Head of Training: Travelshops

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Primary Purpose:

The Head of Training is responsible for creating a learning-focused culture within the TravelShops by reviewing strategic business plans and departmental goals to determine the skills required to achieve higher sales across the business. This role requires a proactive and forward-thinking individual who can work collaboratively with various stakeholders to ensure that training programs are aligned with company needs and contribute to the overall success of the business.

The individual will also identify and assess the training and development needs of employees across various departments, focusing on areas that will have the most significant impact on performance and business outcomes.The Head of Training will be responsible for maintaining a close relationship with the Trainers to ensure they provide excellent facilitation and structured training delivery across all three areas of focus.

The successful candidate will be responsible for identifying the curriculum needed for various roles within the business, including new, maintenance, and refresher modules. The individual would need to understand and apply best practice learning methodologies to create engaging training content, choose appropriate training methods per subject, and deliver training sessions and workshops effectively to diverse audiences.

The primary focus will be on increasing the knowledge base of our TravelShop reservation teams to ensure they have a solid knowledge base of our products, systems, destinations and the logistics of each country we operate in and how to build successful journeys. The ideal candidate must be able to build a training program/centre of learning that will enhance Wilderness as a world-class DMC business.

The successful incumbent needs to be passionate about training and development, highly motivated and detail-oriented with a drive to define methods and make necessary adjustments to improve knowledge sharing, training practices, and methodologies.


Key Responsibilities:

Training Needs Analysis

• Review strategic business plans and departmental goals to determine skills required for higher sales.
• Prioritise areas that will have the most impact on performance and business outcomes
• Identify and assess training and development needs of employees.
• Develop training programs to address identified needs, monitor and evaluate training effectiveness
• Collaborate with department heads to ensure training aligns with business goals.
• Encourage and reward continuous learning and development among employees.

Training Team Management

• Maintain regular communication with Trainers to ensure they are aligned with the training needs of the company.
• Coordinate and oversee training projects to ensure they are delivered in a structured and effective manner.
• Mantain trainer’s employee lifecycle, to ensure alignment between personal and career goals, developmental areas and performance.
• Identify, develop and implement initiatives to upskill each individual in the training department.

Training Content (Program Design & Development) & Curriculum

1) Systems

• Develop tailored training solutions for all systems used by the business (e.g., MS, WW, TP, CRM)
• Identify curriculum needed for different roles within the business and create training modules at different growth levels.
• Develop and deliver training sessions, workshops, and e-learning modules.
• Create new onboarding schedules and materials for new starters, linking them to a mentorship-style engagement for the first 6 months.
• Evaluate the productivity and understanding of new and existing staff members in using the systems.
• Continuously assess and update training materials to ensure ongoing development and improvement in staff knowledge and skills.

2) Wilderness Product

• Develop tailored training solutions for all camps, including curriculum for new, maintenance, and refresher modules.
• Ensure all staff have a thorough knowledge and understanding of camps, destinations, activities, and offerings per country, including USPs.
• Create a library of training material that covers storytelling for each camp and destination, with a focus on engaging and fun content.
• Focus on onboarding training for new starters, setting a strong foundation for increasing knowledge base of all properties.
• Collaborate with sales team to ensure training aligns with core purpose of ROI growth as sales increase.

3) Destination & Logistics

• Develop and implement tailored training solutions to enhance the knowledge and skills of our TravelShop reservation teams.
• Increase the knowledge base of all employees on the logistics of each destination we operate in and how to build journeys within each destination.
• Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of training to ensure continuous improvement.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to ensure training aligns with business objectives and goals.

Training Methods, Delivery & Facilitation

• Design, develop, and deliver quality learning and development programmes that meet the learning needs and requirements of employees.
• Apply best practice learning methodologies to create engaging training content.
• Choose appropriate training methods per subject, including milestones and deadlines.
• Manage the Trainers delivery on training sessions and workshops effectively to diverse audiences, incorporating personalized learning paths where necessary.
• Schedule and conduct training sessions, ensuring that they reach the targeted audience/department.
  

Performance Tracking & Evaluation

• Analyse training data and define methods for measuring training effectiveness, including surveys, assessments, tracking reports and other tools.
• Provide recommendations for improving training programs based on data analysis and feedback from employees.
• Continuously measure the outputs of training programs and make necessary adjustments to improve knowledge sharing, training practices, and methodologies.
• Understand employee engagement in training and identify the value of metrics that result in highly productive teams.
• Collaborate with trainers to identify key performance indicators for training programs.
• Stay current on industry trends and best practices in training and development to continuously improve training programs.

Budget Management

• Ensure adequate support for training programs by identifying the necessary budgets, tools, and programs needed for effective training.
• Create and manage the training budget efficiently to maximise the impact of training initiatives, i.e., costs for materials, training tools, venues, and technology needed for training programs.
• Obtain necessary approvals for training budget allocations.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Work closely with HR, line managers, and other key stakeholders to identify training needs and develop training programs that align with company goals and objectives.
• Collaborate with subject matter experts to design and deliver engaging and effective training programs.
• Develop and maintain a training schedule and ensure that all employees are aware of upcoming training opportunities.
• Collaborate with HR to integrate training programs into the overall employee development and performance management process.
• Provide guidance and support to line managers on how to support employees throughout their employee lifecycle during their training and development journey.
• Ensure that all training programs comply with relevant legislation and regulatory requirements.

Qualifications & Experience:

Skill Set:

• Passion for education and training development.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to work independently and as a team.
• Excellent organisational and time management skills.
• Ability to build relationships with stakeholders at all levels of the business.
• Ability to prioritise and focus on high-impact areas.
• Ability to work effectively with diverse audiences.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Strong people skills, and the ability to manage, inspire and motive a team.

Qualifications / Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or related field
• Minimum of 7 years of training knowledge, learning and development theory and best practices.
• Strong understanding of adult learning principles and training best practices.
• An understanding of business strategy and sales processes is advantageous.
• An understanding of the travel industry in Southern and East Africa is advantageous.
• Proven track record of developing and implementing effective training programs.
• Familiarity with budgeting/training software or tools.
• Assessor course, advantageous
• Moderator course, advantageous.
• Skills development facilitator (SDF).
• Train the trainer, advantageous.

Note: This job specification is intended to outline the general responsibilities and qualifications for this position. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all job duties, responsibilities, and requirements.

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