Local Partnership Development Specialist – Tourism Network

MatchaTalent; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 180,000 - 320,000; Full time

Job summary

MatchaTalent is seeking a Partnership Executive – Tour Guide Acquisition in South Africa to source and onboard local tour guides and forge strong relationships with universities, tourism associations, and other stakeholders. You will evaluate candidates, negotiate terms, and optimize sourcing channels.

The role requires experience in sourcing, interviews, and partner management, with a focus on building a robust guide partner network to support growth.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree preferred in tourism or business-related fields.
• Minimum 1–3 years in business development, recruitment, partnerships or related fields.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal and stakeholder management skills.
• Familiarity with local tourism ecosystems and universities is preferred.
• Experience onboarding contractors or independents is an advantage.

Responsibilities

• Source qualified tour guides through multiple channels and build a candidate pipeline.
• Build relationships with universities, tourism associations, and other stakeholders.
• Conduct background research on prospective guides including credentials and online presence.
• Perform structured screening interviews assessing professionalism and knowledge.
• Evaluate and rank candidates using standardized criteria.
• Prepare concise candidate profiles and market-fit assessments.
• Negotiate partnership terms and coordinate onboarding activities.
• Identify and test new sourcing channels and referral programs.
• Maintain CRM records, recruitment databases, and weekly reports.
• Gather feedback to improve recruitment standards and partnerships.

Skills

Sourcing and outreach

Structured interviewing

Stakeholder management

CRM systems

Negotiation

Organizational skills

Multilingual capabilities

English proficiency

Education

Bachelor's degree in Tourism / Hospitality / Business / HR

Tools

CRM systems

Microsoft Office

Job description

This role requires the candidate to work in South Africa.

Client Overview

Our client is a rapidly growing travel and tourism company focused on building a trusted network of local tour guides and destination partners to deliver authentic, high-quality travel experiences. Through strategic partnerships with independent guides, tourism communities, educational institutions, and local organizations, the company continues expanding its presence while maintaining exceptional service standards and customer satisfaction.

Operating in a dynamic and fast-growing market, the organization emphasizes strong local partnerships, rigorous partner selection, and sustainable business growth. The company offers an exciting opportunity for professionals who are passionate about tourism, partnership development, and building long-term relationships within local travel ecosystems.

Job Role

The Partnership Executive – Tour Guide Acquisition is responsible for sourcing, evaluating, and onboarding qualified local tour guides while building strategic relationships with tourism associations, universities, and other key stakeholders. The role focuses on expanding the company's network of professional guide partners through proactive sourcing, structured candidate assessment, partnership development, and onboarding coordination.

Working closely with management, the successful candidate will identify high-potential guide partners, conduct thorough evaluations, negotiate partnership arrangements, and continuously improve sourcing channels to support the company's long-term expansion strategy.

Key Responsibilities

• Source qualified tour guides through local directories, tourism associations, social media platforms, guide marketplaces, university tourism programs, tourism offices, referrals, community groups, and other sourcing channels.
• Build relationships with university tourism departments, lecturers, faculty members, student organizations, alumni networks, and tourism institutions to strengthen the candidate pipeline.
• Conduct comprehensive background research on prospective tour guides, including tour specialties, language capabilities, certifications, customer reviews, online presence, and professional credibility.
• Perform structured screening interviews to assess professionalism, communication skills, storytelling ability, destination knowledge, guest service standards, safety awareness, and operational readiness.
• Evaluate and rank candidates using standardized assessment criteria while maintaining an organized pipeline of qualified guide partners.
• Prepare concise candidate profiles, recommendations, strengths, weaknesses, and market-fit assessments for management review and partnership approval.
• Negotiate basic partnership terms and coordinate onboarding activities, including contracts, scheduling, pricing guidance, and operational readiness.
• Continuously identify and test new sourcing channels, including community organizations, tourism job boards, alumni networks, industry events, and referral programs.
• Maintain accurate CRM records, recruitment databases, candidate pipelines, and weekly reports covering sourcing activities, conversion metrics, and partnership progress.
• Gather feedback from newly onboarded guides and operational teams to continuously improve recruitment standards, partnership quality, and selection criteria.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Tourism, Hospitality Management, Business Administration, Human Resources, Marketing, or other related disciplines is preferred.
• Minimum 1-3 years of professional experience in business development, recruitment, partnerships, hospitality, tourism operations, or related fields.
• Strong experience conducting candidate sourcing, outreach activities, and structured interviews through both online and offline channels.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and stakeholder management skills with the ability to build relationships across universities, tourism associations, and independent professionals.
• Familiarity with local tourism ecosystems, university structures, and tourism communities is highly preferred.
• Experience working with tour operators, destination management companies (DMCs), travel marketplaces, or university career services will be considered an advantage.
• Experience evaluating multilingual candidates or working within multicultural environments is highly desirable.
• Previous experience onboarding contractors, freelancers, or independent service providers is an advantage.
• Familiarity with local licensing or certification requirements for tour guides is preferred.
• Strong research capability with the ability to verify candidate credentials, certifications, customer reviews, language proficiency, and online reputation.
• Excellent organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple recruitment pipelines simultaneously while maintaining accurate documentation.
• Strong negotiation skills and confidence discussing partnership terms and commercial arrangements.
• Proficient in CRM systems, Microsoft Office applications, and recruitment database management.
• Self-motivated, proactive, detail-oriented, and capable of working independently in a fast-paced environment.
• Professional proficiency in written and spoken English is required. Additional local language capabilities will be considered an advantage.

Job Code: #748