Head of Commercial Sales

We are looking for an experienced Event Sales & Business Development professional to increase income generation and develop new business opportunities to maximise Village Underground & EartH’s commercial possibilities, which are critical to financially supporting our artistic programme. 

The right candidate will have a strategic mind and a creative approach to income generation across event programming, private and corporate sales and partnerships, and a track record of proactively targeting new and repeat business, selling venues, production and events, and maximising income from those activities. Additionally they will have successful ‘start up’ experience, launching new venues or commercial events departments in venues or production companies.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategy

• Develop creative and ambitious sales and marketing strategies to achieve and exceed budget figures for each financial year, increasing the quantity of quality events and improving the profit margin in events across both venues
• Provide regular business unit reporting on all commercial areas ensuring clear insight and alignment with the wider business strategy.

Maximising revenue

• Identify and develop new revenue opportunities
• Identify and develop opportunities with regards to space usage 
• Identify market categories and strategy for approaching new business opportunities and build a strong network of contacts to generate new business leads
• Manage the diary effectively, maximising premium day opportunities and minimising dark days
• Manage and provide event and project P&L’s that feed into the overall commercial event contribution, including multi year proposals
• Maximise ancillary spend across the commercial teams to increase annual yield and contribution.

Team leadership 

• Support the team (Event Sales Manager and Event Sales Executive) in making the most effective use of their time
• Be responsible for the effective administration systems for the Sales Team
• Review and improve systems and processes within the Sales Team to constantly increase profitability and productivity
• Actively engage in developing the skills of the Sales Team in order to deliver a dynamic and effective business 
• Ensure effective consultation and communication with the Sales Team on budgets, marketing strategy and other organisational expectations of the team

Client management

• Nurture and develop a high level contact book, to ensure the growth of the VU & EartH events business in the short, medium and long term
• Develop and review all client communication systems to ensure that client satisfaction and retention is maintained at all times
• Conduct effective and efficient site visits

Communications and marketing

• Produce considered documentation regarding both event policy and historical information i.e. case studies, for use on the VU & EartH websites
• Maximise networking opportunities with trade bodies, suppliers and key industry influencers to identify new leads and convert into producing clients

• Work with the Marketing Team in the delivery of a coherent and considered profile raising campaign for commercial sales

The role will also include…

• Working closely with the Operations teams to ensure standards for client management and event delivery are understood and maintained
• Working closely with the suppliers, review and undertake the supplier accreditation processes when required
• Working closely with the music and arts Programming Team to strike the right balance of commercial and cultural events, including calendar management

PERSON SPECIFICATIONS

• Two years or more in a similar role. We would welcome applications from Senior Managers who are looking at the next step in their career.
• Experience of achieving yearly target gross profits of £1m and over (*)
• Experience of developing and implementing sales and marketing plans for a similar business (*)
• Experience with launching new venues and/or commercial events departments
• Experience of managing event sales across different sites
• Experience of managing a team of two people or more (*)
• Staff management skills and experience with and enthusiasm for training, mentoring and supporting team members (*)
• Established network of contacts in brand agencies, production companies, venues, caterers, among others (*)
• Understanding of VU & EartH’s client bases, the corporate event market and how to position the venues within it for maximum impact and financial gain (*)
• Experience of diary management and room booking systems
• Excellent sales and negotiation skills (*)
• Excellent strategic thinking and project management skills
• Experience of setting and managing departmental budgets
• Experience of balancing competing needs and ensuring priorities and strategic goals are met
• Excellent interpersonal skills to establish rapport and relationships at all levels with a track record of collaboration across teams and with external organisations
• Ability to plan and manage resources effectively and experience in managing and working against a budget
• To be both operationally and technically aware and proficient
• Demonstrable ability to work with people from a wide variety of backgrounds
• A good understanding of the challenges of working in the Music and/or Arts sectors and/or smaller independent businesses, and the ability to adapt to fluctuating business challenges and change

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Contract & Salary

Full time (42.5 hours/week)

Salary £50,000-£55,000

Start date As soon as possible

Candidates who currently have a valid work permit allowing them to work in the UK for the duration of this contract are welcome to apply. Unfortunately, we are unable to consider applications for this role which would require us to obtain a certificate of sponsorship or permit to work in the UK.

Application guidelines - we will not review applications that do not follow the following guidelines:

Please email jobs@villageunderground.co.uk with your CV and a cover letter as separate PDF attachments.

Subject line Head of Commercial Sales

Cover letter The Person Specifications will be used in our decision-making process for recruitment. It is essential that you address the requirements marked as (*) in your cover letter. Please give examples of how you have exhibited these requirements in your previous role(s). Be as specific as possible, we cannot guess or make assumptions, but will assess your application solely on the information provided. Try to provide evidence, by examples, where possible, of skills, knowledge and experience contained in this person specification.

Deadline 25 February 2024

Please fill in the Equal Opportunities Monitor form here.

Contact

If you have any questions about the role, its specifications or your suitability for the position, please contact jobs@villageunderground.co.uk

Agencies

No agencies at this time, thanks.

About Village Underground & EartH

Village Underground is housed in a former Victorian warehouse in the heart of Shoreditch and is an incredible blank canvas and multi-functional space with a standing capacity of 700 and a seated capacity of 250. 

Village Underground is also a multidisciplinary venue presenting live concerts and electronic music events alongside theatre, performing arts and visual arts. Each year, VU has an attendance of over 100,000 people, stages more than 500 performances and works with more than 1500 artists ​​including Four Tet, A$AP Rocky, Charli XCX, HAAi, Bradley Zero, Arlo Parks, Jeff Mills and so many more. 

EartH comprises two main spaces (700 and 1200) and a restaurant/bar (300). Each of the spaces features state of the art PA and lighting facilities, and are perfect for conferences / awards ceremonies and all types of private events.

EartH opened its doors in September 2018 and has since hosted 500+ events and welcomed more than 200,000 audience members. EartH looks to become a leading light in the city for audiences of all ages and walks of life to meet, listen, watch, dance and enjoy all that artistic endeavour and creativity has to offer. In just four years, we have hosted artists, events and performers such as Idles, Mdou Moctar, Little Simz, Dialled In, Kelly Lee Owens, Greentea Peng, Hackney Comedy Experience and the London Jazz Festival. 

The revenue generated by commercial events is invested back into the artistic and education programmes.

villageunderground.co.uk earthackney.co.uk