Wedding and Social Event Manager

Recognized as one of Top 21 Iconic Hotels in the World by National Geographic Traveler magazine, honoured with Travel + Leisure Magazine’s World’s Best Award for Top 10 City Hotels in Canada, and awarded Best Historic Hotel in the Americas, Fairmont Empress is located in Victoria, BC overlooking the city’s sparkling Inner Harbour.

This Forbes Recommended, Four-Star property offers 431 beautifully appointed guest rooms and suites, Willow Stream Spa with signature West Coast experiences, Q at the Empress Restaurant featuring Pacific Northwest cuisine and award winning wine list, and Q Bar with its regionally focused cocktail culture was recently named to Canada’s 50 Best Bars list. World famous Tea at the Empress is a bucket list experience in the hotel’s sophisticated Lobby Lounge. Located on Vancouver Island, Canada’s Castle on the Coast is the ideal starting point to explore British Columbia’s stunning natural beauty.

Wedding and Social Event Manager:

Be the leader to solicit new wedding and social catering accounts, while entertaining and maintaining relationships with existing accounts to meet or exceed food and beverage revenue goals. You will oversee client events to ensure customer satisfaction while also effectively planning the details of upcoming programs (up-sell of products and services, block appropriate event space ) so as to ensure all event requirements are met. Distributing information to operating departments in a timely manner, while providing support and guidance to banquet personnel are other key aspects of this role. Finally, you will be a key-stakeholder at the hotel, to manage successful and effective operations, ending in a positive guest experience for related events. 

What is in it for you: 

• Employee benefit card offering discounted rates at Accor properties worldwide 
• Exclusive Employee and Friends & Family Discounts at Fairmont Hotel Vancouver 
• Exclusive access to the Pacific Northwest Food & Beverage Discount Program with 50% off at our dining destinations in Vancouver, Victoria, and Whistler
• Opportunity to develop your talent and grow within your property and across the world! 
• Complimentary meal during your shift through our Colleague Dining Program 
• Access to our comprehensive benefits and wellness programs, including extended healthcare benefits and RMT, dental, vision, and complimentary counseling, wellness sessions, financial and family planning through LifeWorks
• Access to our company-matched Defined Contribution Pension Plan (DCPP)
• Opportunity to develop your talent through coaching and our Leadership Mentoring Programs
• Competitive starting annual salary of $62,890

What you will be doing:

• Solicit new and existing accounts to meet/exceed revenue goals through telephone solicitation, outside sales calls, site inspections, events and written communications.
• Respond to all inquiries regarding catering space availability in a professional and timely manner.
• Develop monthly sales strategy and action plans
• Create and promote unique Wedding and Social Event packages.
• Use Opera Sales and Catering to track, solicit, book and follow up on accounts.
• Expedite event bookings, prepare resumes and compile and distribute conference agendas and event orders.
• Develop/maintain knowledge of market trends, competition and customers. Attend community/social events and industry meetings.
• Professionally represent the hotel at all industry/community events.
• Complete weekly and monthly reports and assist with competition data collection
• Assist with marketing material updates including packages and collateral.
• Introduce and recommend preferred vendors as determined with the revenue goal of the hotel.
• Maintain good working relations with preferred vendors of the hotel and ensure adherence to event space policies, codes and regulations.
• Maintain solid and open communications with all hotel operating departments.
• Build partnership with the Banquet team to ensure service standards are maintained.
• Attend all department and hotel meetings as necessary.
• Resolve guest and client complaints when necessary.
• Must be available on weekends to lead and support both functions and events
• Other duties as assigned

Your experience & skills include:

• Hospitality Management Degree or a Post Secondary Degree preferred.
• Experience as Wedding Coordinator, Catering or Conference Services Manager, with a passion for Weddings.
• Extensive Food and Beverage knowledge.
• Knowledge of Opera Sales and Catering an asset.
• Strong knowledge of Word and Windows based programs.
• Must possess excellent interpersonal and communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Strong organizational and time management skills.
• Must possess a strong sense of exceeding in providing quality service to our internal and external customers.
• Assertive, self-starter, self-motivator with a high degree of professionalism.
• Must be able to and enjoy working in a busy environment with minimum supervision

Physical Aspects of Position (include but are not limited to): Frequent standing and walking, Frequent bending and kneeling, Frequent carrying and lifting

Visa Requirements: Must be legally eligible to work in Canada. The hotel is unable to assist candidates in obtaining Canadian work authorization.

Your team and working environment: Welcome to Canada’s Castle on the Coast. The Empress Hotel sits proudly at the centre of culture and history in Victoria, British Columbia. This is the best of all worlds – where contrast meets distinction, opulence blends harmoniously with the understated and fabled history meshes with contemporary affairs. This award-winning Victoria hotel and National Historic Site is an alluring blend of classic and contemporary, vintage and cutting-edge: Where Modern meets Iconic. Come join our wonderful team of hospitality experts!

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