Southbank Centre is the UK’s largest arts centre, occupying a 17 acre site that sits in the midst of London’s most vibrant cultural quarter on the South Bank of the Thames. The site has an extraordinary creative and architectural history stretching back to the 1951 Festival of Britain. Southbank Centre is home to the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and Hayward Gallery as well as The National Poetry Library and the Arts Council Collection. It’s also home to four Resident Orchestras (London Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, London Sinfonietta and Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment) and four Associate Orchestras (Aurora Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, Chineke! Orchestra and National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain). For further information please visitwww.southbankcentre.co.uk.
We are looking for an experienced Commercial Events Manager to join our Commercial Events team. This is a great opportunity for someone with event management experience, who is well organised and shares Southbank Centre’s belief that the arts should be available to all, to join our Commercial Events team at an exciting time for our organisation.
Following two years of refurbishment and some much needed tender loving care Southbank Centre’s 1960s buildings, the Queen Elizabeth Hall and Hayward Gallery reopened in early 2018. The Commercial Events team manages all aspects of commercial venue hires across Southbank Centre as well as cultivation/fundraising and other internal events, and as we scale up our commercial events function following reopening we are looking forward to welcoming another Commercial Events Manager to the team.
As Commercial Events Manager, you will be involved with all aspects of event planning and delivery, from taking initial enquiries and conducting site visits, to liaising with internal and external service providers to make all necessary arrangements and managing the event on the day.
Well-organised, with excellent project and time-management skills; the ideal candidate will already have experience of event management (ideally from working in a similar venue or organisation) and will be able to pick up the complexities of a multi-venue site quickly. Able to demonstrate an understanding of sales and income generation; you will have experience of selling an artistic venue as a commercial space and be confident in your ability to balance the sensitivities around this. With excellent interpersonal skills, you will be able to communicate and work well with a wide range of people with tact and diplomacy, including Southbank Centre’s key stakeholders.
We present work for everyone and we welcome applications from everyone. We particularly welcome applications from people from a BAME background or those who are Deaf or disabled as they are currently under-represented in our workforce. If you wish to discuss reasonable adjustments for this role please indicate this on your application form and we will be in touch with you.
By attracting people to work for us from a broad range of backgrounds with diverse attitudes, opinions and beliefs we can continue to look at the world with fresh eyes and find new ways of doing things. We offer a stimulating and professional environment in which to work - and the pace and scale can be breathtaking. This is a remarkable place to work and our people require the ability to work in The Southbank Centre Way - to think, act and learn with speed and agility.
Contract: Full time, permanent
Closing date for applications: 23:45, Sunday 3 March 2019
Interviews: 7 March 2019
We reserve the right to close the advert early if enough applications are received.
Southbank Centre
Southbank Centre is a world-famous, multi-venue arts centre in London, with a dynamic year-round artistic programme and an inclusive ethos. The UK’s largest arts centre, Southbank Centre was founded with the Festival of Britain in 1951. It’s a place where people experience world-class art, music and culture that stimulates, inspires, educates and amazes. Our festival programme encompasses classical and contemporary music, art, theatre literature, dance and debate. It reaches 6.25 million people a year, and encompasses over 5,000 events featuring world-class artists from across the globe. Southbank Centre sits in London’s most vibrant cultural quarter (and Europe’s largest arts campus) on the southern bank of the Thames.
The site is home to the much loved Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room, Hayward Gallery, National Poetry Library, and Arts Council Collection of visual art, as well as all the indoor and outdoor performance, cafe and retail spaces in between. The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,900 seat venue and is home to 4 resident orchestras. It hosts contemporary music events as well as dance, performance and talks. The Hayward Gallery is one of the world’s leading contemporary art galleries and has played a crucial role in presenting work by some of the world’s most significant artists. Southbank Centre is proud to be the UK’s only permanent festival site.
Our festivals are based on a range of themes and subjects and celebrate the diverse experiences of people and cultures. We present as many free activities as possible alongside our ticketed events, and provide a unique educational offer to thousands of schools, young people and adults to immerse themselves in imaginative creative learning programmes all year round.
Job Objectives
To work with the Commercial Events team to:
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Secure commercial venue hire income against a set target.
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Maximise income potential from all Southbank Centre resources.
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Enhance the reputation of Southbank Centre as an events venue, by delivering high quality events.
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Form part of the central events service the Commercial Events team provide to the Development Department for a wide range of cultivation events.
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Promote, manage and coordinate all aspects of Southbank Centre Events.
Main Responsibilities
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To work with the Commercial Events Operations Manager and Head of Commercial Events to ensure that all financial targets are met or exceeded.
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To work within the strategic sales business plan outlined by the Head of Commercial Events.
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To help to develop the commercial use of Southbank Centre’s site and its buildings as a venue for conferences and general hire, including commercial filming & photography and brand activations.
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To ensure that Southbank Centre’s facilities are promoted in an accurate and appropriate manner.
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To be responsible for the coordination and implementation of Commercial & Development events, both internal events and private hires, including venue booking and set-up, room dressing and catering, client liaison and follow-up, to ensure the successful delivery of all events.
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To be a point of contact for enquiries relating to venue hire, brand activations and commercial filming & photography. To provide the necessary information to interested clients, conduct site visits and actively sell Southbank Centre’s spaces.
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In conjunction with the Commercial Events Sales Manager, to create and amend/update as necessary all venue hire documentation (ie contracts) and ensure due processes are followed according to organisational recommendations.
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To use the systems required to deliver a sustained, first class level of customer service and to resolve any day-to-day operational issues that may affect the delivery of events.
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To ensure that financial data related to venue hire is accurate and well-managed including the inputting of data and the raising of invoices when required.
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To ensure that dates for Commercial Events are recorded in Artifax and other required logs alongside other Southbank Centre events appropriately.
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To ensure that all hires are correctly booked into Artifax, GDPR requirements are covered and the booking of all resources is completed.
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To liaise with Southbank Centre colleagues in all relevant departments and with external contractors and other external stakeholders to ensure the successful delivery of all events.
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Ensure, where required, that method statements and risk assessments are provided by clients and approved by the Health and Safety Manager to comply with Health and Safety regulations.
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To organise any facilities (ie security, cleaning, electricians) required for the event and manage the fees for this accordingly.
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To work with Commercial Events Operations Manager, Commercial Events Sales Manager and Head of Commercial Events to coordinate all aspects of marketing venue hire at Southbank Centre.
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To liaise with marketing contacts and update any copy, contribute to any newsletters and other general marketing administration duties as necessary.
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To liaise with Development to maximise the income generating opportunities for Southbank Centre in areas including events, sponsorship and membership.
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To manage staff allocated for specific events as required.
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To perform any other duties as requested by the Commercial Events Operations Manager or Head of Commercial Events
Person Specification
We are looking for someone who:
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Has experience of event management in a similar sector, field or venue;
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Has experience of planning and executing events;
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Has excellent project and time management skills;
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Is able to think in a logical manner;
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Has good numerical skills and experience of working within budgets;
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Is able to communicate and work well with a wide range of people with tact and diplomacy and is able to communicate positively with Southbank Centre’s key stakeholders;
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Is well organised, with a methodical approach and attention to detail;
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Is able to work on own initiative as well as effectively within a team;
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Has excellent IT skills, including knowledge of MS Office and Google Apps;
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Has a keen interest in and appreciation of Southbank Centre and a belief in its mission;
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Is able to demonstrate an understanding of and commitment to the role that diversity and inclusion play in the activities of the Southbank Centre as a whole and in the work of this particular job.
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Has an understanding of Health and Safety around events
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Has experience of selling an artistic venue as a commercial space and balancing the sensitivities around this;
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Has CAD or floor plan design experience