Senior Planning Manager - Birmingham

A Senior Planning Manager is responsible for supporting the Head of Planning to oversee the strategic planning and management of events from the operations perspective. This role is designed to ensure that events are organised flawlessly, within budget, and aligned with Levy's goals and objectives.

Key Responsibilities:

• Support in overseeing operation's events planning for conferences, trade shows, product launches, and corporate events.
• Ensure all events are planned and handed over to the delivery team, within scope and budget.
• Coordinate with internal stakeholders and external vendors to secure necessary resources and support.
• Assist with overseeing the strategic planning for the events operational department, aligned with Levy's overall vision, goals, and objectives.
• Support project delivery to enhance product and service standards.
• Drive changes that continually evolve process and standards to improve guest experience and quality of service.
• Monitor KPIs for event success and operational efficiency.
• Implement and enforce best practices in event management to ensure high standards of quality and consistency.

Compliance:

• Promote Levy's Signatures and Departmental SOP compliance.
• Comply with all company and unit policies regarding HR, Health & Safety, Hygiene, Manual handling, COSHH, Fire regulations, Licensing laws, Trading Standards, and environmental policy.
• Assist in owning the delivery of health and safety policies and processes across your remit.
• Ensure equipment usage aligns with HSE methods.
• Ensure maintenance processes strictly follow HSE guidelines.
• Ensure all H&S training is completed by the ops team in line with roles and responsibilities.
• Promote and drive sustainable choices in line with company's policy standards.

People:

• Assist with leading, mentoring, and developing members of the events operations team, fostering a culture of high performance and continuous improvement.
• Conduct regular appraisals, performance reviews, and succession planning activities, based on agreed result areas and KPIs (if necessary).
• Support regular 1-2-1s within your team.
• Identify and address training and development needs within your team.
• Ensure effective communication flows in all directions across the operational team and with peers and colleagues throughout the NEC.
• Recognise and celebrate success.

Financial:

• Assist in managing the events department budget, including forecast and labour.
• Assist in monitoring staff and operating expenditures to ensure adherence to budgetary guidelines.

Client Relationship:

• Attend regular client meetings, internal event run-throughs, and communicate changes to relevant stakeholders.
• Passionate about guests - enjoys communicating with clients and going the extra mile to deliver personalised and exceptional customer service.
• Support in being a point of contact for all operational event-related inquiries.
• Champion a guest-first culture, continually sharing and acting on client and customer feedback.

Person Specification:

• The Senior Planning Manager role requires a confident leader with the ability to deliver exceptional organisational, strategic delivery, and communication skills.
• The ideal candidate will have a proven track record of managing and planning large-scale events, leading cross-functional teams, and ensuring the delivery of high-quality event experiences that align with Levy's brand and objectives.
• Ability to work flexible hours, including evenings and weekends, as required. Occasional travel may be required.

Experience:

• Minimum of 3-5 years of experience in event management.
• Proven experience in managing and planning large-scale events with diverse audiences.

Skills:

• Strong management skills with the ability to multitask and manage multiple events simultaneously.
• Excellent negotiation, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Proficiency in event management software and tools.
• Ability to work under pressure and adapt to changing circumstances.
• Financial acumen with experience in budget management and financial reporting.

Competencies:

• Create and maintain great relationships with clients, venue sales and events management team, peers and relevant department's heads.

Personal Attributes:

• Optimism, a can-do attitude, with a positive outlook.
• Teamwork, problem solving and an ability to multitask.

What you’ll get in return:

• Medicash - Healthcare benefits, including dental, optical and therapy treatments (includes up to 4 dependent children).
• Aviva Digicare - Free annual healthcare check.
• Exclusive Benefits & Wellbeing site (Perks at Work).
• Entertainment discounts - up to 55% off cinema tickets.
• Health & Wellbeing discounts - Discounts for Nuffield Health (20%) and Pure Gym (10%).
• Travel discounts - Discounts with holiday companies such as TUI and Expedia.
• Shopping discounts - Save up to 15% at high street and online stores by purchasing Shopping Cards.
• Meals on duty.
• Vodafone discounts.
• Pension scheme and Life Assurance.
• Employee Assistance Programme.
• 23 days + BH's and additional day off for your birthday.
• 2 days additional leave, following return from Maternity leave during first year back.
• Competitive and supportive family benefits.
• Day off for baby's first birthday.
• Holiday purchase scheme.
• On-going training & development and career pathways.
• Professional subscriptions paid.
• Financial wellbeing programme and preferred rates on salary finance products.