Job Description

Sales & Event Managers support the UCLA Campus Community by providing professional meeting and planning guidance and execution of events, conferences and catering within the Housing & campus event venues. CCEM are responsible for generating and coordinating approximately $2M to $5M in annual revenues that roll into the $30M+ total revenue generated by the department for Housing & Hospitality. Business Volume for the department consists of year-round residential conferences in the Luskin hotel, summer conference group bookings with varying arrival/departure patterns, meetings, events and catering delivery orders to the campus. The revenue generated within the 100,000+ square feet of meeting space and yield of 15,000+ bed space inventory along with venues across the campus supports the overall mission of being a resource to campus and supporting business continuity of Housing & Hospitality. The annual revenue assist in off-setting student housing costs, provides additional income for facility improvements, ensures year-round business continuity, and furthermore helping Housing and Hospitality to maintain a consistent year round workforce. In addition, ancillary revenue generated goes to supports many other revenue generating UCLA Departments, UCLA’s academic missions, as well as the broader UCLA Campus Community.

The Sales & Event Manager, plans and supports sales initiatives on behalf of UCLA Hospitality, which includes domestic and international travel to attend industry trade shows, distinguished industry networking events, participate in lead generation efforts, follow up on leads and execute other sales activities as necessary to sustain annual growth projections. Additionally, the Sales & Event Manager will collaborate with managers from other Housing & Hospitality units to support the efforts of revenue generation with other sister properties such as Lake Arrowhead Conference Center, Luskin Conference Center along with other UCLA campus entities and the University of California. The Sales & Event Manager will be expected to set up and lead on-site visits with future and prospective clients, develop proposals that include theme delineation, décor, menu and service requirements, sleeping room blocks and other detailed budget projections, negotiate contracts, act as day of manager along with Banquet Captains for catered events/group check-ins and maintain regular communication with all clients.

The Sales & Event Manager will service both existing accounts and new clients. Maintain organized detailed records of accounts within physical and digital files, as well as coordinating group needs while on-site. Ensuring data regarding all conference, catering and event details are entered into the Salesforce Sales and Catering software application to include the merger of contracts, tracking due dates and deadlines, producing group resumes and recording all client communications. The Sales & Event Manager is expected to distribute all pertinent client details to on-campus partners, accounting, vendors, campus service providers and any third party vendors that support the group’s conference or event.

Finally, the Sales & Event Manager will be expected to assist the Accounting Department (Housing Services) with billing and collections to include purchasing, managing internal/external vendor charges and account reconciliation.

Job Qualifications

• Ability to close sales and negotiate large dollar volume financial contracts. (Required)
• Working knowledge of catering and conferencing business, including menu-planning, current trends in food and entertaining, basic room set-ups and capacities, and audio/visual equipment. (Required)
• Effective public-speaking skills to conduct sales presentations and site inspections. (Required)
• Working knowledge of Delphi, Excel and Word Software. (Required)
• General/ working knowledge of University accounting forms and policies sufficient to accomplish standard departmental accounting transactions. (Can be Trained)
• Analytical skills sufficient to contribute to marketing & sales strategic plans. (Required)
• Physical mobility sufficient to effectively conduct site tours and event walk-throughs. (Required)
• Ability to drive licensed electric carts and UCLA vehicles at times for meetings, site inspections, event walk-throughs, etc. Valid Driver’s License required, DMV records will be renewed annually to ensure current validity. (Required)
• Interpersonal skills to work diplomatically and effectively with a diverse public clientele, University officials, colleagues, and students. (Required)
• Skill in prioritizing and organizing assignments when faced with a heavy workload, deadlines, and compelling requests for service. (Required)
• Ability to exercise independent judgment, initiative, and follow-through on assignments with minimal direction. (Required)
• Demonstrated skill in working as part of a team, collaborating with colleagues and maintaining cooperative working relationships. (Required)
• Ability to encourage and motivate individuals to work together to achieve department’s goals and objectives. (Required)
• Accounting and arithmetical skills needed to prepare cost estimates, proposals, and billing explanations. (Required)
• Typing skills to prepare business correspondence with speed and accuracy. (Required)
• Skill in operating standard office equipment such as personal computer, fax and photocopy machines. (Required)
• Ability to maintain workflow with changing priorities, frequent interruptions, and conflicting deadlines.(Required)
• Ability to work with detail, prepare and review a large volume of work rapidly and accurately. (Required)
• Ability to sit and work at a personal computer for extended periods of time. (Required)
• Proficiency in the English language sufficient to interact effectively and graciously with clients, to write clear and grammatically business correspondence such as proposals, memorandums, and event orders. (Required)