Events & Venue Hire Manager

Events & Venue Hire Manager

The Role

We are seeking a new person for our Venue Hire and Operations team who will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of delivering a range of high standard events and promoting the Building Centre in a professional and outward thinking way.

On a day-to-day basis you will be working together with other members of our Operations team ensuring our clients experience a professional and positive service. You will actively support the organisation's income streams by supporting the promotion of the Building Centre as a venue and events destination.

We want someone who is charming, brilliant with people and building relationships, very well presented with a smiley and positive can-do attitude. You must be able to evidence experience in the field of event delivery.

This is a fantastic opportunity for someone looking for a job with great scope, where they will help drive the successful delivery of venue hire. We are looking for someone with the skills to shape and improve the entire process of booking, planning and managing our events.

Who we are:

Founded in 1931, the Building Centre started life as a building materials bureau at the Architectural Association with the aim of demonstrating to students and architects the best contemporary products and materials available. It was the first establishment of its kind. Ninety years later the Centre is run by the Built Environment Trust, an independent charitable organisation dedicated to inspiring, connecting, and empowering people to improve the quality of the built environment.

The Building Centre showcases the best in materials and manufacturing alongside the work of leading architects and designers to inform and inspire conversations about issues, challenges and successes across the sector.

Our public programme includes a rich calendar of free exhibitions and events which invite the public into an active dialogue about the key issues surrounding the materials and processes of our built environment.

Our Product Galleries are home to over forty companies presenting products and materials to our audience. Our new Platform space hosts faster-changing exhibitions presenting cutting-edge design innovation.

The Building Centre also offers office spaces, co-working facilities, seminar spaces, and The Lower Fifth Caf?? which is ideal for informal networking.

Main purpose of job

Working as part of a busy and diverse team, you will show a genuine passion for excellent customer service and teamwork. You will lead on driving the venue hire experience forward ensuring smooth and efficient delivery of both internal and external and large business-to-business events.

As a primary client contact, you will be fielding enquiries, booking spaces, planning and overseeing delivery, liaising with contractors and creating opportunities. As support to our commercial streams you will be helping to improve the impact of our work with efficient use of systems and practical processes, actively contributing to increasing our income generation. You should show your willingness to learn about the built environment and the activities of the Building Centre and the Built Environment Trust.

Key responsibilities:

• Lead on events and venue hire delivery
• First point of contact for all clients and potential clients who should be met with politeness, professionalism and positivity and with a working knowledge of the Building Centre and its activities
• Building, and positively maintaining, good working relationships with clients and all contractors
• Creating event proposals which fit client requirements and presenting proposals by deadline including drafting contracts and quotations
• Planning event aspects, such as catering, seating, and guest list. Coordinating event entertainment, including music, performers, and guest speakers Managing and overseeing events on the day, including directing event set up, communicating with staff, welcoming guests, diffusing difficulties and organising contractors - delegating event planning tasks to other staff members and contractors where necessary
• Creating sales opportunities for future events during client liaisons, and with appropriate networking at the event itself, including possessing a strong working knowledge of the Building Centre Group and The Built Environment Trust to further these opportunities
• Actively support promotion of our venue; working directly with other team members
• Staying under budget while planning event specifications
• Anticipating and planning for different scenarios
• Organising regular meetings with all parties engaged in Venue Hire process within the Building Centre team and other external contractors ensuring effective communication throughout so that nothing is left to chance
• Ensure invoicing is timely; working with Finance Manager to ensure the same and creating readable financial reports to help support budgets
• Planning multiple events at once
• Manage the electronic and paper systems for Venue Hire & Events; efficient use of all office systems and in-house processes to track and monitor events - working with IT Manager to improve these systems where possible.
• Develop and maintain the Building Centre CRM using Hubspot
• Development of an event organiser's manual: to include operational info, security and fire safety information, shipping info, corkage info, merchandising info
• Work with Building Centre team members to ensure all spaces are presentable at all times to prospective and current clients
• Ad hoc duties to support Operations Director

Requirements:

• Superb organisational skills with exemplary attention to detail
• Excellent verbal communication and written skills
• Good, positive, telephone manner
• Ability to work independently, and with initiative, but also as part of a team
• Positive focus on working to deadlines
• Inclusive in attitude and approach
• Tactful and diplomatic

Behaviours:

• Enthusiastic
• Acts with integrity
• Flexible in approach
• Responsible with a commercial 'can-do' attitude
• Professional in appearance and approach

Please INCLUDE A COVERING LETTER with your application stating why you think you should be considered for this post at the Building Centre.