Homestay Coordinator

Build a thriving local host community and play an important hands-on role in one of the most important parts of the international student experience

Your Role

The Homestay Coordinator is a key year-round role within EF Language Travel Torquay with responsibility for host recruitment, operational delivery, safeguarding, compliance, and the student experience.

You'll support the homestay operation and the team responsible for recruiting and supporting hosts, helping to ensure we have safe, welcoming, and suitable homes for our students.

This is a hands-on role at the heart of host recruitment and the student experience. You'll take an active role in local host recruitment and work as part of the wider Operations team throughout the year. A key part of the role will be actively recruiting new host families through host family visits, street action, telemarketing, community outreach, referrals, events, partnerships, and online channels.

During the summer, you'll be part of a busy customer-facing operation, supporting placements, students, and hosts, and helping manage accommodation changes and complex situations when they arise. The role offers broad experience across recruitment, safeguarding, compliance, customer service, and operational delivery, with a strong pathway towards wider coordination and operational responsibility within EF.

What You'll Do

• Support the homestay operation throughout the year, helping ensure effective recruitment, placement, and support of host families.
• Carry out regular local host recruitment activities, including street action, telemarketing, community outreach, events, referrals, partnerships, and online recruitment.
• Identify and approach potential host families within the local community and build a strong pipeline of new hosts.
• Follow up recruitment leads and enquiries, explain the EF homestay programme, and support prospective hosts through the application process.
• Arrange and carry out host family home visits as part of the recruitment and approval process, building strong relationships with prospective hosts.
• Build strong relationships with new and returning hosts, ensuring they feel informed, supported, and valued.
• Encourage host referrals and develop relationships with local community contacts who can support ongoing recruitment.
• Support local recruitment campaigns and initiatives designed to increase the number and quality of host families.
• Coordinate host applications, screening, checks, approvals, and records.
• Ensure accommodation meets EF's quality, safeguarding, and compliance requirements, raising any concerns with the appropriate manager.
• Work closely with Welfare, Transport, Student Experience, Finance, international sales offices, and the wider Operations team.
• Support the matching and allocation of students to suitable host families, considering age, welfare needs, dietary requirements, allergies, transport, and other relevant information.
• Maintain accurate student, host, placement, and arrival information across internal systems.
• Support the day-to-day homestay operation during the summer and act as a key point of contact for hosts and students.
• Support the response to complaints, welfare concerns, and recurring quality issues, ensuring appropriate matters are escalated.
• Maintain regular communication with hosts to identify concerns early and support strong host retention.
• Monitor host and student feedback, identify opportunities for improvement, and contribute to the post-summer review and planning for the following year.
• Participate in the on-call rota and provide calm and professional support when urgent situations arise.