Rabbie’s Tours is seeking a Contracting Executive to join their team. The role will be responsible for contracting the wide range of accommodation and non-accommodation products required for scheduled tours, FIT programmes and tailor-made group tours, and will assist with the management of the booking process and systems.
The successful candidate will have the ability to organise, communicate effectively, and have excellent negotiation skills.
Key responsibilities include:
- Contracting all accommodation (hotels, B&Bs and hostels) and non-accommodation (attractions, ferries, transfers etc) services, with the assistance of a Contracting Administrator and the accommodation placement team
- Travelling to all areas of operation to source, grade and contract suitable accommodation and services
- Building strong relationships with key suppliers and partners
- Producing a timeline to suit all departments and the Rabbie’s product cycle, planning site visits and sourcing allocations
- Managing the full contract process from outlining requirements and negotiating rates, to completion of signed contracts, for tours in the UK and Ireland
- Liaising with partners to contract the European programme (currently Spain, Portugal, Italy and Switzerland)
- Researching and actioning any contracting requirements for new product developments
- Setting up credit arrangements with suppliers
- Issuing and tracking terms & conditions issued to suppliers
- Working with the accommodation placement team to ensure accommodation and rates are available for the FIT programme and scheduled tours in time for annual release
- Calculating buying and selling rates (FIT), and keeping rate spreadsheets updated
- Managing a contracting tracking system and ensure that this is kept up to date
- Working with all other departments to ensure all products are accurately loaded on to our systems
- Working with other departments and our development team, to develop our booking system to manage new products
- Keeping supplier information and rates updated in our brochures, manuals and price lists
- Monitoring performance and modify plans where appropriate to keep pace with changing business priorities
The successful candidate will have:
- Experience in the tourism or hospitality industry
- Experience within contracting, preferably FIT accommodation
- Experience in negotiating with suppliers and arranging contracts
- Proven ability to solve problems promptly and effectively
- Proven interpersonal and communication skills
- Strong IT skills (MS Office, booking systems etc) and the ability to adapt to new packages and software
- Self-motivated with the ability to take ownership to work autonomously and use their own initiative, as well as working as part of a team
- A good geographical knowledge of the UK and Ireland is desirable
- Experience of working in different booking systems and/or accommodation channel managers is desirable
Please click here to view the full job description and person specification >>
How to apply: Please send your CV and covering letter to [email protected] by Friday 27 May.
About Rabbie’s Tours:
Rabbie’s operate one of the largest selections of scheduled tours in the UK and Ireland, as well as a European scheduled tour programme, in addition to also offering a trade exclusive FIT programme and private tours. Our vision is to make the world a better place through travel.
We’re an open, friendly, positive and welcoming group of people. We like to ‘live life’ and explore places that have stories to tell. We’re renowned for delivering exceptional customer experiences because of how we look after our guests, each other, and the communities and the environments we travel through.
