Assistant to Senior Manager, MICE, Europe (London)

The Organisation:

Consistently ranked as Asia's Top Convention City, Singapore is a global leader for business events. As the lead government agency for the business events sector in Singapore, the Singapore Exhibition & Convention Bureau (SECB), part of the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), is responsible for shaping and retaining Singapore's exceptional reputation as one of the world's best business events destinations.

At SECB, we champion business events to grow, nature and reinforce Singapore’s reputation as a dynamic, innovative and sustainable events destination. We strive to deliver exceptional experiences for our visitors and develop our industry in partnership with global associations and organisations.

Our team is diverse with a global mindset. People are at the heart of everything we do and we stand by the values to be reliable, fair and honest (Integrity), succeed, bond and learn as a team (Team), dare to speak, dream and do (Courage), be caring, nurturing and have respect for one another (Care) and believe in our purpose and be driven to excel (Passion)!

To learn more about us, check out our website: http://www.stb.gov.sg

Purpose of Job:

The role involves building top-of-mind awareness and consideration of Singapore as a choice destination for MICE and securing business events from Europe for Singapore.

The Opportunity:

The Assistant Manager/Manager/Senior Manager (MICE) will represent the SECB and be responsible for the promotion of Singapore as the preferred choice for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) destination for the European market. Europe is a key source market for business events for Singapore with its strong base of international companies, associations and exhibition organisers seeking to grow and expand their businesses.

This individual will be responsible for identifying and securing new events and opportunities for Singapore as well as developing and cultivating a pipeline of business leads within the European MICE sector to raise awareness of Singapore as a top meetings destination. Based in London, this position will require interact with team members in the Singapore Headquarters (HQ). This position will also maintain strong relationships with external stakeholders, the media and potential clients to identify new MICE events to bring to Singapore.

Main Responsibilities:

1. Immediate Lead Generation and Account Management

• Be part of the STB Europe MICE team with responsibilities to deliver STB Europe MICE targets for Singapore. This position serves as the main contact for MICE accounts headquartered in Northern and Southwestern Europe, including but not limited to the United Kingdom (core focus), Nordics, Spain and Portugal. However, geographical area of coverage and number of markets under management may be subject to change based on regular review of the business needs of STB and/or market opportunities.
• Secure and build a pipeline of business events from the Europe region across Association Conferences, Trade shows and Exhibition, Corporate Meetings & Incentives (M&I), with a strong focus on M&I
• Grow strong relationships with clients, respond to client queries and event bidding opportunities (e.g. RFP)
• Develop a strong understanding of Singapore’s MICE offerings, venues and suppliers and navigate relationships with partners in order to respond to client queries and develop solutions to meet the client’s needs
• Provide timely advice and facilitation support through various STB incentives, programmes and initiatives, as well as prepare and submit internal proposals and applications for STB's programmes and initiatives (e.g grants)
• Support HQ colleagues in cultivating and maintaining relationship with key Exhibition & Conferences decision makers in market, and hunt for accounts that are not yet in Singapore.
• Maintain account records for all assigned accounts including document appointments, activities and overall account management in the CRM system (e.g. Salesforce).

2. Pipeline Development

• The manager will need to be proactive in proposing and driving suitable business development activities to support SECB's work to bid for conventions and meetings and build a pipeline of MICE events, with a strong focus on M&I Travels. These may include identifying and participating in forums, road shows, trade shows, sales calls, or organising site inspections in Singapore.
• Co-drive joint business development initiatives with stakeholders and partners (i.e. DMCs, airlines, hotels, venues), such as conducting collaborative sales calls, organising in-market client cultivation events and FAM trips.
• Leverage HQ's strategic partnerships to execute entitlements and maximise outcomes across STB Europe (e.g. conducting internal training sessions, client cultivation events, tapping on internal database of meeting planners etc.)
• Identify and pursue new partner opportunities (such as partnerships and alliances with industry associations, platforms and third party meeting planners) to grow Singapore’s presence and influence within Europe.

3. Tradeshows

• Leading Singapore's participation in major Europe-based tradeshows (e.g. The Meeting Show London), including overseeing booth design/construction, on-site logistics and operations, meeting diaries, and working with HQ colleagues to brief/engage participating Singapore partners.
• Represent Singapore at Europe-based tradeshows (e.g. IMEX Frankfurt and IBTM Barcelona) including supporting in operations and logistics, as well as leading meetings at the tradeshows.

4. Others

• Contribute to STB Europe's strategies, such as through gathering and analysing of market intelligence data and stakeholder feedback and developing recommendations to increase Singapore's competitiveness in acquiring new business events
• Work with HQ colleagues to support and execute strategic MICE projects and activations
• Oversee administrative matters (e.g. budget monitoring, contracts related to service providers such as travel agency, warehouse, office and staff insurances etc.)
• Perform other duties as assigned (e.g. organising meetings and note taking, participation in workplan discussions, piloting new tech)

What are we looking for

• At least 3 to 5 year sales, business development experience in the hospitality, venue and MICE sector;
• Proven track record of achieving sales quotas; experience with venue, destination marketing is a plus
• Strong stakeholder management, negotiation, communication and presentation skills, as well as outside-the-box thinking to attract new business
• Independent worker with strong project management and problem solving skills, including ability to execute multiple projects simultaneously in a fast-paced environment
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Experience working in a global team across multiple time zones and cultures
• Willingness to travel within Europe to attend meetings, roadshows, tradeshows and staff weekend events where required as part of work duties
• Willingness to travel to Singapore as part of corporate meetings and work duties
• Data driven and proficient in reading and analyzing data.
• Proficient knowledge of Microsoft programs such as Word, Excel, Outlook and Powerpoint
• Independent contributor role, working alongside other team members in Europe (including STB offices in London, Frankfurt and Brussels) and Singapore
• Reports to Area Director in STB Northern and Southwestern Europe and Executive Director Europe, both based in London.
• Willingness to travel domestically and internationally is a must
• Please submit a portfolio/CV as part of the application.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted within 2 weeks from the closing date of this job posting. We regret to inform that only shortlisted candidates will be notified.