Assistant Director of Events Sales

OVERVIEW/BASIC FUNCTION:
Responsible for the management of all aspects of the Catering department in accordance with hotel standards. Coordinates details and menus for clients' functions and maintains budgeted revenues through solicitation of business while controlling expenditures. Directs, implements and maintains a management philosophy which serves as a guide to Catering associates. The Assistant Director of Events Sales is responsible for contracting and closing local catering and social business and ensuring that business is turned over properly and in a timely fashion for quality service delivery. The position is responsible for achieving and exceeding catering revenue goals, actively up-selling each business opportunity, while constantly generating new leads. The incumbent implements the brand's service strategy and applicable brand initiatives in all aspects of the sales process and drives customer loyalty by delivering service excellence throughout each customer’s experience.

RESPONSIBILITIES:
• Maintain complete knowledge of and comply with all departmental policies, service procedures, and standards.
• Liaise daily with C&E team to review status of business, schedules, priority assignments, bookings, and all information related to the operation.
• Direct and monitor the performance of C&E team, ensuring that all procedures are followed: take actions where necessary.
• Strong organization skills and follow ups technique.
• Review C&E revenues for the previous day, while tracking the actuals vs forecast/budget.
• Ensure that all SOPs are updated and relevant to the C&E operation.
• Ensure that C&E team are equipped with all the necessary tools, latest product knowledge, trainings etc.
• Constantly monitor C&E requests to ensure that appropriate space is blocked to accommodate the function’s/group's requirements.
• Assign specific accounts and sales objectives to each C&E team member.
• Ensure the utilized system is updated and guests’ files are kept organized and updated.
• Monitor and handle inquiries in a timely fashion.
• Ensure that all incoming calls are answered within 3 rings with proper greetings and telephone etiquette.
• Monitor departmental call reports and assist C&E team in determining follow-up actions.
• Monitor response time to messages, ensuring that all messages are returned promptly.
• Ensure appropriate proposals and contracts are filed.
• Conduct Site-Inspection for the property and highlight features of facility as well as available services.
• Proactively sell and upsell added services to the menus.
• Where appropriate, entertain clients in the hotel outlets to sell the hotel facilities.
• Liaise with the Executive Chef to plan special requests and menus; arrange introductions where necessary.
• Where appropriate, coordinate arrangements for a Chef's table to persuade profitable potential clients.
• Ensure that all definite functions are detailed accurately on Banquet Event Orders, signed by clients and distributed to designated departments on a timely fashion.
• Monitor the preparation and distribution of the Daily Event Sheet; ensure that all information is complete and accurate and distributed on a timely basis.
• Monitor changes to Banquet Event Orders; ensure that accurate information is communicated to respective departments on a timely fashion to best service the guest.
• Monitor the preparation and distribution of the Weekly Event Sheet; resolve any incomplete information.
• Prepare and distribute the weekly Catering forecast identifying covers and sales by meal period.
• Ensure that a Banquet check is typed for each function one day prior to scheduled event and given to the Banquet department.
• Check function room set ups prior to guest arrival, ensuring all details agreed upon with guests are in place, and following the hotel standards; ensure respective personnel correct deficiencies.
• Call for a pre-convention meeting where necessary, specially in case of big events and/or buyouts
• Welcome group contact upon arrival at function and ensure guest satisfaction.
• Check that functions are properly associated to provide the required standard of service; ensure that associates are well groomed.
• Highly effective communication skills to liaise and cascade all related information to the concerned team members on a timely fashion.
• Assist in supervising the service of functions, ensuring guest’s satisfaction.
• Ensure that all payments are processed according to the active SOPs in place.
• Monitor guests’ reactions to rectify by sharing with service associates to ensure guest satisfaction.
• Always promote positive guest relations.
• Be familiar with all hotel services/features and local attractions/activities to respond accurately to any guest inquiry.
• Handle guest complaints.
• Contact guests after scheduled functions to ensure guest satisfaction and to solicit rebooking.
• Conduct weekly B.E.O meetings.
• Attend designated meetings, menu, and food tastings.
• Conduct ongoing training for the C&E team.
• Provide feedback to C&E team on their performance; handle disciplinary problems and counsel associates where necessary.
• Foster and promote a cooperative working environment, maximizing productivity, and associate moral/motivation.
• Prepare weekly work schedules in accordance based on forecasted demand and/or business need.
• Prepare and submit daily/weekly payroll records.
• Conduct function book review as scheduled with the Director of Sales & Marketing.
• Prepare and distribute the monthly booking report according to procedures; compare actual to forecast.
• Monitor, maintain and distribute a monthly Lost Business Report following hotel standards; ensure appropriate pieces of lost business are traced for future solicitation.
• Prepare and distribute an annual catering-marketing plan in accordance with hotel specifications; assign monthly action steps to C&E team and follow up on each; adjust and update the marketing plan each quarter.
• All other duties as required.
Managing Sales Activities
• Manages sales efforts for the hotel including MICE, Corporate/Government related Events, and Social Events.
• Responds to incoming catering opportunities for the hotel.
• Identifies, qualifies and solicits new catering business to achieve personal and hotel revenue goals.
• Understands the overall market - competitors' strengths and weaknesses, economic trends, supply and demand etc.
• Closes the best opportunities for the hotel, based on market conditions and hotel needs.
• Uses negotiating skills and creative selling abilities to close on business and negotiate contracts.
• Designs, develops and sells creative events.
• Manages catering sales revenue and operation budgets and provides forecasting reports.
• Executes and supports the operational aspects of the business booked (generating proposals, writing contract, customer correspondence).
• Monitors the effective resolution of guest issues that arise because of the sales process by creating mechanisms to channel issues to property leadership and/or other appropriate stakeholders.
• Ensures successful performance by increasing revenues, controlling expenses and providing a return on investment.
Providing Exceptional Customer Service
• Interacts effectively with sales, kitchen, vendors, competitors, local community, catering associations and other hotel departments in order to ensure guest satisfaction.
• Executes and supports the company's Customer Service Standards and hotel's Brand Standards.
• Executes exemplary customer service to drive customer satisfaction and loyalty by assisting the customer and ensuring their satisfaction before and during their program/event.
• Serves the customer by understanding their needs and recommending the appropriate features and services that best meet their needs and exceed their expectations, while building a relationship and loyalty to the company.
• Gains understanding of the hotel's primary target customer and service expectations; serve the customer by understanding their business, business issues and concerns, to offer better business solution both prior to, and during the program/event.
• Develops a close working relationship with operations to ensure execution of strategies at the hotel level.

QUALIFICATIONS:
• Experience: Minimum four years’ experience as a Senior Events Manager for a luxury hotel.
• Education: College degree.
• General Skills: Must be able to perform job functions with attention to detail, speed and
accuracy; prioritize, organize and follow-up; be a clear thinker, remaining calm and resolving problems using good judgment; follow directions thoroughly; understand a guest’s service needs; work cohesively with associates as part of a team; work with minimal supervision; maintain confidentiality of guest information and pertinent hotel data.
• Technical Skills: Knowledge of various food services styles (i.e., French service, tableside flambé service, and butler style service); knowledge of menu development; ability to satisfactorily communicate in English with guests, management and associates to their understanding; ability to provide legible communication; ability to compute basic mathematical calculations; familiarity with food and beverage cost controls; familiarity with Sales and Marketing tools; ability to enforce hotel's standards, policies and procedures with catering associates; ability to prioritize and organize work assignments; delegate work; ability to direct performance of Catering associates and follow up with corrections where needed; ability to motivate Catering associates and maintain a cohesive team; ability to ascertain departmental training needs and provide such training.; ability to be a clear thinker, analyze and resolve problems exercising good judgment; ability to focus attention of details; ability to suggestively sell menu items, beverages, wines and facilities; ability to input and access information into computer; ability to ensure security and confidentiality of client information and hotel data; ability to work without directs supervision.
• Sales skills: Is able to identify new clients and convert business to maximize all banquet space
• Language: Required to speak, read, and write English, with fluency in other languages preferred. Arabic is a plus.
• Physical Requirements: Must be able to exert physical effort, endure various physical movements throughout the work areas, reach up and down, remain stationary at times throughout work periods, and satisfactorily communicate with guests and associates to their understanding.