Director of Banquets (Full-Time)

Fairmont Château Laurier is the iconic hotel of Ottawa - Canada's capital city. Built in the age of grandeur, Ottawa's very own castle is a magnificent limestone edifice with turrets and masonry reminiscent of a French château. A symbol of timeless elegance, the hotel combines a distinctive blend of historic charm and modern efficiencies.

What Is In It For You

• Wonderful company culture - our colleagues are at the heart of all that we do
• Food & Beverage discount of 50% in our restaurants
• Employee benefit card offering discounted rates in Accor worldwide for you and your family
• Learning programs through our academies designed to sharpen your skills
• Ability to make a difference through our Corporate Social Responsibility activities, like Planet 21
• Comprehensive extended health benefits package

Fairmont Château Laurier is proud to provide employment accommodation during the recruitment process. Should you require any accommodations, please notify us.

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

Engaging service, delicious cuisine and distinctive surroundings make every special event at Fairmont Château Laurier a truly memorable affair. As Director of Banquets, you will liaise between multiple departments to ensure the success of every group function – and model exceptional service and leadership skills among your team.

Responsibilities: 
Reporting to the Assistant  Food &Beverage Director and the Food & Beverage Director, responsibilities and essential job functions include but are not limited to the following: 
•    To provide leadership, direction, training and support for the Colleagues and leaders in the department
•    Completion of annual reviews, ongoing mentorship, and providing regular feedback to exceed performance goals
•    Ensures smooth and efficient functioning of the Banquet Department on a daily basis
•    Weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual objectives
•    Creative, cost-effective scheduling of the banquet Leadership Team, Captains, Banquet Servers, Coordinator, and Housepersons to minimize productivity to forecast and budget
•    Maintains open communication lines with Catering and Convention Services in order to promote teamwork and exceed guest service expectations
•    Maintains, enforces and enhances Fairmont Service Standards and Conference Services/F&B Core Standards
•    Proactively analyzes, develops, and revamps internal processes to create new ways of providing unique and innovative services ideas and incentives
•    Maintains a constructive, harmonious and communicative working relationship with all supporting departments
•    Ensures all financial reporting is maintained and accurate 
•    Ensuring proper training of assistants
•    Maintains and enhances staff morale and promotes a positive team environment
•    Ensures departmental adherence to, and awareness of Health & Safety standards
•    Shares in the responsibility to achieve or exceed financial and guest satisfaction goals (average check, payroll, beverage revenue, JD Power etc) for the department
•    Active interaction with guests and conveners on an ongoing basis
•    Assumes responsibility for all equipment, inventories, supplies, furniture and fixtures assigned to the Banquet Department and in addition scheduled cleaning of all banquet equipment during slow times – with reports generated to monitor completion
•    Responsible for recruitment and training of new employees and maintains appropriate staffing levels at all times by liaising with the Human Resources Department
•    Ensuring all union guidelines are followed with regard to seniority and the existing union agreement
•    Establishes, evaluates, and enforces performance standards
•    Responsible for the timely, precise and expert execution of all banquets functions
•    Attends Operations meetings, pre-convention meetings and other departmental meetings as required
•    All other related responsibilities and duties

•    Post-Secondary Degree in Hospitality or Food and Beverage Management is an asset
•    Minimum five (5) years’ experience in Food and Beverage Management including a minimum of three years in a Banquet Manager or Assistant Banquet Manager setting
•    Highly organized individual with the ability to multi-task
•    Ability to delegate tasks to team members and ensure their completion with a strict adherence to deadlines
•    Must possess strong, proven leadership qualities and management skills
•    Must have proven staff scheduling skills
•    Ability to recognize and correct guest service issues through an established presence on the Banquet floor
•    Management/Leadership courses an asset
•    Working knowledge of Micros, Timesaver, Excel, PowerPoint, Microsoft Word
•    Fluent in both official languages an asset.