Assistant Venue Manager (Marketing) in Bournemouth

The Assistant Venue Manager (Marketing) at TOFS is a dynamic, dual-focused role combining the day-to-day marketing and promotion of The Old Fire Station with hands-on venue management during live events. The position plays a central role in driving audience engagement, event visibility, and ticket sales, while also ensuring the venue operates smoothly and professionally during events.

This role directly supports the delivery of core business objectives and commercial targets. The successful candidate will be highly motivated, commercially minded, and enthusiastic about events and the music industry. They will take an initiative-taking approach to marketing and promoting events and they will run campaigns that support audience development and engagement while contributing to delivering high-quality, inclusive, live entertainment experiences. Previous experience in the live entertainment industry or venue/event management is required.

About The Old Fire Station

The Old Fire Station is a unique, 1200 capacity nightclub and 550 capacity live music venue in the heart of Bournemouth. Playing host to a diverse line-up of events, it has become an iconic venue on the south coast. Since 1995 the venue has acted as a nightclub and music venue for the Students' Union at Bournemouth University (SUBU), while also being open to members of the public for a variety of gigs and events throughout the year.

Purpose of Role

• Be a key member of The Old Fire Station management team alongside the Venue Manager and Operations Manager.
• Take a lead role in management planning of venue operational issues to facilitate a profitable programme of in-house, promoter and live music events.
• Maximise sales & attendance of events at the Old Fire Station in line with the expectations of the Venue Manager and overall venue Business Plan.
• Plan, develop and programme multi-platform communication and promotional campaigns, event content and brand development to facilitate profitable venue operation including the end of year festival style celebration, the Summer Ball.
• Manage the venue teams during events on rotation with the venue management team.
• Guide and advise on the venue Business Plan to utilise opportunities in new markets, trends or with customer delivery.

Key Tasks

Marketing Duties

• Plan and create effective marketing plans and strategies for the venue & SUBU Summer Ball.
• Work with the SUBU Communications Team to share marketing plans, content schedules and key messages in advance, identifying opportunities for cross-promotion across organisation-wide campaigns.
• Oversee and maintain brand distinction and values between different nights, activities, and entities (including The Old Fire Station, SUBU, and BU brand guidelines).
• Ensure effective marketing of events through the media of online content, promotional print distribution, ensuring content is up to date and promotional teams are briefed accurately.
• Keep relevant social media accounts and websites, including The Old Fire Station and SUBU Summer Ball, up-to-date and with a high standard of content.
• Planning, designing and production of promotional materials: Oversee the creation, planning and production of marketing materials with contracted designers where required and ensure event information is accurate and entered into our communication streams in a timely manner.
• Liaise and build relationships with promoters to ensure seamless event delivery from point of sale, marketing and ticketing to the live event.

Analytical Duties

• Segment customer data appropriately, ensuring measurement of social and digital engagement.
• Analyse metrics to constantly refine and improve marketing impact.

Data Duties

• Ensure record keeping is accurate and secure.
• Manage the contact data of customers and segment effectively for social media and email.

Compliance Duties

• Ensure compliance with data protection requirements of SUBU with respect to customer data.

Operational Duties

• Ensure communications print and products are in stock and managed in a sustainable way.
• Uphold the operational compliance requirements of the venue and ensure adherence throughout the venue team to regulation, law and best practice applicable to safety, events, and alcohol sales.

Administrative Duties

• Efficient email, social media and diary management.
• Attend regular 1 to 1 with Venue Manager, student staff meetings, SUBU staff meetings.
• Responding to online enquiries in a timely fashion.
• Ensure communications campaigns and promotions are costed and kept within planned budgets.
• Maintain contact and exchange ideas with other venue operators, promoters, students unions and communications department.
• Participate in SUBU strategic planning and development sessions, ensuring all areas of engagement to reflect SUBU.

Venue and Event Management (on rotation with other managers)

• Take overall responsibility in the preparation for, and running of, events, including ensuring compliance with licensing objectives, and legal obligations and SUBU policy.
• Lead on liaison with emergency services and local/national authorities.
• Liaison and management of the external security team to ensure the safety and security of customers, staff, and property.
• Ensure the venue is staffed effectively and efficiently, reducing unnecessary costs while meeting operational requirements.
• Oversee the security of cash and stock, whether through theft, negligence, or waste.
• Ensure events are run to the agreed schedule and to a good quality, in line with customer and talent expectations.

Stock Duties

• Minimise stock shortages through accurate stock control measures, secure storage and minimisation of breakages/refunds/mis-poured drinks.

Administration Duties

• Keep on the night records up to date for finance, incidents, first aid, staff and security.

Organisational Duties

• Management of the event team at events (up to 3 supervisors, 22 staff, 12 security, performers and event owners) during weekends and late nights.

Financial Duties

• Ensure card and cash banking is reconciled and discrepancies investigated, and to ensure the security of card machines in line with PCI/DSS compliance requirements.

Key Events

• With the management team, deliver the annual Summer Ball and other occasional events outside of The Old Fire Station environment.

Staffing

• Lead on student staff recruitment, training, and progress monitoring.
• Write student staff rotas, balancing the operational needs of the venue with student availability, in line with SUBU expectations.

Attend to complaints from customers and flag areas for improvement to Venue Manager.

General for all staff

• Proactively assist with the organisation and administration of the larger Union events such as Fresher’s, Summer Ball, and Elections.
• Adopt and endorse the organisations Vision and Values and all supporting policies, across all aspects of the role.
• Participate in training, meetings or conferences considered relevant to their job with agreed Personal Development plan.
• Carry out your duties with full regard to the rules policies and procedures and conditions of service contained in the staff handbook.
• Abide by the Organisation’s policies and procedures.
• Adhere to all health and safety legislation.

SUBU is committed to promoting, educating, and taking direct action on environmental sustainability. All SUBU employees are expected to integrate environmental sustainability values and action into their role where feasible.

To undertake any other task that is deemed reasonable within your skill set. Flexible, well organised, and open to new ideas. Strong customer focus with excellent attention to detail. Experience of event promotion and delivery within an entertainment, events, or club environment. Understanding trends in events, nightlife, and digital communications. Engaging communication skills, both written and verbal. Proven experience of duty managing events. Demonstrable leadership skills with the ability to motivate and support others. Confident IT skills, including Microsoft Office and online platforms. Experience using digital marketing tools and social media platforms. Working knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite. Experience supporting marketing campaigns or promotional activity. Understanding of marketing communications within a venue or student-led environment. An understanding of health and safety responsibilities within a venue environment.

SUBU is committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of the community.