Travel Agency Sales Consultant in City of London

We are excited to be recruiting a specialist sales consultant to join our Asia & Australasia team, a position which offers excellent prospects within our award-winning tour operator. Our key requirements are a passion for, and knowledge of, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Experience or knowledge of Central Asia would be a distinct advantage.

Our Asia team covers destinations from India & Sri Lanka, to Japan, across Southeast Asia and into Australia and New Zealand, and we are seeking candidates with passion for, and knowledge of, these areas. We will consider people with solid general knowledge of the regions or people with specialised knowledge in sub-regions or countries. We are particularly interested in hearing from candidates with knowledge and experience of travel in South East Asia, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand and Australia. Knowledge of Central Asia, particularly Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, would be a distinct advantage.

We are also interested in sales consultants who have experience or passion for product. As the sales team grows, there will be possibilities to take on product responsibilities for one or two countries within the region alongside the vast network of product experts in our parent company in France.

This position is a very hands-on role and the successful candidate will be passionate about Asia and Australasia, be highly organised, driven, be an excellent communicator, and clearly understand our customers’ needs. We are inviting applications both externally and internally.

As a company, our goal is to offer detailed itineraries, organised by true specialists, and delivered with a service that is above and beyond that being offered by any competitor. We seek candidates who feel they can support this vision.

MAIN ROLES

• Providing a high standard of sales and service levels for clients interested in holidays to your region; looking to develop as quickly as possible; selling holidays and managing key accounts for clients in the most effective combination of conversion, service, knowledge, and margin production and ultimately playing your part in ensuring that your team surpasses its targets.

SPECIFICS

• Delivering the best possible service to clients for both new and existing accounts ensuring that you convert new accounts and retain existing accounts as effectively as possible. This will involve dealing with clients primarily via phone and email but also in person.
• Ensuring you and your team are always up-to-date on your specialist product. This will involve competitor and client research, data analysis, research trips etc. as well as solid information sharing.
• Working closely with other departments in the business to ensure the success of both your specialist team, and the wider company. This will involve, but is not limited to, working closely with the Service team to ensure that post-booking organisation is flawless.
• Interaction with senior staff in Product Development and Marketing to ensure that what we offer, and how we offer it, is constantly reviewed and updated to ensure our offering is the best it can be. There will be further opportunities to take responsibility for the product of one or two countries within your region.
• Assisting the Region Manager and other senior members of your team in the day-to-day running of the team including assisting in the recruitment and training of new and existing team members.

RELEVANT EXPERIENCE

• Passion for, and demonstrable knowledge of, Asia and Australasia, with particular expertise in at least three of the following priority countries: Japan, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia, Australia, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
• A minimum of two to five years’ work experience. Experience of working in an Asia travel role at the bespoke end of travel is a benefit but not required. The key for us is passion and knowledge of the regions.
• Experience of having lived and worked in the region would be a benefit.
• Proven ability to deliver high quality results in a timely fashion.
• Strong communication skills.
• A personable manner.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

• The receipt of satisfactory references prior to the start date.
• The completion of an initial three-month probationary period.
• Contractual freedom to commence employment.
• All applicants should be able to accept legal employment in the UK.

BENEFITS

• Competitive salary and a benefits package including: ~23 days annual leave, increasing one day per full year of service up to 30 days.
• ~ Comprehensive bonus and incentive schemes.
• ~ Private medical insurance.
• ~ Enhanced contributory pension scheme.
• ~ Travel insurance.
• ~ Enhanced maternity policy.
• ~ Enhanced paternity policy.
• ~ Cycle to Work scheme.
• ~ Flexible working policy, including annual ‘workation’ (work from abroad) allowance.
• ~ Sabbatical option after five years of continuous service.
• ~ Regular social events and employee development initiatives.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Please note that we are only able to consider applicants who are currently based in the UK and have the right to work in the UK. Applicants should send their CV, covering letter and travel profile (detailing all relevant travel experience and countries visited, when and for how long) to jobs@originaltravel.co.uk. Applicants will then hear from Original Travel as to whether they have been invited for an interview. There will likely be two interview rounds, with an appointment announced as soon as possible thereafter.