Job Profile
Job Description /
Job Details /
Job Title: / Head of Venues & Events
Department: / QMSU Services Ltd (Students’ Union)
Reports to: / Deputy Managing Director
Grade: / 6 / Full Time: 35 hours per week
Appointment period: / Indefinite
Current Location: / Mile End Campus
Job Context /
QMSU Services Limited (the Company) is the wholly-owned subsidiary of the charity known as Queen Mary, University of London Students’ Union (QMSU - the Union).
Carrying out business as a commercial company, the Company’s principal activities are the operation of health and fitness centres, retail outlets, and bars/restaurants and cafés with their associated entertainments. These services are provided principally for students at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), in support of the charitable aims and objectives of the Union, its mission ‘to improve students’ lives’ and its strategic plan. The Company operates across three of QMUL’s campuses at Mile End, Whitechapel and Charterhouse Square. This role will provide leadership and management of all licensed venues (Drapers Bar, Griff Inn & The Shield) and events operations as well as oversight of our satellite sites (Chislehurst) and partnerships (Goldsmiths SU), representing over £1m turnover a year.
Job Purpose /
To lead and operationally manage the Venues and Events department and to line manage four managers, two chefs and over 40 supervisors and casual staff. This will involve maintaining complete oversight of the licensed food and beverage services which operate day and night, as well as some weekends. As a commercial company, the post-holder will be expected to meet, and ideally exceed budgetary targets, and generate new business. They will ensure that venues offer a safe and student-friendly environment which is compliant with demanding licensing laws and other legal requirements.
Main Duties & Responsibilities /

·  Planning & strategy: To develop and contribute to strategic plans (such as events, promotional, external business development, ethical and environmental), annual financial budgets and recruitment and training proposals as a Senior Commercial Manager.

·  Business development: To develop plans to generate new and retain existing business, such as external partners (Goldsmith Students’ Union, for example) and to undertake procurement when necessary. Key areas include venue hire, parties, events and hospitality, creating professional brochures, meeting clients within faculties of the university or externally, attending networking events and developing social media presence.

·  Income generation: To generate income in innovative ways, ensuring the service offers value for money and to drive sales through promotion and marketing, partnerships and collaborative events.

·  Operational management: To oversee the licensed venues (food and beverage), events and entertainment and hospitality and conference business, ensuring services are delivered consistently to the highest possible standard, safely and within financial and procedural parameters.

·  Event management: To ensure that all aspects of the events programme (including licensed events, alcohol-free events, gala and Union supported events) are popular, eclectic, balanced and well promoted and attended, seeking views from student stakeholders. To ensure the contracts and supporting business cases with external venues for flagship events (e.g. Ministry of Sound during Freshers’ week) are viable, financially and logistically, with risks identified and mitigated.

·  Product and service management: To oversee the preparation of costed menus, pricing plans and procurement schedules. To monitor sales mixes, attendance levels and other management information in a timely and professional manner.

·  Facilities: To act as the main contractor contact for capital projects, ensuring communication and monitoring of preventative and remedial maintenance. To develop statements of need/briefs for projects, and supporting cases, and to represent the Company to project managers and architects. To take decisions on specifications and designs, and subsequent briefings and consultations, as directed by the Deputy Managing Director.

·  Performance indicators: To monitor and ensure key performance indicators (KPI) on a range of quality food and beverage products, ensuring targeted gross profit (GP) is met or exceeded. To report on finance and other KPI’s at the weekly commercial managers meeting and to prepare reports for the Board of QMSU Services which takes place five times a year.

·  Customer service and satisfaction: To develop and maintain a culture of high customer service, with support, training and guidance. To collate, monitor and act on customer feedback, investigating complaints both informally and, on occasion, more formally.

·  Staff management: To line manage the venues and events team, providing clear instructions, direction and objectives. To draft job descriptions, oversee recruitment, deliver inductions, undertake appraisals, and, where needed, performance and remedial management. This may include carrying out fact-finding disciplinary investigations and/or sitting on or chairing a panel. To ensure staffing budgets are on target and to report on other controls, such as labour to sales ratios.

·  Finance and resources: To prepare annual draft budgets for the department, along with supporting business cases and funding bids. To provide weekly financial performance reports ahead of weekly meetings. To review draft management accounts produced through Agresso, investigating discrepancies and acting upon, delegating and reporting on subsequent actions, particularly relating to financial regulations.

·  Governance: To prepare reports for stakeholders (e.g. the Company Board) and, on occasion, attend and present reports documenting trends, sales mixes and other statistics, along with recommendations.

·  Compliance: To write and update Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and ensure all venues operate to the SOPs and policies, as well as statutory regulations, (company and charity law and guidance, health and safety, finance, data protection and human resources). To deal with recurring licenses for the department, such as PPS, PRS and TV/digital media.

·  Controls: To ensure control systems are in place to monitor stock levels. To ensure effective and tactical procurement and to use EPOS effectively.

·  Commercial and sector awareness: To maintain a high level of knowledge and understanding of processes, issues and developments across the sector to support the development of the strategy. To seek ways to apply research, contemporary techniques and best practice to the Company. To represent the Company in a senior capacity at NUS Services Ltd and other sector conferences, trade shows and regional events.

The above list of responsibilities is not exhaustive and the jobholder may be required to undertake other duties commensurate with the level of the role, as reasonably requested by their line manager.

This job description sets out the duties of the post at the time it was drawn up. Such duties may vary from time to time without changing the general character of the duties or level of the responsibility entailed. Such variations are a common occurrence and cannot in themselves justify a reconsideration of the grading of the post.

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Job Profile
Person Specification /

This table lists the essential and desirable requirements needed in order to perform the job effectively. Candidates will be shortlisted based on the extent to which they meet these requirements.

/ Requirements / Essential / Desirable /
Qualifications / Educated to degree level or equivalent professional experience. / Essential
Basic food hygiene/Level 2 Food Hygiene Certificate / Essential
Experience working in Higher Education / Desirable
Personal License holder/BIIAB Level 2 National Certificate for Personal License Holders / Essential
Managing Safely (IOSH) qualification or equivalent / Desirable
Knowledge, Skills & Experience / Experience of contributing to strategic level and/or business development plans / Essential
Experience of managing a large, dynamic team with a focus on improving customer service and satisfaction to improve student experience / Essential
Substantial proven licensed event management experience, and on the pulse within the London Scene and national trends / Essential
Experience of multi-site venue management / Essential
Knowledge of working practices in the leisure/licensed trade, including UK licensing law / Essential
Exceptional emotional intelligence, strong interpersonal skills including the ability to build strong working relationships with internal and external stakeholders, as well as negotiating and influencing skills / Essential
Strong numerical skills and experience of forecasting, preparing, managing and analysing financial budgets, and developing business cases to bid for funding / Essential
To champion and implement the Students’ Union environmental and ethical aims within the department. / Essential
Excellent written skills, including the ability to write reports, policies and presentations for formal meetings / Essential
Excellent attention to detail, IT and administration skills / Essential
Experience of identifying problems and developing innovative solutions / Essential
Experience of working under pressure and to strict deadlines / Essential
Ability to work unsocial hours including evenings and weekends as necessary / Essential

E – Essential: Requirements without which the job could not be done.

D – Desirable: Requirements that would enable the candidate to perform the job well.

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