Job Description

Position: Product Manager

Reports to: Head of Product

Location: Cape Town, South Africa

Purpose of the Role

The Product Manager is responsible for driving strategic growth by fostering sustainable relationships with suppliers, curating innovative product offerings, and optimising internal processes. This role ensures that the product portfolio aligns with market trends and business goals, ultimately enhancing the client journey and contributing to the company’s long-term vision of being a leader in luxury sustainable tourism.

Key Performance Areas (KPAs) & Responsibilities

1. Team & Product Management

• Support the Sales team with supplier queries and escalations that impact the client journey.
• Act as the primary communicator to suppliers, ensuring timely action and favourable outcomes.
• Curate solutions with suppliers to drive internal initiatives, optimise production, and achieve sales targets.
• Collaborate with the Contracting Manager to operationalise new product launches, ensuring readiness across systems and sales enablement.
• Maintain strong expertise in internal systems and ensure Sales teams have access to relevant supplier booking platforms.
• Provide timely and clear updates on products and destinations to Sales and Support teams.
• Regularly review and update product training material.
• Support the Head of Product in addressing operational disruptions and product-related challenges.
• Coordinate with the Marketing team to ensure the accuracy of supplier and website content.
• Lead and manage Product Coordinators to ensure seamless execution of:
• Educational sessions (Eds)
• Site inspections
• Product presentations
• Fam trips
• Tradeshows
• Staff travel
• Identify knowledge and process gaps within the Product Coordinators’ scope and provide guidance and training.

2. Supplier Engagement

• Build and maintain productive relationships with suppliers across all services and language markets.
• Conduct regular supplier meetings to address performance, resolve issues, and gather market and competitor insights.
• Represent the company at supplier events, trade shows, and talks to strengthen brand visibility and stay current on product trends.
• Lead the operational onboarding of new suppliers, including profile setup, platform access, and handover to internal teams.
• Monitor market trends and competitor activity, attending industry events and sharing insights with stakeholders.

3. Product & Destination Development

• Research and evaluate new destinations and suppliers based on market trends, business needs, and client feedback.
• Support the rollout and change management of new products and destinations, applying structured frameworks as required.
• Collaborate with internal teams to promote visibility of preferred suppliers and destinations through training and digital presence.
• Ensure Sales and Support teams receive timely updates on product launches and supplier additions.

4. Reporting & Insights

• Provide key insights on supplier performance, trends, and opportunities to the Head of Product and relevant stakeholders.
• Produce reports highlighting product and supplier trends, challenges, and escalation patterns.
• Maintain weekly logs of supplier escalations, including resolution timelines and recurring issues.
• Identify and report opportunities to improve product processes, systems, or supplier workflows.
• Share impacted booking reports on supplier disruptions (e.g., closures, stop sales) and ensure timely communication to relevant teams.
• Highlight top and preferred suppliers internally to support strategic decision-making.

Behavioural Competencies (Credo)

All employees are expected to demonstrate:

1. Collaboration (Visibility)
2. Accountability and Ownership
3. Innovation
4. Credo Consciousness

Requirements:

Experience & Background

• Minimum 3–5 years’ experience in Product Management within the travel, tourism, or hospitality industry (luxury segment advantageous).
• Proven experience working with suppliers, contracting, or destination development.
• Strong background in supporting sales teams with product, supplier, and operational queries.
• Experience managing or guiding junior team members or coordinators.
• Familiarity with trade shows, supplier events, educational trips, and FAM coordination.
• Understanding of market trends, competitor analysis, and product positioning.
• Exposure to onboarding new suppliers and supporting product rollouts.

Additional Requirements

• Ability to travel locally and internationally for supplier visits, trade shows, and familiarisation trips.
• Strong destination knowledge (preferably multi-region, including Africa and key global destinations).
• Must be based in Cape Town or willing to relocate, and able to work on-site as required.