RIBA Venues recruits for Event Operations Executive

Events Operations Executive – RIBA Venues

£20,000 –  £23,000 range per annum

RIBA, 66 Portland Place, London, W1B 1AD

35 hours per week ( fulltime, permanent contract)

Deadline for applying: Friday, 3rd March 2017

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) champions better buildings, communities and the environment through architecture and its members. With a passion to promote a wider public appetite and interest in architecture through its website, exhibitions, talks and four million-strong collections, the RIBA has led the profession since its foundation in 1834, and continues to lead as architects face the challenges of the 21st century.

RIBA’s venues team market and sell its 21 meetings and event facilities, and you will be responsible for delivering its budgets and managing resulting events at 66 Portland Place.

Booking and managing meetings and events for up to 400 guests, your role will be wide-ranging including dealing with corporate, private client and internal events. You’ll be involved in contributing to the growth of the department’s turnover by applying sales techniques and assisting team members in applying the same.

With proven sales, logistics, event planning and delivery experience and a passion for selling and delivering event services in a heritage, historical or unique venue (or 5* hotel) you will be a confident sales-driven team member.  A first-class communicator, you’ll have the ability to build and develop relationships, manage expectations, meet deliverables and negotiate with clients and suppliers.

Highly motivated, organised and target driven, you should be able to work as part of a wider team as well as taking responsibility for sole events and projects.

You’ll need to be educated in business, sales, hospitality, catering or related subject, with experience of a PMS/Booking system as an advantage.

If you would like to apply for the position, please send a CV and covering letter to Kirsten Kruls at [email protected].

Cavendish Venues bolsters proactive team with new appointment

Chloë Bennett has joined Cavendish Venues as event sales executive.

Chloë will bring to the team a fresh enthusiasm with sales experience from the property and construction industries as well as the real estate sector.

Along with proactive sales, Chloë will offer creative input on social media and marketing utilising her events knowledge gained from her time at the National Theatre.

Commenting on the appointment, Paul Martins, director of sales at Cavendish Venues said: “At Cavendish Venues we’re passionate about growing the business by recognising rising young talent in the industry and Chloë’s appointment is part of that initiative. It’s too often the case that good people leave the MICE sector to progress their careers in other fields and so it’s extremely important to highlight the positives the events industry has, to continue to bring in exciting prospects with the right personalities, skill-sets and attitudes”

He added: “We are extremely excited to have Chloë on board with us and we believe that continuing to offer experience and encouragement along with the platforms to succeed for our staff, will only strengthen the high standards Cavendish Venues is known for.”

For more information about Cavendish Venues click here.

Spotlight on Cavendish Venue’s event sales executive

After the recent 21st anniversary questions with Cavendish Venues past and present, this month’s spotlight falls on Hadleigh Miles, event sales executive at Cavendish Venues.

 What has been your most embarrassing moment in events?

This would have to be The Westminster Collection’s 2015 Christmas showcase where I ended up sitting on Santa’s lap!

What gets you up and out of bed in the morning?

My cat who has a pre-set alarm for feeding at 7.00AM which doesn’t go down well on Saturday mornings.

What do you enjoy most about working at Cavendish Venues?

As obvious as it may sound, it has to be the events themselves. Coming in every day to see each client put their own stamp on one of our 7 venues is always a joy to see and work with each day.

What is your most-watched film?

This would definitely be Straight Outta Compton. After over 10 times of watching it, I think it’s safe to say this is my new favourite film! (although both Jump Street movies came very close).

What is your favourite band/artist:

Some people may find this surprising but I am a huge heavy metal fan and as the band I have seen live the most times my favourite has to be Slipknot!

Describe yourself in three words:

Amiable, outgoing, determined.

If you could invite five people past and present to dinner who would they be?

Ray Charles, Anthony Hopkins, Corey Taylor, Robin Williams, Ray Liotta.

What would be your dream car?

Pagani, Zonda.

If you would like to find out more about Cavendish Venues or talk to them about your next event, please click here.

Recruitment now open for the all new IET London: Savoy Place

IET Venues are pleased to announce that they are now taking applications for the phased recruitment for their all-new IET London: Savoy Place following its 2-year £30m refurbishment. Starting in March and April 2015, these core roles including Operations Manager, AV Manager, Venue Administrator, Diary & Events Co-ordinator and Business Development Executive will be critical in shaping the final preparations of the building ready for its reopening in October 2015, as well as building the wider team.

IET London: Savoy Place has been home to the IET (Institution of Engineering and Technology) for over 100 years, as well as serving as the flagship venue within the IET Venues group. The venue plays host to over 70,000 visitors and members a year attending a wide range of conferences and events; most recently ‘Qatar House’ for the London 2012 Olympic Games and the ‘Global Grand Engineering Challenges’ summit with Bill Gates and will.i.am. Since its closure in July 2013, the building has been transformed throughout with flexibility, energy efficiency, cutting-edge IT, AV and wireless connectivity at the core.

Key improvements to the new venue include:

Cutting-edge IT, AV and wireless connectivity throughout

High-end facilities for event filming, live-streaming and production

An enlarged Riverside Suite overlooking the Thames +25% capacity

Brand new second lecture theatre in the centre of the building

Reorganisation of the rooms within the building – ensuring ‘premium space’ occupies the front and the infamous views across the Thames, with offices and secondary space towards the back

2 x state of the art boardrooms with HD video conferencing, relay screens and filming and streaming functionality

The Heritage Library – now converted into a premium meeting and dinner space with 2 private balconies overlooking the Thames

The Faraday Centre – bringing together all member / engineering services into 1 dynamic space including a digital Knowledge Centre, Kelvin Café, Brainstorming Room and large Members’ Lounge

Reconfigured reception / communal areas with 2 new passenger lift shafts to improve customer flow throughout the building

Enhanced accessibility features including a ‘sesame lift’ at the front of the building – enabling the stone steps to retract automatically for wheelchair access

A series of engineering exhibits throughout the building including a digital chandelier in reception, 100 objects which changed the world display, 2 x large video walls and ‘celebrating engineers’ sculptures down each stairwell

 

Current vacancies:

Diary & Events Co-ordinator and Business Development Executive

Interested applicants should contact Clare Davies ([email protected] / 0207 344 5708)

Closing date: 2 February

 

Operations Manager, AV Manager, Venue Administrator

Interested applicants should contact Sean Spencer [email protected]

Closing date: 2 February

Book now for Off to Work’s Event School 2013 – 9th & 10th April

Award-winning event staff supplier, recruitment consultancy and professional training academy Off to Work is delighted to launch its Event School for 2013, with a special focus on style and design.

With names like Masterchef winner Keri Moss and former The Apprentice contestant Miriam Staley within the speaker line-up, bookings are expected to be snapped up quickly for the two-day workshop series, which will run on Tuesday 9th and Wednesday 10th April at the London Irish Centre, Off to Work’s dedicated Training Academy in Camden, London.

Building on the success of last year’s school, Event School 2013: Style & Design will bring together renowned professionals from successful creative businesses to deliver a practical, workshop-led programme focusing on specific areas of the event planning and delivery cycle.

From a designer ‘mocktail’ mixing masterclass with Sejuiced and a lesson in wine buying for events with Blanco & Gomez, to workshops in food styling and event storytelling through photography with Red Photographic, room theming and lighting with Wise Production, plus content marketing and event communication tips from Custard Communications, Event School 2013 is aimed at event planners, event coordinators and managers, event agencies, caterers, F&B staff, chefs, marketing staff and business development teams.

Highlights of the programme include a networking lunch and concurrent panel debate on ‘Menu design for events’, featuring Keri Moss, winner of MasterChef: The Professionals 2012, Nick Mead, director at Eden Caterers, Vicky O’Hare, managing director of Party Ingredients and Gerald Aberdeen, executive head chef for Table Talk. These expert menu developers and chefs will share tips and tricks for planning a show-stopping selection of dishes that are not diluted by challenging dietary restrictions.

The workshop style of the programme means that delegates can pick and choose which ‘modules’ best fit their job role and requirements and attend these sessions as one-off learning experiences.

Attendees working in events and hospitality will leave inspired and equipped with tangible skills to aid their career development and to maximise the impact and profitability of future events.

“We’re pleased to welcome our clients, our team and all events professionals to attend any or all of the Event School’s workshops. We’ve designed workshops to be intimate, with a cap on 20 people, to ensure you can enjoy a focused and interactive learning environment,” said Philip Atkins, managing director, Off to Work. The exceptions to this are the educational, networking lunches.

A vibrant and sociable company, Off to Work has been providing the finest, skilled staff to the events and hospitality industries throughout the UK and overseas since 2001. Throughout this time, the company has stayed true to its guiding principle ‘to help provide some of the best experiences and memories people have ever had’ – something they achieve by remaining committed to hiring only the people most passionate about hospitality.

Event School 2013: Style & Design will take place on 9th & 10th April 2013 at London Irish Centre, Camden Square, London, NW1 9XB. For the full workshop programme, to find out more information or to book, please email Lucy Katan, call 020 3155 1975, or visit the dedicated website page.

Workshops are priced at £40+VAT each and package rates are available if you’d like to attend multiple sessions.

New head of venues for the RIBA

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has appointed Stephanie Ellrott as its new head of venues.

With over 10 years working in the hospitality industry, Stephanie will be responsible for the smooth running of the busy venues and events team at 66 Portland Place – the home of British Architecture.

Prior to joining the RIBA, Stephanie headed the meetings, events and accommodation team at the Royal College of Physicians. In that role she managed the opening of the William Harvey House and helped the venue win two major business awards.

Andy Munro, Chief Financial Officer at the RIBA says: “We have seen a healthy level of enquiries over the summer and we are delighted to have secured the expert attention of Stephanie to give the team an extra boost.  We know she will help them achieve even greater results in this very busy year for the events industry.”

Stephanie joins the team with an impressive career in conference, banqueting and events management having worked at some of London’s most prestigious hotels including The Savoy, London and Hilton on Park Lane.