University of Leeds - Head of Conference and Events

University of Leeds - Head of Conference and Events

Head of Conference and Events Candidate Pack

Welcome

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

We are recruiting for a Head of Conference and Events. The Head of Conference & Events will lead the University’s Conference and Events Sales Team in the development and execution of the sales, marketing, event coordination and PR strategies to drive conference and event sales and income and to increase the University’s profile within the conference and events market place. The post holder will be responsible for the generation of revenue from the sale of conferences, events and conference management services in order to achieve, if not exceed, revenue targets.

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 UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY

•

We have more than 38,000 students - More than 35,000 full time students - More than 2,000 part time students Including: - More than 27,000 undergraduates - More than 10,000 postgraduates

• We have 3,500 student volunteers who contribute to local regional and national projects

• We have over 9,000 international students from more than 170 countries, including exchange students • We have a global network of alumni and are in regular contact with more than 269,000 alumni in more than 190 different countries

• We have 8,700 staff from more than 100 different countries

• 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

• The latest High Fliers report, The Graduate Market in 2020, has ranked Leeds in the top 10 most targeted universities in the UK by graduate recruiters

Our staff have been awarded 25 National Teaching Fellowships – more than any other university

Leeds is ranked in the top 100 universities in the QS World University Rankings 2020

We were The Times and The Sunday Times’ University of the Year in 2017 and are currently ranked 13th in its Good University Guide 2020

We are a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities

We are a top 10 university for research power in the UK according to the 2014 Research Excellence Framework

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 were awarded the Queen’s Anniversary prize, the country’s highest accolade for an academic institution, in 2009 and 2011

We are part of the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN), which comprises 23 research-intensive institutions spanning six continents

FACILITIES DIRECTORATE

The Facilities Directorate brings together Estates and Facilities, Commercial and Campus Support 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 experience, 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 supporting the University’s strategic objectives and world class aspirations.

CONFERENCE AND EVENTS SERVICES

The University’s Conference & Events Service (MEETinLEEDS https://www.meetinleeds.co.uk/) sell conferences and events and provide conference management services at the University of Leeds. The third largest city in the UK, Leeds is fast becoming one of the most successful cities in Europe. A vibrant economy, excellent nightlife, restaurants and shopping, as well as major attractions including the Royal Armouries, make Leeds an excellent conference choice. Leeds is located at the crossroads of the UK’s premier road and rail networks, and is just 7 miles from Leeds/Bradford International Airport connecting with all major European destinations and a wide network of onward connections worldwide. Our wide range of venues are available for day meetings, exhibitions, training, ne dining and much more. We have over 2,000 bedrooms on offer for residential conferences, including single rooms available to book throughout the year. The University’s catering service, Great Food at Leeds, is renowned for its exceptional standards to suit all tastes. Having hosted conferences, meetings, exhibitions and seminars for over 40 years, we have a wealth of experience in delivering first class events every time at an affordable price. The University of Leeds has a wide range of venues to suit all occasions and budgets. Venues offer space for simpledaymeetings; close-byaccommodationfordelegatesattendingconferences; space for exhibitions and training sessions with high specification AV equipment; pace for a celebrations, gala dinners, weddings and other large events. This University of Leeds event management service assists conference organisers, leaving them free to concentrate on the programme content. As part of our standard service; we locate and book venues, accommodation and audio-visual equipment. Many of our customers have told us of the important role that catering has in the success of their events and our team of award-winning chefs have designed nutritional and delicious menus for them. The Service is accredited to the Customer Service Excellence® and aspires to operate a quality management system (QMS) that will comply with the requirements of ISO9001:2015 for the provision catering and hospitality services. Having hosted conferences, meetings, exhibitions and seminars for over 40 years we have a wealth of experience aimed at delivering first class events every time.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Salary: Salary: Grade 9 (£51,799 – £65,573 p.a.)

What does the role entail? As the Head of Conference and Events, your main duties will include: • Leading the review, development and implementation of a service strategy, policies, procedures and standards aligned with the University’s strategy to deliver service excellence; • Leading, managing and developing your team to ensure that they are motivated and committed to delivering a high standard of service and making sure that they understand how their performance and contribution as team members will deliver results in line with strategy; • Developing and maintaining strategy aligned objectives and an operational business/action plan for the Conference and Event Service. • Working and networking with customers and other stakeholders (heads of other services, deans, heads of schools, suppliers and professional associates) to better plan the development and improvement of product & service; • Planning and leading complex projects to deliver product and service improvements, reporting on project initiatives, progress, and implementation to senior management; • Leading, supporting, and working to actively promote innovation. • Leading the development and implementation of a detailed marketing and sales strategy for conference and events products and services. • Leading Initiatives to promote and improve the experience of equality and inclusion for staff and customers/service users; • Leading and managing all HR matters in the Conference and Events Service (you will be supported by members of

the University’s HR team), includes - recruitment, leave and sickness monitoring, training and development and performance management initiatives/ required actions; • Organising and prioritising your own work and the work of others to ensure that key deadlines and objectives are met; • Leading the team to plan to cater for, and deliver key bookings and events; • Staying informed about developments in the conference and event sector to take initiatives to better manage both risk and opportunity; • Being responsible for complex forward planning, including; the co-ordination and timely delivery of tenders, business plans, menus, products, and all equipment for events; • Leading initiatives to better maintain, develop and innovate existing and new technology and software systems/ solutions, e.g.’s Kinetix, Aventri and virtual conference systems; • Leading your team to collect and utilise customer feedback to achieve continuous product and service improvements; • Increase the profile of the University’s Conference and Events offer within the Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions arena, seek out opportunities to sit on Focus Groups, Leadership Groups associated to the academic venues and conferencing (e.g. VenueMasters, MIA etc.) • Budget setting and the management of performance against budget; • Monitoring and reporting financial and non-financial performance measures to address material variances;

• Working with leadership team members in the University’s Catering and Hospitality Service and the University’s Residential Service to increase income from conferences & events; • Leading the team you manage to maintain compliance with all legislation, standards and regulations relevant to providing Conference and Events services; • Ensuring that University governance, regulations, requirements and guidance are adhered to at all times; • Ensuring effective engagement with the University’s Sustainability strategy, promoting ethical and sustainable products, and support our commitment to Fairtrade;

• Working with colleagues to ensure that quality standards and customer service standards (currently Customer Service Excellence ®) are maintained; • Representing the Conference and Events Service in University-wide meetings and on committees; • Giving presentations and representing the University outwardly in consultations and meetings with external organisations as might be required; These duties provide a framework for the role and should not be regarded as a definitive list. Other reasonable duties may be required consistent with the grade of the post.

Hours of work

Hours worked will be flexible and as required to meet the demands of the business. Hours will typically be 5 days over 7, normally Monday to Friday, however weekends will occasionally need to be worked in line with business needs. In addition, (given advance notice): • The holder of this post will be required to be contactable or on call overnight and at week- ends and will sometimes be required to attend work out of hours to resolve/manage issues. In practice, a team of senior managers share these on call responsibilities; • You will sometimes be required to work on University closed days and/or public holidays;

What you will bring to the role?

As the Head of Conference and Events, you will have: • A degree level education or hold equivalent experience/qualifications; • Experience of working successfully in a leadership and business development role in a retail catering / hospitality setting; • Experience of planning marketing campaigns that build brand and deliver return on invest- ment. • A proven ability to lead, manage and develop a large team effectively, creating an envi- ronment where colleagues are motivated and supported to achieve service/organisational goals; • An ability to formulate team strategies, objectives; • An openness to change, and be sufficiently experienced to be able to develop, lead and manage new initiatives and projects in order to improve service delivery; • Experience of monitoring and managing large budgets; • Excellent analytical skills and a close attention to detail, with the ability to solve complex problems/queries using own initiative; • Proven ability to work both independently and as a team member with diverse groups/ indi- viduals and the ability to create key working relationships; • Excellent organisation skills with an ability to prioritise own and others workloads effectively, and to work under pressure; • Excellent interpersonal, communication and listening skills with the ability to develop posi- tive working relationships and networks, and to negotiate and influence others; • Experience of innovating / influencing to generating new business. • Enthusiasm and a proven ability to provide a high quality service which meets the expecta- tions of students, customers, and stakeholders; • Good computer / relevant IT systems skills including at the very least a thorough and practi- cal knowledge of the use of Microsoft Office applications including Outlook, Excel and Word.

You may also have: • Membership of appropriate professional body • Previous experience or knowledge of the Higher Education sector; • Been trained in food safety;

WORKING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS

Join us and you will become part of a large and diverse organisation – with more than 7,000 staff of around 100 nationalities we are the third largest employer in Leeds. Leeds is a great place to live and work, a bustling city surrounded by beautiful countryside, and our campus is just a short walk from the city centre.

Work-life balance & Wellbeing

• We aim to be a ‘best practice’ employer. We understand that our employment policies need to be flexible and responsive in order to promote diversity and equality, and to attract and retain the highest quality work force • We not only fully embrace the Employment Act, which gives government regulations on paternity, adoption and statutory maternity leave, but we go beyond the statutory requirements to help all staff balance the demands of work and personal life. Take a look at our HR policies to find out more about flexible working hours, job sharing and many other schemes to help you achieve a healthy balance • We believe in supporting our staff at work and providing a range of support services available to everyone who works for the University

Pensions

• Every employee of the University has access to a generous occupational pension • We have four different pension schemes covering different groups of staff. Find out more about pensions , including retirement benefits and additional voluntary contributions • All schemes provide valuable benefits on retirement, as well as life assurance and protection for your family

Bright Beginnings childcare centre

The University has its own award-winning childcare centre, Bright Beginnings, which provides high quality childcare to staff members and students. The centre caters for children aged between three months and five years and provides a Playscheme during the school holidays for children aged three to 11. Find out more on the Bright Beginnings website .

Find out more about the benefits of working at the University and what it is like to live and work in the Leeds area on our Working at Leeds information page.

EQUALITY AND INCLUSION

As an international research-led University, Leeds strives to go beyond our legal duties to create a positive environment for our diverse community of staff and students. The University works hard to promote gender equality and support the career development of talented women working in the traditionally male-dominated fields of science, engineering and technology. The University renewed its Athena SWAN Bronze award in June 2021. Leeds is committed to recruiting the brightest and best students regardless of background and our Reach for Excellence and Access to Leeds (A2L) programmes are key parts of our Access Agreement and Education Engagement Strategy. We have also developed an access strategy to recognise the needs of potential mature students.

Additional information

Candidates with disabilities Information for candidates with disabilities, impairments or health conditions, including requesting alternative formats, can be found on our Accessibility information page or by getting in touch with us at [email protected].

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 pending. 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 Management 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 4 pages) and a covering letter (of no more than 3 pages). Applications should be sent directly to James Gregory.

James Gregory E: [email protected] T: 07966 827 391

The closing date for applications is 27th February 2022.

Final stage assessment interviews are proposed to take place at the University of Leeds during w/c 14th March 2022.