Manager, Catering Sales

Position Summary

Columbia University's Department of University Event Management is the center of event planning and related services for undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty, staff, and alumni.

It is our goal to provide excellent facilities and exceptional service for all events, programs, and activities for the Columbia community.

We are a customer-focused organization with an immediate opening for a Manager, Catering Sales to manage the day-to-day operations of the UEM Sales Office.

Reporting to the Assistant Director, the Catering Sales Manager is responsible for generating revenue as set forth in the annual budget through managing sales efforts, solicitation, and maintenance of Banquet accounts.

Oversee Banquets aspects of the full-service catering department; provide full feedback on all events to the Assistant Director;

assist the Assistant Director with special projects.

Responsibilities

• Accountable for solicitation of University in-house events, social, and all other target markets. Execute and attain sales Goals as agreed upon by the Assistant Director.
• Manage total sales effort with team members to include : outside calls, blitz calls, new prospect calls, and incoming inquiries as designated in annual action plan.
• In collaboration with the Events Managers, monitor all banquet spaces for preventative maintenance and aesthetic qualities Strategize with the Events Manager's revenue and space utilization.
• Report all need periods and marketing ideas to the Assistant Director for promotional collateral.
• Monitor and review all correspondence including letters, e-mails, and contracts / agreements to verify accuracy and timeliness.
• Conduct periodic comparative analysis of competition. Generate monthly forecast on 90 period. Submit a detailed month-end report to the Assistant Director.
• Conduct monthly meetings with sales and operation staff; coordinate and lead event order meetings twice a week with operations, culinary, and audio-visual.

Attend all necessary meetings as instructed by the Assistant Director.

Monitor and ensure that all accounts are properly rated, traced yielded, and managed through EMS. Ensure that accounts are cleaned out according to monthly action plan.

Releasing of space from system that has not been confirmed to definite.)

• Collaborate with the Chef and Assistant Director to update and maintain menu offerings. Create special menus and promotions to enhance selling tools.
• Recruit and attract high-performing service personnel and retain a workforce that reflects the diversity of the University.

Coach, train, and develop direct reports to improve their skills / knowledge base to enhance interaction with all food and beverage, sales managers and operation managers to ensure internal communication and a positive guest experience.

Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and / or its equivalent required.
• Minimum 3-5 years of related experience required, preferably catering sales experience in an upscale food and beverage / catering operation with a proven track record of accomplishments.
• Ability to interpret the business goals of the department and apply sales techniques to execute those goals.
• Must possess strong written and oral communication skills with the ability to handle high-volume workload, manage concurrent projects, meet deadlines, and work as part of a team.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and exercise astute judgment.
• Requires excellent customer service orientation, strong leadership, and people skills with the ability to build and foster a team environment.
• Position requires knowledge of Word and Excel, and experience with any catering system such as EMS, or Delphi.
• Must be able to work a flexible schedule including nights / weekends and holidays.

Preferred Qualifications

• Specific experience desired in banquet sales and catering services.
• Advanced analytical and problem-solving skills are highly desirable.
• Knowledge of the New York Metropolitan area and multilingual ability are strongly preferred.
Less than 1 hour ago