Venue Sales & Operations Manager

We are currently looking for a Venue Sales and Operations Manager to conduct sales, enhance guest experiences, and support the seamless running of Burlington House—a distinguished London venue dedicated to hosting world-class events and advancing the chemical sciences. In this pivotal role, you will manage the complete sales journey from initial enquiry to signed contract, act as Duty Manager for live events, and work closely with our hospitality team to ensure flawless operations. With delegated pricing authority and ownership of debt management, you will play a key commercial role while developing your skills to step up as deputy during the Venue and Hospitality Manager's absence. This is a full-time, office-based position at Burlington House with flexible working hours, including evenings and weekends to match the rhythm of our events. If you are an experienced venue professional who thrives in a fast-paced, client-focused environment, we would love to hear from you.

Responsibilities

• Acting as Duty Manager on a rota for live events, leading front of house operations and coordinating with catering, facilities and AV suppliers to ensure excellent guest experience.
• Managing the full sales process for inbound enquiries: conducting show rounds, preparing proposals using approved materials, negotiating within delegated authority and securing contract confirmations.
• Maintaining the sales pipeline in Salesforce, tracking conversion rates and producing monthly performance reports on activity, revenue and off-peak utilisation.
• Implementing approved room hire tariffs and menu pricing; applying peak/off-peak frameworks and minimum delegate numbers in all contracts.
• Managing room bookings for internal and external customers to optimise occupancy while meeting customer requirements.
• Supporting the Commercial Sales team with lead generation activities and proactive outreach to agencies, corporate bookers and repeat clients.
• Contributing to quarterly business reviews by providing sales data, market intelligence and recommendations for operational improvements.
• Issuing quotes and contracts, managing deposit schedules and working with Finance to monitor and chase debts in line with agreed processes.
• Ensuring compliance with Health and Safety requirements including event risk assessments, licensing conditions and venue insurance documentation.
• Liaising with Marketing to keep sales collateral current and providing testimonials, case studies and client feedback to support promotional campaigns.
• Deputising for the Venue and Hospitality Manager during absence, maintaining service standards and operational continuity within established frameworks.

Essential Requirements

• Event management experience including duty management of live events and coordination of catering and AV suppliers.
• Proven track record converting venue enquiries through effective proposals, show rounds and negotiation.
• Experience managing a sales pipeline in a CRM system (Salesforce preferred).
• Line management experience including team supervision, performance support and training delivery.
• Strong customer service and communication skills with ability to build client relationships.
• Health and Safety awareness in venue management including risk assessment processes.
• Commercial awareness including understanding of pricing, margins and revenue optimisation.

Desirable

• Experience working in heritage or listed buildings.
• Familiarity with DDR pricing models or dynamic yield management.
• Experience developing agency partnerships or corporate accounts.
• Knowledge of venue AV technology and technical event requirements.

Benefits

• In addition to a competitive salary, we offer a London weighing allowance of £3,710 per annum.
• 26 days paid holiday per annum.
• 35-hour working week with flexible options, to be agreed with your line manager.
• Enhanced maternity and paternity leave.
• Paid volunteering days.
• Pension plan with up to 12% employer contributions (depending upon your contribution).

Visit our Work For Us website to learn more about us, our benefits, equal opportunities statement and inclusive culture pledge. At the RSC, we recognise the benefits of a diverse workforce and welcome applicants from a range of backgrounds to apply. We particularly encourage applications from disabled and ethnic minority candidates. As a part of the Disability Confident Scheme, we endeavour, where possible, to offer an interview to candidates meeting the essential criteria of the role, who have a substantial physical/mental impairment which impacts their ability to carry out day-to-day tasks. We are committed to making our recruitment processes accessible to all and as part of this, we are flexible in the ways we give and receive information. If you would like to apply using a different format, please contact the Recruitment Team at jobs@rsc.org or on +44 (0) 1223 432229 and we will do our best to put any reasonable adjustments in place. If you have any questions, please contact us at jobs@rsc.org.