Are you a keen traveller? Are you a quick thinking, hands on, proactive, practical person? Do you have the ability to communicate and deal with people of all ages and different cultural backgrounds? Do you want to break free from the 9-to-5 lifestyle and travel the world? Fancy making the European roads and cities your office instead?

Then you’re born to be an Expat Explore tour leader and show our travellers the best of Europe, Middle-East, North America, South Africa and Asia!

We are now accepting applications for 2023, and have a number of Tour Leader roles available. We are looking for both experienced Tour Leaders, and travel industry professionals wanting to pursue a more flexible career on the road. If you have no prior experience in the travel industry, but possess the right attitude, customer service skills and a passion for travel, please don't hesitate to apply.

This page will tell you everything you need to know about the role, but if you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact jobs@expatexplore.com.

Personality

• A burning passion for working with people
• You see tour leading as a career
• A diplomatic temperament
• Proven or potential ability to deal with groups confidently

Skills

• Excellent customer service skills
• Good organisational skills
• Previous tour leader experience will be beneficial
• Good leadership skills

Abilities

• Good with numbers/accounting
• Ability to research each destination in depth
• Be fluent in English, other languages will be an added bonus, but not essential
• You must be a team player and have the ability to work well on your own

Benefits of tour leading for Expat Explore?

• Living expenses are covered during a tour (accommodation, breakfast and most dinners)
• An interesting opportunity to explore and learn about Europe
• Competitive commission structure & daily wages
• Meet new people from around the world
• Be part of the best road crew in Europe

Legal requirements

You must be a holder of one of the following:

• Passport of the country or region you are applying for
• Valid working visa of the country or region you are applying for

The full compensation and benefits package will be provided during the interview and training stage. A few of the benefits are:

• Tour Leaders will enjoy all breakfasts and some dinners/lunches with the travellers on the tour
• Tour leaders are accommodated in single rooms throughout the tours whenever possible, and we also offer a budget allocation for accommodation the night before a tour begins
• Tour leaders are provided with a smart phone with a daily allowance of calls, text and data
• Daily salary as well as a competitive bonus and commission structure
• One complimentary excursion/entrance per tour
• Crew uniform
• Access to computers and tour library between tours
• Discounted travel

After submitting your application, we will carefully assess your application. If your profile matches our requirements, we will invite you to the first interview – either via Skype, in our London office or we will ask you to complete a short video interview. During this interview, we evaluate your experience, personality and knowledge of our tours.

The second interview will be a performance interview. Here, we might ask you to present different spiels and games. We will also assess your reaction to different scenarios and your commitment to the role. We expect you to know everything about the company by now. Preferably this interview will be conducted in person at our office, in London or Cape Town.

If we like what we see, we will invite you to attend our Training Programme. The length of the Training programme will depend on your previous experience. Please note that we might ask you to attend a third interview.

Only the most skilled trainees will make it through the Training Programme and become established Expat Explore tour leaders. If you are lucky enough to get invited to our Training Programme, you will need to start practising and researching immediately.

Our Training Programmes for 2023 trainees will take place in spring 2023, and will last up to 4 weeks. The exact programme and the training manual will be provided to successful applicants before the training commences. The main purpose of training is to make sure our tour leaders are fully prepared to lead Expat Explore groups.

Before the training begins, trainees will need to have prepare themselves extensively – practicing country, city spiels and walking tours. Depending on knowledge and previous experience, this phase might take up to 4-5 months.

The Expat Explore Training Programme is normally threefold. The first part consists of classroom training, mainly in our London office. Your progress will be monitored and you will be educated (where needed) along the way. You might even get some homework! No accommodation, meals or compensation will be provided at this stage.

The second part of the Training Programme is a training/shadowing tour. You will only be invited to participate in the training tour if you have completed the classroom training. The training tour will last up to 12 days.

The third part of the Training Programme is more classroom training to ensure you are ready to take out groups on your own.

If you have completed all parts of the training programme, you will either start to lead tours, or get invited to receive additional training on destinations/tour types.

Organiser

• To ensure the tour is well organised and run to a timetable that allows all the sights on the itinerary to be visited
• To book or confirm all meals and accommodation required by the company
• Providing clients with a detailed programme for the day every morning and/or evening
• Proactive planning for days ahead and upcoming tours
• Responsible for your own mobile phone budget and keeping spend within this budget
• Reconfirming hotels and suppliers before arrival

Entertainer / facilitator

• Provide expert, informative commentaries on countries, cities and sights visited
• Stimulate the social aspect of the tour by organising activities and competitions etc
• Encourage groups to mingle wherever possible

Diplomat

• Deal with a wide variety of people and situations diplomatically and professionally as the tour leader and a representative of Expat Explore
• Facilitate a harmonious relationship between group members, staff and service providers
• To always be polite and friendly towards clients

Travel Expert

• Sharing your knowledge in a professional and informative manner
• Develop your knowledge of cities, sights and countries
• Keeping your knowledge up to date and recent
• Answer all questions from clients. As the tour leader it's your responsibility to know the answer to every possible question!
• Learning basic language skills of the countries you are visiting

Accountant

• Complete a neat, balanced, receipted set of accounts at the end of each tour
• Pay all tour bills, accommodation, parking, city/road taxes etc
• Plan expenditure in advance so that you always have money available for expenses
• Collect money for optional excursions and make a payment for the services

Caretaker

• To be aware of clients safety at all times
• To educate clients to ensure their personal and property safety
• To deal with emergency situations that arise such as ill health, accidents and loss of property
• Liaise with the London office
• To facilitate quick and efficient professional help such as doctors, lawyers and ambulances when needed

Expectations Manager

• Exceeding customer expectations on a daily basis
• Make it easy for clients to talk to you
• Understand what clients want
• Maintain a one-on-one relationship with clients
• Make the tour a true representation of the tours offered online.
• Be upfront, direct and honest
• Clearly communicate what you can and cannot do as well as what the company does and does not offer
• Explain how you go about your work and what can be expected of you