Wedding & Private Events Sales & Marketing Executive - RSA House

Wedding and Private Events Sales & Marketing Executive, RSA House

Job type: Full-time, on-site

Reporting to: Head of Sales

The Company

Company of Cooks is the RSA’s chosen contract catering partner and in December 2022 won a five year contract extension to run the hospitality business and Coffee House at RSA House.

Company of Cooks have been working with some of the UK’s most cherished venues since 1996, delighting customers and clients alike with great food and drinks, brilliant service and an absolute focus on the details that make good restaurants, cafes and bars, great ones. We operate all restaurants, bars, events and staff catering at the Royal Opera House, the restaurant and café at the National Portrait Gallery, and are being invited to return to the Royal Academy of Arts in Burlington Gardens after their 250th anniversary redevelopment. We are excited to be recruiting for a Wedding Executive based at The Royal Society of Arts.

The Client (the venue, RSA House)

The RSA is the royal society for arts, manufactures and commerce, a charity committed to a future that works for everyone. A future where we can all participate in its creation. The RSA has been at the forefront of significant social impact for over 260 years. Their proven change process, rigorous research, innovative ideas platforms and diverse global community of over 30,000 problem-solvers, deliver solutions for lasting change.

The RSA is dependent on revenue from external events, fellowship subscriptions, sponsorship and donations in order to carry out this important work. The profits generated from hospitality business are fed back into the charity to fund the RSA’s programmes of work such as Education and Learning, Sustainability and The Future of Work.

In 2018, RSA House went through a nine-month partial redevelopment which included closure of four of the 11 spaces, including refreshing our fabulous and historic vaults. In 2019 we rebuilt the events business with a refreshed product including a new Coffee House  with an all-day dining menu. In 2020, the venue proudly picked up three awards; Best Wedding Venue at the Hire Space Awards and Best Historic Venue and Silver for Best Venue Customer Service at the London Venue Awards. In 2020 seven event spaces were refurbished during the pandemic and the RSA has heavily invested in advanced digital technology and hybrid capabilities, to enhance the event experience and to ensure the venue has market leading facilities for the return to live events.

In 2021 RSA House won Most Versatile London Venue at the London Venue & Catering Awards and made the shortlist for Best Client Support During Covid-19 and Best London Venue Covid-19 Response. In 2022 the venue picked up the silver award at the London Venue and Catering Awards for ‘Best Wedding Venue’. In 2023 the team has put the venue forward for three awards; Best Wedding Venue, Venue of the Year and Best Catering at a London Venue. In 2023 there are large growth plans in place to develop the venue and coffee house sales and exciting projects include a refurbishment of the Coffee House, the introduction of an outdoor seating area and a revamp of the reception spaces.

What makes us different?

RSA House offers an eclectic mix of 11 unique and atmospheric events spaces including the Great Room , Benjamin Franklin, Durham Street Auditorium and Vaults, providing rooms for use for all types of events including conferences and meetings, product launches and press days, screenings, Christmas parties, fashion shows, gala dinners, corporate receptions, weddings and private celebrations and show cases.  At weekends the building can be hired for exclusive use.

We are known for our outstanding customer service, versatile facilities and friendly approach which is what makes us stand out from the competition and keeps customer retention high.

Your impact

A key role within the sales and marketing department; responsible for selling weddings and private events under the leadership of the Head of Sales, venue General Manager and Senior Event Sales Executive, with responsibility for selling and administrating to meet revenue targets. 

Weddings and private events are a growing segment at the RSA, accounting for 18% of the overall budget in 2023. Having previously accounted for 25% of the overall budget, the aim is to continue to grow the wedding and private event business to exceed this position. The role allows the successful candidate to maintain and strengthen the strong reputation of RSA House within this important market.

The role requires an understanding of marketing approaches and channels. Full responsibility for managing our supplier relationships, negotiating preferred agreements, and renewing all online listings and content as well as managing our social media platforms, is key.  There are also opportunities to attend industry exhibitions, plan showcases with our sister venues and network within the events managed by the wider team.

This position is full-time 5 days out of 7 and flexibility is expected to meet with the business needs. The ability to work weekends is essential and the role is full-time venue based. This includes operational responsibilities for weddings on the day, working in conjunction with the operations team and/or hosting site visits and client meetings during evenings, weekends and possibly bank holidays.

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities

Sales and Event Coordination

Have excellent knowledge of venue capabilities, capacities, unique selling points and pricing

Follow up on all enquiries within 4 hours and record in the system with follow up activities

Timely preparation of quotations, contracts and function sheets

Refer enquiries across our group of venues when appropriate

Conduct show rounds and assist with familiarisation trips and menu tastings

To accurately create contracts and raise invoices

Meet and greet clients at events as agreed

Represent venue at trade shows and exhibitions and support CH&CO family- led hospitality

Record and share all client feedback and seek to resolve all client queries

To maintain and develop relationships with existing and new clients with focus on wedding and private bookers including 3rd party agents/bloggers/vloggers

To plan and host the annual showcase

Marketing

To create objectives and creative plans to develop/grow the weddings business, alongside the Senior Sales Executive

To keep all online listings up to date and manage subscription renewals

Complete competitor analysis every 6 months

To promote CH&CO partnership within the venue

To update the weddings section of the RSA website

To actively contribute to newsletter content.

To manage the weddings social media channels and provide plans for content

To research new, and attend, networking and promotional hospitality events.

To communicate and research wedding industry trends in food, service and creative selling

To draft applications for relevant wedding industry awards and attend related events

Relationship Management

Focusing on establishing good working relationships with our clients and agents, dealing with their bookings from enquiry to event date

Participate in events meetings with the operations teams

To maintain and develop relationships with suppliers

Administration and Organisation

Manage administration of event sheets for your own bookings as well as assisting the wider team when required.  Communicate accurate event operational information to CH&CO and RSA operations

Accurately raise invoices and take responsibility for receipt of payments

Respond to e mail enquiries in a timely manner, ensuring your own and the shared inboxes are all up to date

Maintain and update venue sales database; regularly increasing the quantity of contacts and improving quality

Health & Safety

To keep up to date with all COSHH and HACCP procedures and methods

To report any equipment and/or building fabric faults and any hygiene, health and safety hazard to the Compliance Director

Occasional Responsibilities:

Personal development to expand knowledge of industry trends in food, food service and creative selling

Attend relevant training courses and CH&CO meetings when necessary

Support to the sales team when needed to handle corporate and internal booking enquiries and administration

The ideal candidate:

Has a minimum of one years’ previous experience in wedding planning and event sales and marketing, preferably in a 5-star hotel or unique venue

Is passionate about wedding sales and wedding planning

Is extremely customer focused

Is personable, friendly and approachable 

Has meticulous attention to detail

Is proactive and self-motivated

Is able to work well under pressure

Is a team player

Is enthusiastic and committed to the job and brings creative new ideas to the table

Is passionate about food

Has digital marketing and social media experience

Has refined oral and written communication skills

Has strong negotiation skills

Has excellent organisation and time management skills

Has excellent numeracy skills

Is highly competent in use of MS Office and diary management system Rendezvous (or similar)

This job description and person specification is a desired guideline but not exhaustive and we reserve the right to make changes to this job description as appropriate.

If this sounds like you, then please send your CV and a cover letter to laura.pearce@rsa.org.uk explaining your suitability for the role, what made you apply for the role and what you would bring to the table. Please note that due to high level of applications received; only successful candidates will be contacted.

**All Applicants must be eligible to live and work in the UK**