Senior Travel Designer – Trade

Location: Johannesburg or Cape Town
Reports to: Reservations Manager
Company: Wilderness

Are you passionate about luxury travel, conservation, and creating unforgettable journeys? Join Wilderness as a Senior Travel Designer and help craft extraordinary experiences across Southern and East Africa!

About the Role

As a Senior Travel Designer, you’ll deliver exceptional, personalised travel experiences for our guests and agents. You’ll combine deep product knowledge with high-touch service, fast response times, and a consultative approach. Your mission: build strong relationships, curate bespoke itineraries, and drive sales while maintaining healthy margins.

Key Responsibilities

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  Service Excellence: Deliver prompt, professional, and solution-oriented service to agents and guests. Communicate proactively and with clarity.
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  Itinerary Design & Upselling: Curate bespoke journeys reflecting guest preferences and Wilderness standards. Identify upselling opportunities to enhance guest experiences.
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  Agent Relationship Management: Build trust-based relationships, understand agent preferences, and collaborate with Sales and Operations teams.
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  Booking Accuracy: Quote accurately and timeously, maintain meticulous booking files, and ensure seamless execution of itineraries.
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  Operational Coordination: Work closely with Operations Specialists to ensure a high-quality guest experience and manage all booking logistics.
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  Performance & Margin Focus: Optimise bed nights and margins, track financial performance, and ensure revenues are secured.
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  Product Knowledge: Stay current on Wilderness camps and experiences across Southern & East Africa, and confidently position our offerings.
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  Systems & Technology: Use industry systems (Wilderness Window, WETU, Smartbox, Tourplan, etc.) to streamline processes and enhance service delivery.

Candidate Profile

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  Qualifications: Matric with Maths (Standard Grade or higher); tertiary qualification in Travel & Tourism or Hospitality.
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  Experience: 4–5 years in a senior travel design or reservations role; proven experience in itinerary planning, customer service, and sales; familiarity with TourPlan and Microsoft Office.
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  Skills: Exceptional attention to detail, strong communication (English required, European languages advantageous), organisational skills, and ability to upsell and personalise travel experiences.
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  Personal Attributes: Creative, proactive, service-driven, passionate about wildlife and conservation, able to work under pressure, and dedicated to customer satisfaction.

Why Wilderness?

• Work with a passionate team dedicated to conservation and luxury travel.
• Deepen your destination expertise through ongoing training and familiarisation trips.
• Be part of a company that values creativity, initiative, and going the extra mile.

Interests:

A passion for wildlife and a commitment to sustainability and conservation.

Apply for this position with us on WhatsApp. Simply send the word ‘Hi’ to +260761166303