Director of Travel

Location: Zurich/Switzerland

 

A career with EF combines the support and opportunity of a large international organization with the spirit and energy of a small business. We look for thinkers and doers – creative, collaborative, and motivated people who are excited by education and travel.

 

EF Education First, the world leader in international education, is looking for a passionate, organized, and hardworking Director to join EF’s Educational Tours Travel Team. In this role, you will be a member of an energetic, multinational team and report to the Director of Travel in EF Educational Tours’ flights division.

 

The ideal candidate is motivated to lead an emerging team focused on strategizing and securing the best flights inventory for our customers and business and also possess the necessary skills to service and support the needs of our Educational Tours sales teams based in North America.   This role requires international travel approximately 25% of the time.

 

 

Start date for this full-time position is July 2025.

 

What you’ll be doing

Training staff and managers on the technical aspects of industry Global Distribution Systems therefore expert level technical skills in both Sabre and Amadeus are required in addition to having at least 1 year of experience working with Travel Fusion and in NDC.Working closely and collaboratively with stakeholders at all levels of the businessManaging a multi-million dollar budget consisting of both direct and indirect costsSetting the procurement strategy for a team responsible for procuring flights for the Educational Tours’ product group with a focus on quality, customer experience, and financial stewardshipProviding support, training, and development for the Managers and Flight Coordinators that report to youAnalyzing complex data and market forecasting to inform decision making for your team and the broader organizationCollaborating with the senior sales leadership of Educational Tours to outline service level agreements, determine business rules, and set up processes that work towards providing an ideal customer experience for our North American Customers while ensuring strong budget adherenceWorking closely with the other Directors across Travel to ensure that we achieve our collective strategic priorities

 

Helping to drive innovation through technology as we seek new ways to scale our business and improve our ways of working Expert level technical skills in the Sabre and Amadeus Global Distribution systems is required

 

 

 

Who you are

Bringing 5+ years of proven success leading teams or positively influencing teams in a Manager level or above capacity A GDS wizard who enjoys getting into the details and discovering new work arounds and innovative ways to book groups.Experience working with North American travel consumers – prior experience working in the educational travel industry or in a role working with the K-12 school market a plusHighly collaborative and excited to work with a team to achieve high resultsWell-versed in working with senior level stakeholders, comfortable making decisions, and communicating clearly between relevant partiesAble to raise concerns, challenge colleagues, and propose solutions in constructive and tactful waysProficient in your understanding of the group travel model and the required airline procurement and servicing processes with at least 3+ years of booking groupsHave a proven track record of managing or acting as a decision maker on technical projects that have streamlined processesA strategic leader who will bring drive, passion, and inspiration to the roleCompetitive and goal driven as an individual and embody a “nothing is impossible attitude” when it comes to helping your team achieve its goalsFlexible and understand that the Travel industry is unpredictable, and you are prepared to ride the highs and lowsA team player who comes to work every day with a work hard and have fun attitude

 

About EF
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.