Georgia’s transformation since the fall of the Soviet Union and its successes in improving the business environment have been remarkable. It leads the region in USAID’s Journey to Self-Reliance ranking, indicating a solid foundation for Georgia to fund, manage and solve its development challenges. However, Georgia’s private sector is struggling to grow and continuously adapt to market changes, while opportunities in growth-potential sectors such as tourism are not fully realized or benefitting the wider economy. For Georgia’s private sector to create sustainable jobs, reduce the rural/urban divide, and lead diversification away from agriculture and into new domestic and export markets, it needs a sustainable system of growth-enabling services and effective stakeholder partnerships, both public and private. This system will support a long-term strategy to achieve economic security, reduce vulnerability to geopolitical risks, and make European Union membership a reality.

USAID’s Economic Security Program (ESP) recognizes the transformative potential that tourism can have on the Georgian economy if it meets quality standards and attracts visitors—particularly travelers looking for unique adventure and cultural experiences to new destinations. The goal of this specific position is to support select tourism businesses in the Timor-Leste, as designated by the project, through technical support, market connectivity and improved sales. The Local Tourism Specialist will be responsible for working with selected tourism businesses in the region to improve their business operations, help them establish stronger connections to the tourism value chain and to increase sales for these businesses.

The Tourism Specialist will work collaboratively with Solimar staff and other DAI technical team members.

Based in Tiblisi, Georgia, the local Tourism Specialist will be responsible for the following:

• Assisting the Tourism Sector Lead achieve fast and transformative results in the tourism sector
• Identifying growing tourism segments in domestic and international markets
• Through a value-chain assessment, helping to identify key gaps to meeting market demand, map opportunities and propose strategic interventions
• Designing and managing domestic and international marketing and product development activities
• Designing and managing capacity building activities for tourism stakeholders

• 10 years of international development and marketing experience
• Degree in marketing, communications, or similar
• Minimum five (5) years of senior-level experience in leading, designing, and implementing marketing related projects
• Deep knowledge of cultural, sustainable and destination tourism development concepts
• Experience interacting with local stakeholders, including governmental, public and private sector actors, and others
• Demonstrated leadership, strong interpersonal, writing and oral presentation skills
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Fluent in both Georgian and English

To apply, please send a cover letter and CV to [email protected]