Careers in specialist Africa travel
Expert Africa is a market-leading, specialist tour operator with team members, and travellers, from around the globe. Our original office is still in Richmond, south-west London, and we have satellite offices in Cape Town, Namibia and New Zealand. Since Covid, the vast majority of our team have worked remotely, in their own homes or in serviced offices nearby.
We have grown steadily over the last 30 years, establishing a proven track record for very high levels of African expertise and customer service. We stood by all of our our experienced team members throughout the Covid pandemic, and continue to back them with industry-leading opportunities for African travel and exceedingly competitive renumeration packages.
We have several positions available for the right candidates:
June 2023: Africa Specialist / Senior Africa Specialist
We’re looking for one or two successful Africa specialists to join our team.You will need to already have had detailed, relatively-recent first-hand experience in some or all of Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia – including their attractions, and a good number of their better safari camps, lodges and hotels.
All of our specialists work with travellers’ trips from start to finish. We’ll train you on our systems, some of the most advanced in the industry, and they’ll automate much of your work – but efficient admin skills and great attention to detail are still vital. You’ll need to be great at advising travellers and meticulous in your admin work to excel in this role.
Proficiency with the Amadeus GDS system would be an advantage, a good understanding of Excel is a big asset and competence with MS Word is essential. You’ll need excellent communication skills and a high level of literacy and numeracy, which will be tested during your application.
Our specialists not only work with our travellers, but also manage our country programmes, including the crucial liaison work with our many close partners in Africa.
Our senior specialists are highly proficient and very experienced. They are experts in several countries, able to work well under pressure and adept at carefully analysing and working through complex and challenging issues. They are experienced at trouble-shooting and have the confidence to deal with problems, regardless of how they arise.
Location: Some initial training for the position in an office, usually Richmond, London. The length of this depends on your level of experience – but we’d expect between about four weeks and three months. Thereafter there is flexibility for the position to be home-based, office-based, hybrid or working remotely from a shared office.
Starting salary: Depending on experience, typically £30-40k p.a. plus performance-related bonus. OTE £40-70k p.a.
Closing date: Sunday 11 June.
Candidates will be advised by Friday 16 June at the latest, though earlier is more likely.
June 2023: Graduate job: Assistant Africa Specialist
We’re looking for highly motivated individual with a demonstrable passion for African travel who is keen to embark on a career in our specialist travel business.You’re likely to be a bright, keen graduate with a good eye for detail and efficient ways of working. You are enthusiastic and curious, conscientious and co-operative. You communicate clearly and have excellent numeracy. You will have travelled in Africa already and a strong desire to travel further there, sharing our fascination with the continent’s wildlife, environment and cultures. Some track record in a sales or customer-facing environment will be an advantage. You want to progress into the role of Africa Specialist, but you don’t currently have the industry experience.
We can offer you a great opportunity for truly rounded, in-depth training which will enable you to become a real African expert – complete with great practical experience of many of the key facets of the African travel business.
Location: Some initial training for the position will be in one of our offices, usually in Richmond, SW London. The duration of this depends on your level of experience and aptitude – but we’d expect between about three to six months. Thereafter there is flexibility for the position to be home-based, office-based, hybrid or working remotely from a shared office near you.
Starting salary: £25-£30,000 p.a.
Closing date: Sunday 11 June.
Candidates will be advised by Friday 16 June at the latest, though earlier is more likely.
Working with us
Our approach is to offer our travellers a high level of expert advice and very personal, concierge-style service – backed up with the efficiencies of industry-leading IT / res systems.Working responsibly and with integrity is very important to us. We promote responsible tourism and focus very squarely on the best interests of our travellers throughout the process.
So in general, we look to recruit enthusiastic and intelligent applicants with a genuine passion for Africa who align with our ethos. Friendly, conscientious people who enjoy working cooperatively to deliver genuinely great service to our travellers.
Most of our team have started with us when they are graduates with 2+ years’ experience in African travel, usually with first-hand destination knowledge of at least some of Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania and Kenya.
We looking for real Africa specialists: people who can advise our travellers in depth, honestly and with empathy from first-hand experience, on voice and video calls, by email and in person. Although we sell holidays, our core is all about giving our travellers great, honest advice and very efficient service; we don’t use the ‘hard-sell’ sales techniques favoured by some of our competitors.
All of our specialists work on trips from start to finish. This starts with an initial conversation with the traveller, then continues with creating quotes, discussing options and refining trip plans, before crafting the final plans into a seamless itinerary – and finally ends only when we’ve learnt from any feedback provided then our travellers return. Highly efficient admin skills and great attention to detail are vital.
Of course, we expect every team member to have excellent communication skills and a high level of literacy and numeracy, which we test during our application procedure. But those with real talent for writing will find scope to develop that with professional input, ultimately contributing to our market-leading website, plus various articles and guidebooks. Conversely, those with an aptitude for numbers and systems will find plenty of scope working more closely with our technical side.
Our specialists get involved in all aspects of our business, from our core work with travellers, to PR and marketing, to managing our website and media channels. Those who are keen, and have the ability and aptitude, will excel, and we’ll give them the opportunity to grow.
We pay very well for the travel industry: a base salary plus generous performance-related pay, which is awarded quarterly and based on the quality and quantity of your work.
All packages include 20 days of holiday per year and free annual travel insurance. After you’ve been with us for two years, we also offer group private health insurance and a contribution-matching pension scheme.
Once your probationary period is over and you’re settled into your role, we will encourage you to develop your knowledge of Africa. You can typically anticipate four weeks of research travel in Africa annually. These work trips usually consist of two 2-week trips per year, travelling on your own or with a colleague to broaden your knowledge and get first-hand experience of our amazing trips and safaris. Expert Africa wholly funds this travel, and we usually do so on our own trips rather than the industry’s standard ‘group familiarisation’ trips.
For those who wish to, there are additional opportunities to use your holiday-time to experience more in Africa, with some or all of the costs covered by Expert Africa.
Our commitment to frequent, in-depth and independent travel in Africa ensures that whatever level you start with us, you can develop into one of the most knowledgeable Africa experts in the industry.
Applications procedure
If you think that either position is right for you, then please apply in writing to: careers@expertafrica.comPlease include:
- A full CV, and
- A scan of a concise, handwritten letter. This should explain which position interests you, why you would like to join Expert Africa, and the skills and experience you feel would specifically make you an asset to our team.
Internships for students
We often have the capacity to accept one intern in the Expert Africa team at any one time. We focus on students who are undertaking this as part of a university course, typically a sandwich course in marketing or travel and tourism.These temporary posts for volunteers usually last 3-6 months, and the intern normally focuses on projects under the direction of the managing director. The posts are not salaried, but we offer a basic travel and subsistence allowance.
Internships are designed to help university students understand more about a busy travel business, and specifically marketing and the travel industry; they are not designed as a precursor to employment with Expert Africa.