Assistant Head of Conference and Events (Operations), Residential and Catering Services Candidate Pack
Welcome
We are recruiting for an Assistant Head of Conference and Events (Operations). The Assistant Head of Conference & Events (Operations) will assist the Head of Conference and Events in leading and delivery of the University’s Conference and Events Operations Team in the development and execution of the planning and event delivery. They will be tasked at building a strong team around them, helping to reach the ambitious plans set by the Head of Department. The candidate will be involved in all aspects of event delivery including health and safety, service levels, staffing models, digital event delivery and conference management services for events up to 2,500.
THE FACILITIES DIRECTORATE AND CONFERENCE AND EVENTS SERVICES
THE UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS
JOB DESCRIPTION AND PERSON SPECIFICATION
EQUALITY AND INCLUSION
WORKING AT THE UNIVERSITY
APPLICATION PROCESS
UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS
The University, established in 1904, is one of the largest higher education institutions in the UK. We are renowned globally for the quality of our teaching and research. The strength of our academic expertise, combined with the breadth of disciplines we cover, provides a wealth of opportunities and has real impact on the world in cultural, economic and societal ways. The University strives to achieve academic excellence within an ethical framework informed by our values of integrity, equality and inclusion, community and professionalism.
Our staff have been awarded 29 National Teaching Fellowships – more than any other university
Leeds is ranked in the top 100 universities in the QS World University Rankings 2021
We were The Times and The Sunday Times’ University of the Year in 2017 and are currently ranked 15th in its Good University Guide 2021
OUR UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY
We have more than 39,000 students including more than 36,500 full time, 2,400 part time, 28,300 undergraduates and 10,700 postgraduates.
We have over 13,400 international students from 137 countries, including exchange students.
We have 3,500 student volunteers who contribute to local, regional and national projects.
We are a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities
The results of the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 identified that 90% of University of Leeds research has a quality rating of “world-leading” or “internationally excellent”.
We have a global network of alumni and are in regular contact with more than 312,000 alumni in more than 197 different countries.
In our latest audit by the Quality Assurance Agency the University received a commendation, the highest category of praise available, for our enhancement of student learning opportunities
We have 9,200 staff from more than 100 different countries.
We were awarded the Queen’s Anniversary prize, the country’s highest accolade for an academic institution, in 2009 and 2011 and 2021
We are part of the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN), which comprises 23 research-intensive institutions spanning six continents
We contribute £1.3 billion every year to the UK economy – students add close to £200m of international revenue into the City Region each year.
FACILITIES DIRECTORATE
CONFERENCE AND EVENTS SERVICES
The Facilities Directorate brings together Estates and Facilities, Commercial and Campus Sup- port Services, Residential Services and Sustainability, employing over 1,100 staff, to provide first class facilities and services to support the University’s strategic objectives and world class aspirations. Our vision is to ensure that our campus offers opportunities for an exceptional student experi- ence, provides first-class facilities for research and external collaborations and meets the best possible sustainability standards. Our mission is to provide first-class facilities and services to staff, students and visitors support- ing the University’s strategic objectives and world class aspirations.
The University of Leeds Conference & Events team (https://www.meetinleeds.co.uk/) sell, plan and deliver conference and event services, including venue hire, accommodation, catering, and conference management services. The University operates a wide range of venues and facilities that attract events such as meetings, conferences (including residential), exhibitions, award ceremonies, receptions and dinners. Conference & Event sales are set to grow significantly from £2million to as much as £4million following industry recovery from the pandemic and investment in facilities both on and off campus. Working as the Assistant Head of Conference and Events (Operations), you will be responsible for managing and directing the work of the conference and events operations team to successfully plan and deliver conferences and events to a standard that will please and satisfy bookers and their delegates. You will ensure that conference and event sales costs are managed/controlled to deliver the required profit levels. To be successful in this role, you will have significant experience in managing staff as well as experience working as part of a management team. You will also have significant experience in managing successful large conferences and events from start to finish, providing advice on best practice. You will have excellent communication and interpersonal skills with an ability to work collaboratively with others and build effective working relationships (including the Universities Catering & Hospitality and Residential services).
JOB DESCRIPTION
Salary: Grade 8 (£43,414 - £51,805 p.a.)
Main duties and responsibilities
maximise business levels, income, and profit generation; • Preparing and providing accurate budgets for the conferences/events ensuring that all costs are identified and controlled to achieve budgeted or better levels of income and prof- itability; • Providing regular key performance reports for the Head of Conferences and Events to iden- tify material variances against performance, budget, and forecasts. Making recommen- dations, preparing plans and acting to reme- diate and/or mitigate performance shortfalls and risks; • Responding appropriately to complaints, complex queries and customer feedback, ensuring matters are dealt with quickly and effectively; • Reviewing and planning developments/im- provements to our current software reserva- tion system (Kinetix) and online registration and payment portal (Aventri); • Managing the health and safety in confer- ence operations, liaising with health and safety managers and compliance managers to ensure your team fully adhere to current standards, rules, statutory regulations and best practice; • Ensuring that arrangements made in respect of managed conferences and events have proper regard for the legal, social and com- mercial reputation of clients and of the Uni- versity. Ensure that any reputational risks are appropriately managed and where necessary brought to the attention of service heads and directors; • Developing quality standards for conferences and events to meet the objective of operating a quality management system that will com- ply with the requirements of ISO 9001:2015. These duties provide a framework for the role and should not be regarded as a definitive list. Other reasonable duties may be required con- sistent with the grade of the post.
As Assistant Head of Conference and Events, your main duties will include: • Leading, managing and developing the Con- ference and Events operations team to en- sure that they are motivated and committed to delivering a high standard of service and that they understand how their performance and contribution relates to the achievement of the Service’s and the University’s strategic goals; • As part of the senior team within Conference and Events, contributing to the wider strategy and leading and developing the event opera- tions strategy to ensure that we are offering the best academic venue event experience, are maintaining profit margins and are offer- ing the best customer service; • Developing and maintaining highly effective working relationships with bookers/clients and other stakeholders (internal & external); • Providing high level expert advice on event management and conference delivery. You will use your knowledge and experience to guide and influence bookers/clients and other stakeholders to make good choices and decisions to be able to satisfy their own requirements and fully meet the needs and expectations of delegates, guests and visitors who will attend the conferences and events you organise and manage for them; • Working with colleagues, stakeholders, and external professionals to monitor opportuni- ties to develop and improve conference and events product and service; • Working closely with members of the Head of Catering and Hospitality and their team, de- velop products to develop more conference and events sales opportunities; • Collaborating with the Assistant Head of Con- ference and Events (Sales and Marketing) to promote the University and its facilities to attract new business and to ensure that facilities and services are properly utilised to
Hours of Work
Qualifications and skills
Hours worked, will be flexible and as required to meet the demands of the business. I.e. 5 days over 7 (normally Monday to Friday, weekends will need to be worked during conference letting periods). In addition (given advance notice): • You may be required to be on call overnight and at weekends. In this role you might be required to attend work to resolve/manage issues that can only be effectively dealt with by a senior manager; • You may be required to work on University closed days and/or public holidays, if required by your line manager.
Essential • A degree level education or equivalent experience/qualifications; • Significant high-level leadership/management experience as well as experience of working as part of a management team; • Significant experience of managing successful large conferences and events from start to finish, providing advice on best practice; • Experience of building rapport within key stakeholders in order to secure and generate future business; • Excellent interpersonal, communication and listening skills with the ability to develop positive working relationships and networks, and to negotiate and influence others; • Experience of monitoring and managing budgets; • Numerical skills in-keeping with required competence for calculating bills/invoices; • Excellent IT skills, including use of wide range of software packages and knowledge of Kinetics and Aventri software or similar/equivalent; • Experience of presenting to large audiences; • Interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate and collaborate with people at all levels both written and verbal including (face-to-face, telephone and video calls); • Excellent organisation skills with an ability to prioritise own and others workloads effectively, and to work under pressure.
WORKING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS
The University of Leeds is one of the top 135 universities in the world. We have a truly global community, with more than 39,000 students from 170 different countries and over 9,000 staff of 100 different nationalities. Established in 1904, we have a strong tradition of academic excellence, reflected in first-class student education, along with world-leading research that has a real impact around the globe. You can find all of the information you need about working for us, including our strategic plan, on our website.
Our Benefits
As a member of staff at the University of Leeds you’ll have access to a diverse range of benefits to help support your lifestyle. Some of these include: • Annual Leave: 25 days paid holiday every year. Plus approximately 15.5 days off for bank holidays and days when the University is closed (depending on how many hours you work and our campus closure schedule); • Work Life/Family Balance: A commitment to helping you achieve a work life balance, including flexible working opportunities; generous family leave packages, including maternity, paternity, adoption/surrogacy and parental/partner leave; an award winning on- campus nursery, Bright Beginnings, and childcare voucher scheme; • Skills Development: Access to professional, personal and leadership development, including a high quality Organisational Development and Professional Learning (OD&PL) provision and Staff Review & Development Scheme; • Pensions: Access to one of three competitive pension schemes, with generous employer contributions; • Facilities: An impressive range of facilities such as The Edge gym: a £12 million pound fitness centre, pool, climbing wall and sports halls all located on campus; an award-winning student union, including a supermarket, beauticians, cafes and bars; one of the UK’s largest and most renowned libraries; • Reward and Recognition: Competitive pay structures and reward policies; • Discounts and Expense Schemes: Save on shopping, public transport, cycling, healthcare and financial services. We can also help you with the cost of relocating to the local region (depending on meeting the eligibility criteria); • Events: We hold events, exhibitions, seminars and lectures on a range of different topics, many of which are free. • Find out what else is available to you by visiting our website.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
EQUALITY AND INCLUSION
Our Equality and Inclusion vision
We are a campus based community and regular interaction with campus is an expectation of all roles in line with aca- demic and service needs and the requirements of the role. We are also open to discussing flexible working arrange- ments. To find out more about the benefits of working at the University and what it is like to live and work in the Leeds area visit our Working at Leeds information page.
As an international, research-intensive university with a strong commitment to student education we will create an inclusive environment that attracts, develops and retains the best students and staff from all backgrounds from across the world and supports them in delivering their ambitions, contributing to our institutional strategic aims.
Context for the framework
The foundation of our global community at the University of Leeds is equality of opportunity, respect, fairness and inclusion. These are vital enablers of the aspirations set out in our University Strategy 2020-30: ‘Making a Global Impact’. One of our five University values is inclusiveness. We believe that every student, all our staff and other members of our community should be treated with dignity and mutual respect. We should all be part of a learning and working environment that is free from barriers, regardless of age, caring responsibilities (University of Leeds specific characteristic), disabilities, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity status, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation (Protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010). As well as speaking to our core values, we know that enhancing equality and inclusion is advantageous on an individual and organisational level. It supports the wellbeing of our students and staff and improves the sense of belonging for everyone learning, studying or working at our University. This in turn encourages commitment, performance, creativity and innovation strengthened by a wider range of perspectives and experiences contributing to key decision making. By fully embracing and valuing equality and inclusion, our University will ensure its long-term relevance in a fast-changing world and our already considerable global reputation and impact will be further enhanced. Our actions and commitments will need to be developed against the recognition that bias and discrimination have existed and still exist both in society and throughout higher education. Our University acknowledges our own responsibilities in this regard. We will address these issues locally and also seek to provide leadership and best practice more widely across the sector. We recognise that to achieve this there is a continuing need to build trust and engagement between our University and all our student and staff groups. We acknowledge that there are disadvantages and inequalities in accessing education, opportunities, experiences and outcomes for both students and staff. We know that we have further work to do to ensure we achieve a genuinely equal and inclusive environment and this framework commits us to this. We also know that delivering a genuine environment of this nature is the responsibility of everyone at our University.
Our University
At the University of Leeds, we are committed to providing a culture of inclusion, respect and equity of opportunity that attracts, supports, and retains the best students and staff from all backgrounds. Whatever role we recruit for we are always striving to increase the diversity of our commu- nity, which each individual helps enrich and cultivate. We particularly encourage applications from, but not limited to Black, Asian, people who belong to a minority ethnic community; people who identify as LGBT+; and disabled people. Candidates will always be selected based on merit and ability.
Information for disabled candidates
Information for disabled candidates, impairments or health conditions, including requesting alternative formats, can be found on our Accessibility information page or by getting in touch with us at hr@leeds.ac.uk
Criminal record information
Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 A criminal record check is not required for this position. However, all applicants will be required to declare if they have any ‘unspent’ criminal offences, including those pend- ing. Any offer of appointment will be in accordance with our Criminal Records policy. You can find out more about required checks and declarations in our Criminal Records information page.
APPLICATION PROCESS
The University is being supported on this recruitment campaign by the search consultancy The Man- agement Recruitment Group (MRG).
To arrange a confidential briefing conversation please contact our advisor James Gregory of MRG.
Applications should consist of a comprehensive CV (of no more than 2 pages) and a covering letter (of no more than 1 page). Applications should be sent directly to James Gregory.
James Gregory E: james.gregory@mrgpeople.co.uk T: 07966 827 391
The closing date for applications is 29th of January.
Final stage assessment interviews are proposed to take place at the University of Leeds on the 9th of February 2023.
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