Benin: Tourism and Business Development Manager - Pendjari National Park, Benin

Job overview

The Tourism Development Manager will be a key member of the Pendjari National Park Complex management team, and will be responsible for:

· Development and implementation of Tourism Development Plan (to be approved by Park Manager), and product development of existing offerings.

· Direct liaison with existing and new concessionaires and contracted tourism partners in Pendjari complex, to ensure that there is a clear path of communication and that the partners are supported in fulfilling their roles and that the terms of these agreements are adhered to.

· Development and innovation of new tourism products and activities as appropriate and approved within the guidelines of the tourism development plan and business plan.

· Devise and implement in collaboration with African Parks Network, a marketing plan for the park to maintain visibility as a destination in Benin.

· Management and coordination of all guided activities under offering in Pendjari, complex which includes a focus on the quality of these offerings, guest satisfaction and safety through implementation of best practice field guiding operations.

· Overseeing and implementing ongoing training, development and accreditation of field guides.

· Oversight of all vehicles and equipment used in the tourism operations, ensuring this equipment outlasts its useful lifespan and is serviceable at all times.

· Manage key relationships with tour operators, travel trade partners and other key role players in tourism.

· Monitor and manage efficiencies within the tourism operations to maximise net revenues from all activities.

· Managing and maintaining appropriate customer feedback mechanisms and market surveys.

· Management and oversight of tourist revenue collection, and associated administrative requirements such as indemnity forms, entry and exit permits etc.

· Maintaining and developing key visitor information for the park e.g. newsletter, facebook page, trip advisor, web pages, road signage, and media publications.

· Development, oversight and technical support of the (potentially community) campsites in collaboration with the Community Liaison Manager.

· Oversight and management of all general tourism infrastructure including but not limited to entrance gate, game viewing hides, signage, picnic spots, tourist roads and the day visitor facility.

· Development and management of all visitor signage, information and interpretive displays within the park.

· Tourism reporting on a monthly and annual basis of visitor statistics, and financial reports.

· Managing the logistics of, and hosting of visiting groups, delegations and media.

· Management and coordination of volunteers and students attached to Pendjari complex working on tourism and related activities.

· Develop and promote environmentally sustainable practices and operations with all tourism activities.

· Ensuring that health and safety policy and procedures are in place at all times. Recruit, train, supervise and ensure quality control over all staff involved in tourism operations.

What success looks like in 5 years

· Demonstrated growth in paying visitor numbers and income from tourism

· Demonstrated diversification of Pendjari Complex tourism products

· Developed growth in the local and international markets

· Strong relationships with concessionaires, partners and tour operators and agents

· Pendjari tourism product is a leader in West African game viewing experiences.

· Visitor satisfaction

· Visitor and staff safety in the park

Capabilities, competencies and experience needed for the job

· Any relevant formal tertiary qualification with relevance to tourism management in a protected area.

· Understanding of nature guide functioning.

· Strong marketing, organizational and administration ability with previous experience in marketing and promotion of a tourism product an advantage

· Ability to produce professional written materials both in English and French for promotional and information purposes.

· Strong technical ability with operation and maintenance of vehicles and infrastructure in the context of a game reserve.

· Good communication, organizational and people skills

· Good leadership and people management skills.

· Strong personal integrity and dependability.

· Ability to adapt and innovate and work flexibly.

· Good team player and experience in management teams.

· Demonstrable experience of living in remote locations, ideally in Africa.

· Good report writing and communication skills.

· Fluent French (written and spoken). Computer literacy and good working knowledge of Microsoft Office software package.

Key measures and targets

· Key planned activities in the Tourism development plan are implemented.

· Guided activities are diversified to care for a spectrum of clients needs and provide suitable options for visitor satisfaction when visiting Pendjari.

· Guides capacity and qualifications is developed to facilitate a quality experience for guests.

· Profitability of guided activities and curio shop revenues are maximized, with benefit flows to community initiatives.

· Relationship with concessionaires and partners is maintained and promoted and terms of agreements are being adhered to and adjusted to maximise the benefit of the Pendjari Complex.

· Visitor facilities are maintained in excellent order.

· Visitor information developed compliment the visitor experience

· Guest feedback mechanism in place with consistent good reviews on services and products

· Marketing plan developed and implemented with feedback mechanism to evaluate impact of marketing outlets and measurable increase in visitor patronage above industry averages.

· Well performing, skilled and motivated tourism staff

· Strong oversight over revenue collection supervision and tourism records are maintained.

· All equipment is maintained and outlasts its useful lifespan

· Health and safety procedures are in place. Relationships with key tourism stakeholders maintained and built on

Qualified applicants are invited to send their application files (detailled cv mentioning three references + cover letter) to :
rhpendjari@africanparks.org