Title: Allocations Specialist
EF Division: Explore America
Location: Cambridge, MA
Start Date: August 2, 2021

*In accordance with public health guidance, all of our staff are currently working from home until September 8, 2021 at which point we look forward to returning in-person at our North American Headquarters located in Cambridge, MA. However, while we work from home, our EF culture still runs strong. From virtual happy hours, group workout classes, and collaborative technology, we'll make sure you can stay close to your colleagues - even from home.

EF Explore America is a division of EF Education First (“EF”), a diversified global education company that has been in operation for over 55 years.  EF is family-owned, has a staff of nearly 60,000 people, and operates out of 600 offices in over 100 countries around the world.  As a privately held company, EF has the advantage of being flexible and able to make decisions for the long-term success of the company.  We have certainly experienced our share of travel-related obstacles and seemingly impossible situations – but have bounced back stronger each time. 

EF Explore America organizes and leads educational trips for teachers and their students across North America.  At EF Explore America, we believe in one simple truth – that the world is better when people try to understand one another.  Our tours help students expand their knowledge of the world around them, understand new people, places, and cultures, discover more about themselves, and grow more confident and independent.  Following a year that challenged our ability to be out in the world and learning by doing, never have our teachers and their students been more ready to get back to traveling with us.

The Role

When you work in operations at EF, you play a vital role in fulfilling our company mission: Opening the World Through Education. As an Allocations Specialist, you will help build our tours by developing and executing strategic allocation plans of specific tour components including hotels, motorcoaches, attractions, and on-tour overnight security. This role is highly cross-functional and collaborative and partners directly with the Procurement and Production teams to ensure our allocation plans meet defined business objectives and adapt to changes in the markets. In addition to internal partners, this role also works extensively with external suppliers to manage reservation details and provide ongoing support. In this highly entrepreneurial role, an Allocations Specialist must be pioneering and continuously striving to improve and embrace more effective and efficient ways to do the job.

Responsibilities:

Planning & Execution

• Develop and execute allocation plans that support our strategic business objectives around cost and quality management, inventory utilization, and customer experience.
• Collaborate with the Procurement team to develop and maintain allocation plans, identify supplier risks, and manage component budgets.
• Collaborate with the Production team to ensure allocation plans holistically align with tour production requirements, itinerary logistics, and customer requests.
• Build and maintain supplier partnerships from on-boarding, reservation management, and ongoing support.

Process Improvement

• Implement scalable allocation planning methods to improve cost, quality, and inventory utilization.
• Evolve existing planning tools and resources to reduce manual planning efforts.
• Collaborate with Tours Engineering to develop and adopt new technologies, applications, and software.

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree or higher
• 1- 2 years professional or equivalent experience
• Experience managing multiple competing priorities simultaneously
• Able to think critically and creatively to problem solve under pressure
• Strong attention to detail while maintaining awareness of the larger mission
• Great communication skills, both oral and written
• A self-directed, results oriented, team player
• Proficient with Microsoft Suite (Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.)
• Interest in technology, database management, and Lean Methodologies are not required but are a plus

The Perks:
 As if changing teachers’ and students’ lives and making the world a better place isn’t enough, we also offer the opportunity to:

• Live Well
• 25% company match on your 401(k) contributions
• Expand your worldview with paid business travel plus three weeks of paid vacation time to start (and four weeks starting in year two)
• Highly subsidized, market-leading health and dental benefits plan
• Stay healthy with on-site fitness classes and access to Employee Assistance Programs
• Competitive fertility assistance benefits and paid parental leave programs
• Live your Truth:
• We believe our business, like our world, is better when we embrace diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging
• Build your network by joining Explore America’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging Committee
• Join one (or several) of our employee led clubs or affinity (we call them “EF-inity”) groups such as, LGBTQ+ @ EF, Black @ EF, and Latinos @ EF. Don’t see a resource group, affinity group or club that matches your passion? Feel free to create one!
• Live Engaged
• We work in an open environment without cubicles or private offices
• Enjoy comprehensive in-house professional development opportunities with weekly trainings and workshops
• Keep up that student mentality with free in-house language classes and an annual stipend for continued education
• Live for FUN!
• Explore the neighborhood with discounts to local gyms, businesses, concert tickets, and sporting events
• Explore the world with discounts on hotels, flights, rental cars, as well as paid travel.
• Enjoy our in-house bar, cafe, hair salon, and fitness center

About Us:
EF Explore America, a division of EF Education First, is one of the largest providers of teacher-led student tours in North America. Students and teachers from all across the USA travel with us on tours throughout North America. Tours to Washington, D.C., New York City, and Boston have been our bread and butter for years, and our travelers also expand their world-view by visiting San Francisco, Puerto Rico, Chicago, Montreal, and beyond. From sales and marketing to operations and finance, our teammates are headquartered in Boston with a regional office in Washington, D.C., and presence in New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and throughout Texas.
 

About EF Education First:
At EF we believe that the world is better when people try to understand one another. Since 1965, we have helped millions of people see new places, experience new cultures, and learn new things about the world and about themselves. Our culturally immersive education programs—focused on language, travel, cultural exchange, and academics—turn dreams into international opportunities.

When you join EF, you join a multicultural and diverse community working across more than 600 schools and offices in 50 countries, all with one shared mission of opening the world through education. Whoever you are, whatever you are passionate about—we welcome you and want you to bring that to work every day. EF is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and we are committed to inclusion and belonging across race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, caste, parental status, identity, experience and everything else that makes you unique.

Founded in Sweden in 1965, EF has school and offices around the world, including hubs in Boston, London, Mexico City, São Paulo, Shanghai, Stockholm, Zürich, and more. Learn more at https://ef.com.