Tour Operator

Experience Education; England; Hybrid; GBP 26,000 - 38,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working pattern

Annual bonus scheme

Overseas familiarisation trips

Travel discounts

Job summary

Travelbound is seeking a detail‑oriented bookings professional to manage end‑to‑end travel arrangements for educational groups. You will construct tailored itineraries, coordinate with party leaders, and handle client communications to ensure a seamless experience from confirmation to post‑tour follow‑up.

Key duties include supplier negotiations, cost control, and ensuring health and safety compliance, with opportunities for overseas travel on familiarisation trips.

Qualifications

• Excellent customer service and clear written/spoken English are essential.
• Able to stay calm under pressure and meet tight deadlines.
• Commercial awareness and flexibility to handle changing itineraries.

Responsibilities

• Plan and book detailed travel itineraries according to group requirements.
• Collaborate with leaders to assemble a unique educational travel experience.
• Handle client file administration and respond to queries by phone and email.
• Negotiate rates with suppliers and ground service agents when needed.
• Ensure final itinerary details are ready and delivered to the group four weeks before travel.
• Coordinate with overseas suppliers and staff to meet Health & Safety audits.
• Monitor tour payments within budget and liaise with Sales to hand over requests.

Skills

Customer service

English proficiency

Numeracy

Adaptable

Commercial acumen

Education

GCSE Mathematics

Tools

Word

Excel

Job description

About Travelbound

With more than 30years’ experience,Travelboundare the industry leaders in high quality, subject-led tours for schools, universities,colleges,and clubs.

With bespoke itineraries to incredible worldwide destinations, and their exclusive Chateau du Molay in Normandy,Travelboundtailor every tour to meet your specific educational and cultural requirements.

Whetherit’sa History Trip to New York & Washington, introducing Art & Design students to Paris, or organising orchestra and choirperformancetours in Italy, every detail will be taken care of to create a truly tailormade, inspiring learning experience.

The role

This position involves the responsibility for bookings to specific destinations, from the confirmation of the reservation to the completion of the tour and post tour follow up. This is an organisational and customer service role.

Reporting to the Senior Tour Operator, the role exists to ensure that the customers receive a high level of personalised service and allow for extra touches to be made, which are key to maintaining the brands unique experience. The role requires you to develop tour itineraries into detailed, often complex, tailor-made itineraries with detailed information and reservations. You would be part of the team that looks to exceed the customers’ expectations. These tours require logistical planning and preparation, as we supply tailor-made itineraries to suit our customers’ needs. At the same time attention must be given to the commercial and safety requirements of the business. Management of supplier & customer relationships is key to this role.

What you’ll be doing

• Planning and booking detailed travel itineraries according to groups’ requirements
• Work closely with the party leader to piece together a “unique educational travel experience”
• Dealing with all client file administration and telephone and e mail queries to specific destinations
• As required negotiate rates with suppliers & ground Service agents
• Ensure all final itinerary details are prepared and given to the group at least 4 weeks in advance of travel
• Work with overseas suppliers and internal staff to ensure that all Health & Safety Audit requirements are complete and accurate.
• Financially take responsibility for checking & authorising tour payments to suppliers, working within the tour budget.
• Work closely with the Sales team to ensure that tour requests are handed over accurately.
• Liaising with other departments to maintain credit control with both internal and external customers
• To be part of the internal on-call rota system
• Overseas travel as required, attend Fam trips and visits to roadshows to keep product knowledge up to date and relevant.
• Checking costings to make sure they match up with booking details and protecting the margin on your bookings.
• There may be a requirement to work additional hours in peak seasons

What we are looking for

• Excellent customer service skills are required with good written and spoken English and Numeracy (GCSE Mathematics)
• The applicant needs to have commercial acumen, be adaptable, reliable and flexible, with a responsible attitude and possess the ability to cope under pressure and respond to tight deadlines
• A basic knowledge of Word and Excel is necessary
• Desirable - Good level of spoken and written skill in French

Some of the benefits

• Hybrid working pattern between our office and homeworking
• Annual Bonus scheme
• Opportunities to travel overseas on familiarisation trips
• 25 days of annual leave plus public holidays and a bonus day off for your birthday; we also have a tenure based annual leave benefit, up to a maximum of an additional 5 days depending on length of service
• Global recognition and reward programme
• Access to extensive online learning resources
• In-house training opportunities
• Regular social events
• Various employee discounts and offers, including discounted trips with our brands

We believe that people are happier and perform best when they are able to be their true selves and that diverse teams deliver better results.

We are committed to building an inclusive culture and embracing diversity in all its dimensions. This includes inspiring change through increasing awareness of unconscious bias.

Together we will cultivate a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment, where everyone can flourish.