Operations Specialist (Educational Tours)

Operations Specialist (Educational Tours)

With one shared mission of opening the world through education, EF is a multicultural and multilingual community of team members working across 55 countries all around the world. Bring your talents, your perspective, and your ambition. In return, we offer a vibrant, dynamic working environment, and a fulfilling international career.

EF Educational Tours makes it possible for thousands of North American students every year to see the world and discover new cultures through our professionally guided tours.

The role

We are now looking for an entrepreneurial individual with attention to detail and a nothing is impossible attitude to join our Operations department in Zurich.

As an Operations Specialist, you will be responsible for ensuring smooth operations of educational tours traveling to Europe, managing both their planning and execution. In your role you will also liaise with our Sales and Product Innovation teams situated in North America, to help develop itineraries and educational content in our programs.

Main areas of responsibility:

• Production Management- build and execute a booking strategy for each experience (activity, meal, guides) and source ad-hoc suppliers, which meet cost and capacity limitations in line with set quality standards.
• Tour Ownership - responsible for overall tour flow, customer experience and consistent tracking of our quality key performance indicators for all programs under your portfolio.
• Product development - improve logistics for each itinerary minimizing travel time and costs and maximizing educational value and customer satisfaction. Through deeper analysis of your Programs, you will be expected to provide expert insights to help drive improvement in customer experience and product innovation.
• Risk and Safety Management– proactively manage and monitor potential risk exposure and safety concerns, as well as manage all on tour operational emergencies within portfolio.
• Quality Management for regions of expertise - working with supplier evaluations, understanding customer needs, collaborating with the Procurement team on the needs of the region.
• Customer experience - Deliver on customer requests and preferences by maintaining clear communication with suppliers and Tour Directors. Support our sales staff with expert product knowledge to help them sell and adequately prepare our customers before traveling.
• Cross-team Collaboration – you will work closely with many of our departments in Operations, such as Procurement, Tour Directors, Finance, Itinerary and Budget Management, Invoicing and Flights. You will also collaborate with other departments oversees in Canada and the US, such as Sales, Customer Experience and Market Development.
• Innovation and Tour Maintenance – you will be the expert for the region of your portfolio. In collaboration with our sales and market development team, you will provide new ideas for activities, new tours, enhancing and developing current tours.
• Technology - contribute to the development of technology solutions and the continuous improvement of current tools and processes

Organizational Behavior:

• Looks for ways to improve and inspire colleagues to do the same
• Spreads positive energy and makes the workplace a fun environment
• Strives to create a collaborative and dynamic environment on a day-to-day basis
• Shares information and identifies best practices openly with colleagues
• Puts the customer in the center and is service minded

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent, preferably in business, economics, or tourism
• Experience in the travel, tourism, educational travel, or online travel agency industry along with a strong interest and network in these fields is preferred
• Proven track record of providing excellent customer service
• Fluency in English required. Fluency in French, Italian, German, or Spanish are advantageous
• Attention to detail and ability to work in a fast-paced and dynamic environment
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills
• Strong analytical skills and good working knowledge of Microsoft Excel
• Must be either Swiss citizens, EU-nationals or have the legal right to live and work in Switzerland

WHY YOU WILL LOVE WORKING WITH US

People at EF make things happen. We encourage you to take full ownership of your work, regardless of your level or experience. EF team members often say we operate like the world’s largest startup because this boundless entrepreneurial spirit is built into our organization’s DNA. EF offers a wide range of benefits ready for all full time employee to enjoy during weekends, after work and with friends & family, including:

• Hybrid work model

• Discounted passes to local destinations and tourist hot-spots such as mt. Titlis or Kunsthaus Zurich

• Full reimbursement of the SBB ‘halb-tax’ travel card, covering country-wide public transportation.

• Tuition reimbursement of 1500 CHF for professional development once per year

• Participation in our Staff Travel Experience Program once a year including travel on one of our tours

• Free membership for our newly built gym or get involved with our variety of sports teams.

• Seasonal and monthly office events including holiday parties, ski trips and pay-day happy hours.

• Discounts on a wide range of local restaurants, shops, hotel stays and EF products.

• 15% off in-house childcare service

About EF Education First

At EF we believe that the world is better when people try to understand one another. Since 1965, we have helped millions of people see new places, experience new cultures, and learn new things about the world and about themselves. Our culturally immersive education programs—focused on language, travel, cultural exchange, and academics—turn dreams into international opportunities.

When you join EF, you join a multicultural and diverse community working across more than 600 schools and offices in 50 countries, all with one shared mission of opening the world through education. Whoever you are, whatever you are passionate about—we welcome you and want you to bring that to work every day. EF is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and we are committed to inclusion and belonging across race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, caste, parental status, identity, experience and everything else that makes you unique.

Founded in Sweden in 1965, EF has schools and offices around the world, including hubs in Boston, London, Mexico City, São Paulo, Shanghai, Stockholm, Zürich, and more. Learn more at https://www.ef.com.