About Aspire
Aspire is Leeds' premier private events venue. Housed in the former Yorkshire Penny Bank building on Infirmary Street, we offer four floors of exclusive event space - from the grand Banking Hall and Mezzanine through to the Sterling, Statement and Ledger Suites, the Chambers and our smaller boardrooms and meeting rooms.
We deliver conferences, awards dinners, weddings, exhibitions, private parties, Christmas events and outside catering, supported by an in-house kitchen, in-house AV and technical team, and our own event styling, floristry and furniture provision. Everything is bespoke. Nothing is off the shelf.
The role
From small corporate meetings and conferences through to weddings, this role offers real variety across a range of different events. No two days are the same.
As an Event Manager you take ownership of your own portfolio of events from handover through to delivery and post-event evaluation. You are the client's main point of contact and the person the operations, kitchen and AV teams look to on the day, ensuring every event is delivered to our standards.
This is a hands-on role. You will be at the venue during your events, running the floor and making the calls as they come.
What you'll be doingPlanning and client management
- Managing a portfolio of confirmed bookings from sales handover through to completion
- Meeting clients, conducting show rounds and building detailed event specifications
- Producing function sheets, floor plans, timings and running orders, and briefing the operations, kitchen, AV and front of house teams against them
- Coordinating menu choices, dietary requirements, drinks packages, room set-ups, staging, styling and entertainment
- Supporting the sales team with show rounds and proposals by providing operational knowledge and guidance
- Handling event billing, final invoicing and post-event client feedback
Delivery on site
- Running your events on site - set-up, service, changeovers and breakdown across all four floors
- Ensuring the venue is prepared to the client's specification, including furniture, cabling, AV and room dressing
- Managing external suppliers, contractors and casual workers, including security, DJs, production and specialist hire
- Recruiting, briefing and supervising casual event staff on the day
- Managing on-the-day changes and resolving issues before the client is aware of them
- Ensuring the venue is presented to our standard throughout, including turnaround between events
- Ensuring the service of alcohol complies with our premises licence and is delivered to the expected standard
- Overseeing stock takes and equipment audits as required
- Maintaining health, safety, licensing, fire, security and food safety standards, and carrying out testing requirements in line with legislation and our policies
Team and commercial
- Working within budgeted guidelines and controlling costs to protect expected margins
- Working closely with the sales team to maximise upsell opportunities and secure repeat bookings
- Supporting departmental targets and objectives
- Identifying opportunities to improve operational performance and guest experience
- Acting as a positive role model within the events team and supporting the development of coordinators and casual staff
What we're looking forEssential
- Minimum of 3 years' hospitality experience, ideally within the events industry at a management level
- Full UK driving licence
- Confidence running a busy floor and directing a team under pressure
- Strong organisational skills and genuine attention to detail; our function sheets are the operational backbone of the business
- Clear, professional client-facing communication, written and spoken
- IT literate, with a working knowledge of Microsoft Office - particularly Outlook, Word and Excel
- Comfortable with the flexible hours the events calendar demands, including evenings and weekends
- Right to work in the UK
Restaurant managers - we'd like to hear from you
We actively welcome applications from restaurant and food and beverage managers. If you have run a service, managed a rota, controlled a floor at capacity, held standards through a busy Saturday night and dealt with guests directly, you already have most of what this role needs. The event planning side can be taught. The instinct for service cannot.
Desirable
- Previous experience in a venue or hotel environment
- Personal Licence holder
- Level 2 Food Safety, or above
- Working knowledge of AV and technical requirements for conferences and dinners
- Wedding experience
- Experience with event or booking management software
The person
- Positive, proactive and solutions-focused
- Calm and decisive when plans change mid-event
- Strong time management and able to prioritise under pressure
- Target driven, with a genuine pride in guest experience
Why Aspire
- A genuinely varied diary - no two weeks look the same
- One of the most striking event spaces in Yorkshire to work in
- A small, experienced team where your contribution is visible
- Real ownership of your events, not a support role
- Competitive salary, reviewed in line with experience
- Company pension
- Company events and employee discount
- City centre location, minutes from Leeds railway station
No recruitment agencies.
Benefits:
- Free parking
- On-site parking
Work Location: In person
