Tour Leader (CEO) - East Africa

Job description

About Us G Adventures is the world’s largest small-group adventure travel company and we’ve been making epic travel memories happen on all seven continents for over 30 years. Our mission is simple: to change lives through travel. And not just our travelers’ either. Since day one, our tours have been built to establish meaningful relationships with local communities, directly benefiting the people and places we visit at every step of our tours. With the demand for travel coming back strong, we are set up and excited for this next chapter in our company’s story — and we’d love for you to be a part of it. Our DNA revolves around building, nurturing, and developing a diverse culture of people and a true sense of belonging, where everyone is encouraged to bring their authentic self to work each and every day. You’ll have the opportunity to grow your career, and yourself, alongside a passionate, talented, and welcoming community that works hard to spread goodness around the world. If all that sounds like your kind of thing, well, we can’t wait for you to join us. Thinking of travelling the world as a G Adventures Tour Leader? Do you have amazing travel experiences to share with others? Are you well organized, flexible, out-going, with a good sense of humour? Is dealing with people enjoyable for you? Are you young at heart and ready to work with passion and purpose? If you answered yes to the above questions, we may have the adventure job that you've been looking for! At G Adventures we call our Tour Leaders, Chief Experience Officers or CEOs. The owner of the company sacrificed his title because he truly believed in the front line of the business. Becoming a CEO means that you will need to be more than just a tour leader. We ask that our CEOs do not merely focus on the logistics of the tour, but create a unique and unforgettable experience for all our travelers. Responsibilities During the contract, a CEO will: - Consistently deliver a high level of customer service and traveller satisfaction. - Provide leadership for our travellers and be responsible for their well-being. - Continually increase your knowledge about the visited country, its culture, religion, current affairs, environment, etc. - Have detailed knowledge of hotels, sights, restaurants, transport, souvenirs, prices, etc. - Develop a series of information sources and contacts that can be of assistance when required. - Maintain a valid passport and visa. - It is the responsibility of the Leader to stay up to date on any travel restrictions based on his/her nationality. - Keep vaccinations and preventive medication up to date. - Be mindful of potential opportunities for G Adventures, such as new destinations, new CEOs, new markets or ways to improve itineraries. On each departure, a CEO will: - Act as day-to-day guide, interpreter and manager of the group. - Deal directly with your traveller's issues and concerns, ensuring that passenger satisfaction is effectively achieved. - Maintain the established travel itinerary as closely as possible, making changes only when necessary. - Make reservations for activities and confirm accommodation as required Assist and accompany travellers during optional activities and meals. - Advise travellers on suitable restaurants, additional transport requirements, purchase of souvenirs, etc. - Maintain daily expenditure accounts, retain receipts and keep expenses within the trip budget provided. - Provide a report for each trip, in the requested format. - Keep the Trip notes updated in the standardized format. - Train new Leaders as required, passing on as much trip-related information as possible. - Provide assistance to the regional offices when requested by their Managers or by the Toronto office Requirements A Love for Adventure Travel: We are the Adventure specialists and we only hire CEOs who have a genuine passion for travelling to vibrant, exciting areas of the world. Our CEOs come from very diverse backgrounds, but this is one thing that they all have in common. Previous experience living, travelling, studying or working abroad is an essential requirement for this position. - Able to legally work in East Africa - Language skills: All of G Adventures tours are operated in English so a good command of the English language is mandatory. - The region specific language is also very important. This helps ensure we maintain excellent relations between the company, the people we meet and work with in the field and the travellers on our trips. - Excellent Leadership and Communication Skills: We look for people who have experience in leadership roles, with a proven ability to communicate effectively in a wide range of contexts. - Resourcefulness: We need CEOs who have a good head on their shoulders, who can remain calm and collected under unpredictable and sometimes stressful circumstances. Our CEOs need to be able to take decisive action to resolve problems as they arise. - Awareness of and Commitment to Sustainable Tourism: Our CEOs need to be committed to environmentally and culturally responsible tourism, and be an inspiring example to the travelers. - Good Health and High Energy Level: It may seem obvious but we need CEOs who can always handle the daily stresses, both mental and physical, of long and tiring days. Be it a 13-hour bus ride, a long day's trek with a difficult group of travellers, or an included rafting adventure, you need to be the friendly, happy, helpful face of G Adventures. - First Aid/CPR Certification: CEOs must be prepared to act in case of emergency. Standard First Aid Certification and CPR are required at the start of a contract to ensure your ability to assist with injuries, illness, or emergency in remote locations. - Transportation to your training location: It is the CEO's responsibility to get him or herself to the starting point of the training trip. - Background in basic accounting/budgeting: Experience working with budgets or developing a personal budget is an asset. - Computer literacy: A working knowledge of the Internet, E-mail, Microsoft Word, and Microsoft Excel is essential. - Able to travel across East Africa G Adventures is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive environment. We consider all qualified applicants. If selected, G Adventures offers support via a variety of Team Resource Groups.