-tour procedures.
Which days/times will I be required to work?
You would need to offer at least 3 evening time tours in a week–the exact start time is usually anywhere between 4:30PM and 6:30PM, based on your availability, customer demand and the predicted heat level in any given month. We select days and set schedules together with you at least 2-3 months in advance of any month so you can plan around those dates. During any given month, we also get new tour inquiries that you can take on based on your availability.
Are we expected to work on the weekends?
Saturdays & Sundays are typically busy days, so yes, you are expected to work on at least 2 weekends per month. We work with you in determining which 2 weekends to work, based on your availability and customer demand.
How do I get the Dubai tour guide license?
You would sign up for the Dubai tour guide course which can be completed as quickly as a month. The costs of the license are ~AED 5,800 to AED 6,000, which you can fully recoup within a month of going live on the field! We do offer assistance in helping you prepare and in exceptional cases, we will also provide loan assistance to help a candidate cover the upfront costs of the license if required. Learn more about the course, fees and duration here.
How large are the groups of guests?
We will accept a single person on tour, and cap our shared groups at 14 people maximum. Private tours can be much larger and the pay is increased accordingly. For large groups, you may have up to 20 per group or even more, but you will have an assistant to help you out if there are more than 20 people.
When does the season or contract start?
ASAP!!
Applications are open on a rolling basis all through the year.
A tour leader can expect to be busiest during our peak season from October to May. We offer very limited tours during the summer months (June to September), which gives our tour leaders a good chunk of time to travel the world!
