Director, Event Sales & Services

Company Description

Fairmont Waterfront redefines hospitality with Pure Coastal Luxury. Our award-winning hotel, nestled on Vancouver's stunning waterfront, is consistently celebrated by top publications like Conde Naste Traveler and recognized as a Great Place to Work® Canada for a second consecutive year. We are Industry leaders in sustainability & embody our commitment to our community, featuring Vancouver's first green roof & rooftop apiary. 

Our Culture is strongly rooted in diversity, inclusion, professional growth and development - over 60% of promotions are from within. We are committed to empowering ambitious individuals to thrive. If you're a visionary who shares our values and passion for excellence, join us to help shape the future of luxury hospitality.  

Why work at Fairmont Waterfront?

• Sustainability and community commitment - recognized with 5 Green Leaves Certification rating from Green Key Global since 2011
• Empowering Women in Leadership - More than 50% of leadership team including Executive Level, are women
• Celebrating Diversity - our team represents over 60+ countries, fostering an inclusive and global community
• Strong Culture of Belonging for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community providing year-round support, including gender inclusive change rooms
• Generous perks - Enjoy discounted rates at over 5,800 Accor hotels worldwide through our Colleague Travel Discount Program* food & beverage discounts, transit reimbursement program for Trans Link monthly passes, subsidized meal during your shift through our colleague dining program
• Comprehensive Benefits - through our Benefit Plan* including medical, dental and vision coverage, Pension Plan, and more!
• Dining Discounts - Get 50% off at our dining establishments in Vancouver, Victoria and Whistler through our Food & Beverage Discount Program
• Opportunities to grow at Fairmont Waterfront and across the world at over 5,800 properties with Accor Group
• Exclusive Experiences - One free stay through our Be Our Guest Program
• Competitive annual salary commensurate with experience. Salary range $115,000 - $120,000 annually.

Your vision and leadership as Director of Event Sales & Services will ensure an engaged team, efficient operations – and offerings that exceed the expectations of every client.

Summary of Responsibilities:
Reporting to the Director of Sales and Marketing, responsibilities and essential job functions include but are not limited to the following:   

• Establish strategic action plans to enhance the operation of the Event Sales & Services department and exceed budgeted targets
• Prepare departmental budget and monthly forecasts, ensuring revenue targets are met
• Emphasize forecast accuracy for monthly preparation of 30/60/90 day forecasts
• Actively seek new business and catering events through prospecting to meet revenue targets.
• Control function space utilization and ensure the Fairmont standards are met.
• Develop annual business and marketing plans for the department in collaboration with the Director of Sales and Marketing.
• Continual review and analysis of Event services/sales guidelines, core standards, procedures & policies
• Develop, implement and enforce function space yield management guidelines. Review evening reports on a daily basis to ensure effective function space yield management
• Ensure Event Sales Managers are actively yielding group room blocks and utilizing revenue management principles
• Review on a daily basis, morning reports for all Event Sales & Service Managers to ensure they are keeping abreast of their workload.
• Strong communication skills – conduct daily communication briefings with the Event Sales & Services team. Conduct set monthly catering meetings with entire team.
• Establish and maintain rapport with clients throughout the event process, exceeding their expectations and encouraging repeat business.
• Manage Local and Group Markets assigned including Key Accounts from initial booking to execution.
• Further to function bookings, prepare event contracts and distribute conference agendas and prepares event orders.
• Conduct site inspections and food tastings with prospective and repeat customers to understand and exceed guest needs.
• Maintain compliance with Health and Safety standards and company Sustainability initiatives.
• Attend leadership, daily convention, pre-convention and other meetings as required and participate in relevant meetings within the hotel and the local community, representing the Event Sales and Services areas.
• Develop and lead a motivated, competent, and cohesive team through incentive and performance management programs.
• Oversee and guide the professional development of all members of the Event Sales & Services department
• Develop a course of action to positively impact employee satisfaction. Lead the roll out & action plans of the annual Employee Engagement Survey.
• Coordinate team building exercises to inspire, educate and develop team.
• Set goals and activities with Sales and Services Managers, conducting regular meetings to review event activities and goals.
• Collaborate with Sales Managers to ensure contractual terms are met and function space is maximized.
• Ensure and enforce the integrity of Opera, and Passkey enabled groups at all times.
• Further develop and maintain a constructive, harmonious and communicative working relationship with all supporting departments
• Manage payroll, vacation time and out of office protocol for the Event Sales & Services team. Ensure appropriate staff levels during vacation periods and assigned back up roles for clients / files in the absence of assigned manager(s).
• Liaise with in-house Audio Visual supplier to maximize audiovisual revenues.

• Minimum of 5 years experience as a Director of Conference Services and Catering within a medium to large hotel operation
• 2 years experience in banquet management.
• Hospitality or Post Secondary Degree.
• Proven ability to lead and motivate a team.
• Proven ability to plan and organize events effectively, with an acute sense of detail.
• Assertive, professional and positive with a proven ability to develop and lead in a team environment.
• Working knowledge of Opera Cloud, Microsoft Suite.
• Must be able to work independently and maintain a positive attitude within a very busy environment with a proven ability to innovate.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, both written and verbal
• CMP (Certified Meeting Professional) designation a strong asset.

Canadian work authorization.

Our commitment to Diversity & Inclusion: We are an inclusive company and our ambition is to attract, recruit and promote diverse talent.

Why work for Accor?
We are far more than a worldwide leader. We welcome you as you are and you can find a job and brand that matches your personality. We support you to grow and learn every day, making sure that work brings purpose to your life, so that during your journey with us, you can continue to explore Accor’s limitless possibilities.
By joining Accor, every chapter of your story is yours to write and together we can imagine tomorrow's hospitality. Discover the life that awaits you at Accor, visit  https://careers.accor.com/

Do what you love, care for the world, dare to challenge the status quo! #BELIMITLESS #greatplacetowork