Account Manager - Sport Travel

This is a hybrid role based in our Manchester office with a minimum of 2 days office based per week, so you must live within a commutable distance.

Inspiresport, including Next Generation International, is the leader in international team travel and youth sports programming. As an expert in the fields of football, sport and travel logistics, we offer opportunities that include training sessions, games, tournaments, coaching education, cultural experiences and once in a lifetime memories. The standards we maintain ensure players, coaches, and parents will be safe and well cared for whilst overseas. We collaborate with 50+ of the largest sports clubs in the world, a few of which include Manchester City, Real Madrid, Juventus, Bayern Munich and Tottenham Hotspur amongst others. Our goal is that every player, coach, and parent will have a positive, life-changing experience impacting their development whilst growing their passion for sport.

Inspiresport is seeking a full-time Account Manager to join our ever-evolving Manchester, UK based operations team. The Account Manager is a stakeholder-facing position responsible for coordinating, planning & booking travel, creating itineraries and organising tour program logistics while developing and maintaining positive, long-term professional relationships with a plethora of organizations. The Account Manager is responsible for providing excellent operational service, aiding, and maintaining continuous contact with stakeholders and ensuring that trips delivered are of the highest standard. This position is very service-based and works closely with both Operations and Sales staff in the USA, in a supporting, team-driven role.

The position requires a motivated, results-oriented, detailed individual who thrives in a role that requires a high degree of independence, resilience, initiative, and interpersonal dexterity. This is a varied, hands-on role and on a typical day you will:

• Take full ownership of tour responsibilities including being the contact for party leaders.
• Manage trip services (rooming lists, match tickets, communication, passports, etc.).
• Complete general administrative tasks as required including coordinating & booking fixtures for a tour & handling any last minute changes.
• Source, negotiate and book Hotel, Bus, and Flight vendors for each tour.
• Oversee management of tours when on-ground, working with Tour Representatives.
• Form, develop & maintain strong relationships with external 3rd party providers including suppliers & party leaders.
• Be fully aware of the years tour schedule & workload.
• Collaborate effectively with internal stakeholders including departmental leaders alongside operations & sales colleagues.
• Meet or exceed expectations in respect of travel checklists and program requirements.
• Maintain and accurately update Operations Reports.
• Work consistently and proactively in the company registration system (WeTravel).
• Update, track and execute team travel tasks in the company trip management documents.
• As the key contact for each allocated tour, ensure effective & timely communication with clients, travel representatives, staff and stakeholders.
• Utilise company resources to identify potential new clients (where appropriate).
• Attend weekly, monthly, and annual meetings as directed (overseas travel may be required).
• Provide outstanding customer service to all clients and prospects through a variety of channels including written, via telephone and face to face.
• Work with senior leadership to ensure trip details are accurate.
• Ensure that the Inspiresport Performance Plan and Company VMOST are adhered to across the team.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

To be successful within this role, our ideal candidate will:

• Have 2+ years of Account Management, customer facing, service and support experience - ideally within the sports travel industry.
• Demonstrate strong general sporting knowledge and understanding of the sporting landscape in Europe (preferred).
• Be confident in end to end tour management including planning, budgeting, execution & post trip analysis.
• Previous working knowledge of international travel would be highly advantageous.
• Demonstrate experience with task management and CRM systems.
• Be computer literate with strong experience of Microsoft Office packages including Excel, Word & Teams.
• Demonstrate outstanding time management and organisational skills.
• Be able to use own initiative - identifying potential problems and solve by being proactive instead of reactive to issues.
• Demonstrate a positive, solution-oriented mindset with the desire to problem solve.
• Be a self-starter with the ability to adapt and multi-task across multiple tours in a dynamic and fast paced environment.
• Be coachable while having a genuine desire to develop, upskill and learn from the existing team.
• Demonstrate unquestionable personal integrity.
• Possess strong interpersonal skills with excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Have the ability to work independently on own tours & tasks while working as part of a wider team (team members being based remotely).
• Be motivated to provide the highest level of professionalism.
• Have the ability to keep calm, show resilience and respond to setbacks in an often demanding role.
• Have a passion for sport and travel.
• Be able to occasionally travel both domestically & internationally for work purposes.

So if you are looking for your next challenge, please get in touch we’d love to hear from you!