Expert Africa
Africa / Senior Africa Specialist
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Help travellers discover the very best of Africa
For over thirty years, Expert Africa has helped travellers experience the very best of Africa.
We believe the finest journeys are created through honest advice, deep first-hand knowledge and taking personal responsibility for every traveller.
That's why every holiday we create is designed by a single specialist who works with their travellers from their very first enquiry until they return home. We don't sell standard packages, and we don't believe that technology can replace experience, judgement and genuine expertise.
If you're already an accomplished Africa travel specialist and are looking for a company that values expertise, integrity and long-term relationships over sales targets, we'd love to hear from you.
We're currently looking to recruit two Africa Specialists or Senior Africa Specialists to join our growing team.
The role
As an Africa Specialist, you'll become your travellers' trusted Africa adviser.
- You'll work with each traveller throughout the entire life of their journey.
- From the first conversation through refining ideas, designing itineraries, discussing options and making recommendations, you'll help shape a trip that reflects their interests and priorities.
- But your role doesn't stop once the booking is confirmed.
- You'll liaise directly with camps, lodges, airlines and other suppliers across Africa, making reservations, coordinating arrangements, resolving questions and ensuring every detail comes together smoothly.
- Throughout the process you'll remain your travellers' principal point of contact, taking personal responsibility for their journey until they return safely home.
For many specialists, this continuity is one of the most rewarding aspects of working at Expert Africa. You don't simply create itineraries; you build relationships, earn trust and see each journey through from beginning to end.
Working differently
Many specialist Africa tour operators now conduct much of their business through destination management companies or ground handlers, who themselves contract with the camps and lodges delivering the holiday.
We generally take a different approach.
Our specialists work directly with many of the people who actually look after our travellers on the ground. Over time you'll build close relationships with lodge owners, camp managers, guides and safari teams across Africa.
We believe this gives us a deeper understanding of the destinations we recommend, enables us to solve problems more effectively and ultimately helps us deliver a better experience for our travellers.
Who we're looking for
This is not an entry-level position.
We're looking for established Africa travel professionals who already have significant experience designing and selling tailor-made holidays to Africa.
- You'll understand how to advise discerning travellers, manage complex itineraries, work collaboratively with suppliers and take responsibility for bookings from first enquiry through to completion.
- You'll also have travelled extensively within Africa yourself and be able to draw confidently on your own first-hand experience when advising travellers.
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Applicants whose experience is primarily travelling in Africa, but who have little experience selling tailor-made African holidays professionally, are unlikely to be suitable for this role. We occasionally recruit Assistant Africa Specialists and train them towards becoming Specialists, but this is a different position.
The people who flourish here are typically:
- Passionate about Africa and continually curious to learn more.
- Thoughtful, analytical and commercially aware.
- Outstanding communicators who enjoy listening as much as advising.
- Organised, efficient and meticulous with detail.
- Calm under pressure and good at solving problems.
- Collaborative colleagues who enjoy sharing knowledge and helping others.
- Motivated by creating exceptional journeys rather than simply making sales.
Senior Africa Specialists
We're equally interested in hearing from experienced specialists who believe they're ready for a Senior Africa Specialist role.
Senior Specialists continue to work directly with their own travellers, but bring additional depth of experience and judgement to the wider business. They help resolve more complex situations, support colleagues with difficult itineraries, mentor less experienced specialists and contribute to the continual development of our standards and expertise.
Many of our Senior Specialists also become Destination Owners, taking responsibility for helping shape one or more of our country programmes. This includes strengthening supplier relationships, developing our product offering, sharing destination knowledge across the business and helping ensure our programmes continue to evolve.
For specialists who enjoy combining traveller-facing work with broader responsibility, this offers an excellent opportunity for professional development while remaining closely connected to Africa.
Continually building expertise
Knowledge sits at the heart of everything we do.
Once you've settled into your role, you'll typically spend around four weeks each year undertaking fully funded research travel in Africa. These are usually arranged as two independent trips, allowing you to experience destinations properly rather than following the industry's standard familiarisation tours.
Many travel companies talk about developing destination knowledge.
We invest in it.
Our aim is that, wherever you begin, you'll continue developing into one of the most knowledgeable Africa specialists in the industry.
Reward
We believe outstanding specialists should be rewarded accordingly.
Africa Specialist
- Basic salary typically £30,000–£40,000, depending on experience.
- Typical on-target earnings: £40,000–£50,000.
Senior Africa Specialist
- Basic salary typically around £45,000, depending on experience.
- Typical on-target earnings: £60,000–£70,000.
Our most successful Senior Specialists earn significantly more.
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Performance-related pay forms an important part of our remuneration package.
Importantly, this isn't simply based on how much you sell. It reflects the overall quality of your contribution, including the satisfaction of your travellers, the quality and accuracy of your work, your commercial judgement and your wider contribution to the business.
Looking after travellers exceptionally well has always mattered more to us than simply selling more holidays.
How to apply
If this sounds like the kind of company you've been looking for, we'd be delighted to hear from you.
Please send your application to careers@expertafrica.com
Please include:
- Your CV.
- A concise, handwritten letter explaining why you would like to join Expert Africa, why this role appeals to you and what you believe you would bring to our team.
- A summary of your personal travel experience within Africa, clearly listing the countries, regions, national parks, camps and lodges that you have visited, together with approximate dates where possible.
Please also tell us:
- Whether you're applying for the Africa Specialist or Senior Africa Specialist role.
- Your current notice period (or earliest available start date).
- Any preferences regarding your location or working pattern.
Closing date for applications: Sunday 30 August
We expect to begin inviting shortlisted candidates to the first stage of our interview process from the beginning of September.
About Expert Africa
Expert Africa is one of the UK's leading specialist Africa tour operators.
Since 1994 we've built our reputation by helping travellers create exceptional journeys across eastern and southern Africa through honest advice, deep personal experience and close collaboration.
We remain proudly independent. We have no ownership interests in the camps or lodges that we recommend, and our advice is never influenced by commercial pressure. Our recommendations are based on one simple question:
"What is genuinely best for this traveller?"
That philosophy has helped us build long-standing relationships with both our travellers and our partners throughout Africa.
Why experienced Africa Specialists join Expert Africa
Our way of working is different.
- One traveller. One specialist. You remain responsible for each traveller from their first enquiry until they return home.
- Independent advice. Nobody tells you what to sell. We trust our specialists to recommend whatever they genuinely believe is right for each traveller.
- Real relationships in Africa. We work directly with most of the camps, lodges and safari operators that look after our travellers, rather than relying primarily on ground handlers.
- Continual learning. We invest heavily in helping our specialists become genuine experts through regular, independent research travel across Africa.
- Professional judgement matters. We value thoughtful advice, excellent service and long-term relationships above simply maximising sales.
If those principles resonate with you, we'd like to tell you more.
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