Director of Event & Catering Planning

Job Summary

We are seeking a passionate, polished, dynamic, and experienced Director of Event & Catering Planning to lead a team of event planners to produce successful events and execute unparalleled levels of hospitality on-site at our technology partner’s campus. In this role you will lead event planning, creative development, catering, and execution of all on-site events. Our client is a well-known technology company based in Silicon Valley. Overseeing a portfolio of on campus events at our client’s flagship offices, in this role you will develop and implement KPIs and benchmarks to measure response times, client engagement, and create ownership of the processes. You will hone, and improve engagement, team cohesion, elevating the program’s overall success. This position leads a dynamic team in event sales, developing detailed departmental communication streams, partnering with leadership to develop reports, all to level up the client experience. The Director of Event & Catering Planning is a visionary leader who is proactive, a charismatic communicator and adept at winning through influencing others. This tenacious person has demonstrated that they are an industry leader who is most comfortable when given the freedom and independence to develop their journey to success. The ability to enthusiastically oversee all aspects of complex event management is required. Reporting to the Resident District Manager and working in partnership with the Director of Event & Catering Operations, your primary role will be to guide, mentor and teach event planners, focusing on development and growth for your team, continuously building a succession plan. You over see a planning team of 10, guiding your Sr. Managers to effectively manage hourly teammate’s scheduling, training, and more. Leading by example, the Director of Event Planning role coaches the event planning process from ideation to implementation, while holding the highest levels of customer service, and hospitality in all engagements.

WHO YOU ARE

You are a meeting and event planner with a wide range of experience supporting a variety of clients and event types. You are a skilled technical event planner with an overt organization strategy, and an almost obsessive attention to detail. You engage with everyone with the same knowledgeable, kind, and consultative style whether they be an Executive Assistant, C-Level Executive, or team manager. You thrive in an environment where you oversee many initiatives at one time, easily able to switch from the building and designing of a specific event experience to ideating and strategizing how to best leverage your department. You are a natural teacher, coaching teammates 1-on-1, engaging teams for larger trainings, and developing and refining standard operating procedures as the business demands. You thrive in an environment of change, taking each pivot and hurdle and an opportunity to flex your creative problem-solving muscles, driving excitement within your team to level up the customer experience even when embarking on your 3rd, 4th, or 5th iteration of an experience, cultivating resilience and creativity. You self-propel to the max, creating pathways to deliver on leadership request, designing presentations, and building collateral. You analyze and interpret data to emphasize your point. All you need to know is the objective, and you can build the mechanism to get there.

Qualifications

* A minimum of eight years of event sales, planning/logistics and event management. Experience as with a third-party planner, destination management company or agency a plus.
* Bachelor’s degree or commensurate experience preferred.
* In-depth, hands-on experience in "end to end" event planning and management.
* Event marketing and social media marketing experience
* Meticulous attention to detail
* Superior organizational skills required.
* Self-motivated and work with a sense of urgency, whilst demonstrating excellent attention to detail.
* Professional demeanor and executive presence.
* Works well under pressure, and evolving agendas/situations.
* Adaptability is key, easily able to switch between projects, must be able to pivot with grace and ease.
* Professional, positive, creative thinker, and spirited team collaborator.
* Personal integrity, initiative, leadership qualities; ability to work as part of a team in an environment that demands excellence, agility, and positive energy.
* Compelling communicator, both verbally and written, with the ability to formally present, in-person, to both large and small audiences, as business demands.
* Messages conveyed in writing are clear, and concise.
* Highly proficient in Microsoft Suite including PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Teams, and Outlook.
* Ability to operate Web based ordering system, process customer requests, changes to orders, updates, and client profiles. Knowledge in Tripleseat, Sharepoint, ServiceNow, and Momentus a plus.

Qualifications

* Adopter of new event technologies
* Able to work collaboratively with many different personalities and adapt styles of work as needed.
* Ability to see the big picture and help department scale and grow with integrity.
* Proven track record of leading a team comprised of employees, contractors, and various vendors.
* Very strong stakeholder and relationship management skills.
* Very strong EQ with demonstrated abilities to understand various stakeholder motivations, frustrations and competing agendas.
* Ability to influence and collaborate across all levels of the company.
* Demonstrate exceptional project management, organization and planning skills applied in a fast paced, multi-tasking environment.
* Guest focused, with a helpful, positive, and 'can-do' attitude.
* Ability to interact with diverse and high-volume customer base in a friendly and efficient manner.
* Ability to be on-site Monday-Friday, from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Available for evening and weekend events as business need demands.
* Highly proficient in Microsoft Systems including Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, and Google Suite. Experience with Tripleseat, Social Tables or All Seated a plus.
* Ability to work with minimal supervision and accomplish tasks without direct instruction.
* Ability to think strategically, problem solve for the best solutions while keeping the client experience in mind.
* Ability to work flexible work schedules/shifts based on business demands.
* Guest focused, with a helpful, positive, and 'can-do' attitude.
* Be an excellent team player while also showing the drive and enthusiasm to work on their own initiative.
* Seasoned manager, able to inspire others to rise to greatness. The ability to train, coach, and mentor teammates is a necessity.
* Self-motivated and work with a sense of urgency, whilst demonstrating excellent attention to detail.
* Ability to see the big picture and help department scale and grow with integrity.
* Ability to interact with diverse and high-volume customer base in a friendly and efficient manner.
* Ability to operate Web based ordering system, process customer requests, changes to orders, updates, and client profiles.
* Ability to multi-task when working with many deadlines.
* Flexibility and adaptation in times of change are required, must be able to pivot with grace and ease.
* Ability to answer all questions regarding catering operations, and independently seek out answers when needed.