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Meet Rowan, Director of Global Supplier Relations in Travel
- maryhartley19
- Nov 10
- 3 min read
Name: Rowan
Degree: German, Spanish and Russian at the University of Sheffield.
How did you spend your Year Abroad?
6 months on the languages assistants programme organised by the British Council in North Germany - Lüneburg and six months teaching English in San José, Costa Rica, working for Metropolitan Touring in Ecuador and travelling from there into and around Perú.
Briefly outline your journey from graduation to now.
Did a further 6 month language assistants programme in Germany before volunteering across various causes and countries in South America.
Tour Operator for Latin America for a company based in London upon my return.
Attempted a PGCE in Manchester but dropped off it and went to work for STA Travel.
From there to Operations in Diversity Travel.
Did two years at the British Council as a programme manager for the language assistants programme before returning to Diversity Travel in their Supplier Relations Team where I’m now a Director.
What is your current job?
Director of Global Supplier Relations, Diversity Travel.
What does your current job involve day to day?
Hybrid work between office in Manchester and home. Collaborating with airlines, accommodation and ground transport providers to offer our range of niche sector clients the best travel options. We work with the Humanitarian and Academic sectors and have points of sale in the UK, Europe and the US.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
Learning from people of all walks of life in whatever language suits them best, where I am able to engage that way! I am proud to work for a company who help facilitate the work of some amazing clients whose global impact is massive.
What advice would you give to someone interested in this job?
The travel industry offer many and varied opportunities and is a genuinely exciting and challenging area to work across.
How has your languages degree been useful during your career so far?
It’s helped me form a career by forcing my CV to read so uniquely compared to other similarly qualified individuals.
It has made me more memorable in my interactions with colleagues, partners and clients with whom I have built stronger relationships, faster, as a result of speaking multiple languages.
To learn a language is to challenge yourself and have to negotiate challenging situations, all of which yield multiple examples to use in interviews and set you up for your work life ahead. Languages dovetail so well with a vast range of transferable skills including communication, negotiation, organisation, prioritisation etc.
Do you use or practise your languages outside of work?
TV books and music but I’ve not managed a “high brow” book in a while! Translations of books like Harry Potter help me keep me eye in and music helps the ear. I do all I can to speak languages in my working environment with anyone who is from that country and doesn’t mind my persistence in practising and rusty grammar.
Is there anything else you’d like to share about your career journey?
Learning a foreign language and living and breathing them abroad have enriched my life and ensured I have been able to form a career.
Thanks very much to Rowan for sharing his journey!
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