Product Assistant

ACE Cultural Tours is looking for a Product Assistant to join its team developing worldwide cultural tour itineraries. This is an ideal opportunity for an enthusiastic individual, particularly a recent graduate, who is passionate about educational travel, culture and the arts. The postholder will be responsible for supporting the development and delivery of our cultural tour itineraries, ensuring our unique educational travel experiences are thoughtfully researched, accurately presented and appeal to diverse audiences.

About ACE Cultural Tours and Stapleford Granary:

ACE Cultural Tours Ltd is an award-winning tour operator founded in 1958, specialising in high quality study and cultural tours accompanied by expert Tour Directors. It is based at – and closely connected with – Stapleford Granary, a dynamic centre for music, arts and education five miles from Cambridge. The Company is a subsidiary of the Association for Cultural Exchange, a charitable trust which supports cultural and educational activities worldwide. ACE is innovative and creative with its choice of worldwide destinations; its tours appeal to clients who are generally in the 50 and over age group, who possess a real desire to see new places and learn or improve their knowledge of a specific topic.

Specialist subject areas include history, art, architecture, music (including a number of festival and opera tours), natural history and literature. Tour Directors are not only selected for their skill in imparting knowledge in a stimulating way but also for their ability to mix with group members, creating a very personal tour experience. Each year ACE receives extremely positive feedback from clients, who appreciate the strong organisational underpinnings of the tours, as well as their unique feel and special elements.

The office is based at the charity’s arts centre, Stapleford Granary, in beautiful converted farm buildings five miles south of Cambridge’s city centre. The site is home to a popular cafe and gift shop, and regularly hosts art exhibitions, concerts, workshops and other cultural events.

The Role:

This is an exciting but challenging opportunity for someone who is passionate about travel, culture, heritage and education. You will work closely within the Product Team and our academic experts to develop an exciting range of worldwide cultural itineraries. Our diverse programme ranges from short local itineraries to European and worldwide departures, and covers every aspect of the arts from music and fine art to archaeology, history and the natural world. You will work on tour programmes from initial research and development through to the creation of written content for our print and digital material.

Main Responsibilities:

Product Development – using your cultural knowledge, client and personnel feedback, and new proposals from Tour Directors and staff, you will research, evaluate and develop new, repeat and revised tour itineraries from initial development through to launch; you will ensure that itineraries, pricing dates and all customer-facing information are accurate and delivered to agreed deadlines.

Research – you will research destinations, attractions, accommodation, travel arrangements and cultural opportunities to support the development and improvement of ACE tours.

Content Creation – you will create compelling written content for print and digital publicity material, in line with the ACE house style, including for brochures and our website.

Proofreading – you will regularly proofread copy written by other team members, as well as brochure proofs prior to printing.

Tour Director Liaison – you will act as one of the main points of contact for our expert Tour Directors to develop and promote their tours effectively and accurately. As part of this, you will assist with Tour Director recruitment, meetings, appraisals and training.

Wider Team Liaison – you will frequently liaise with other ACE staff to ensure that accurate information is provided to customers via our Sales and Marketing teams, and the correct arrangements are put in place via our Contracting and Operations teams.

Problem Solving – you will help to find solutions to any problems that may arise, such as sourcing a replacement Tour Director or suggesting alternative visits on a particular tour.

Commercial Awareness – you will understand how each tour plays a part in the company’s commercial prospects, and apply commercial considerations to the development of itineraries and related projects

Desirable Skills:

• Expertise in one or more of our subject areas. We are particularly interested in applicants with knowledge of art history, archaeology, natural history, literature and/or music.
• Good cultural knowledge and/or interests across a broad range of subjects.
• Good interpersonal and teamwork skills and the ability to work closely in collaboration with others (ACE staff and Tour Personnel) to achieve key objectives, as well as the ability to work independently, using plenty of initiative.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to write clear and accurate copy that engages our customers.
• Good general IT skills (including Google Docs and Sheets) with the ability to learn to work with new systems.
• Strong organisational skills and ability to work consistently to deadlines. Ability to work under own initiative, managing time across several projects simultaneously.
• Understanding of the target market and ability to tailor both product and content to suit the company’s clients.

Personal Attributes:

• Knowledgeable and passionate about cultural travel.
• Creative and literate.
• Self motivated, positive, resourceful and professional.
• Enthusiastic and adaptable.
• A team player.
• Calm, constructive and focused under pressure.
• Commercially aware.

Additional Information:

The postholder will benefit from a competitive salary and, after a qualifying period, company contributions into a group pension scheme. Leave entitlement is 25 days per year and 8 public holidays for full time staff, pro-rata for part time employees. Normal working hours are 0900-1700 Monday-Friday with 30 minutes’ lunch break. This position is envisaged to be for 5 days/week. Flexible working is possible providing the postholder is able to work in the office for at least three days per week.

To apply please email a covering letter and your CV to Jane Horgan (Product Manager) at jane@aceculturaltours.co.uk.

You must have the right to work in the UK.
We do not wish to be contacted by employment agencies.