Sales Account Executive - Conferences & Events - 97863 - Band 500

Position Details

Conferences & Events - Campus Services

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £23,699 to £25,458, with potential progression once in post to £29,471

Band - 500

Full Time Permanent

2 posts available

Closing date - 3rd October 2021

Our offer to you

People are at the heart of what we are and do.

The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years, and we are equally proud to be recognised as a leading global university.  We want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success.

We are committed to helping the people who work here to develop through our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programme which provides all professional services staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential.  With almost 5,000 professional services jobs in a wide-range of functions in Edgbaston and in our campus in Dubai, there are plenty of opportunities for you to be able to develop your career at the University.

We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation, and debate.  We warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we are, and how we work.

Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees and to the success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer a variety of flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working.  In addition, you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 days paid holiday a year, one paid day a year for volunteering, occupational sick pay, and a pension scheme. We also have three high quality subsidised day nurseries.

The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus, including main bus routes and a train station on site.  On campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum and botanical gardens.

Find out more about the  benefits of working for the University of Birmingham  

Job context

Campus Service is responsible for a very large range of services within the University including student accommodation, catering, Sport and Fitness, cleaning and waste management, conferences and events, delivering the University's post, day nurseries, security and emergency response, Winterbourne House & Garden.

The Sales Account Executive post sits within the Conferences & events (C&e) team that resides within Venues and Events, Campus Services. C&e sells and delivers a vast number of conferences and events to underpin academic work, support the student experience and drive additional income. As with any commercial revenue-generating department within a university, C&e seeks to strike a balance between enhancing the student and staff experience and ensuring a financial return to the University.

Job summary

The postholder is the key point of contact between C&e and its clients: answering queries, offering advice, and introducing new products and services. The postholder will foster long-term relationships with clients, strive to understand their goals and provide an exceptional customer experience. Nurturing strategic relationships with key accounts to identify the best opportunities for growth and service is key.

The Sales Account Executive will manage, grow, and renew customer accounts, but will also be expected to identify new opportunities and to upsell services. Attention to detail is important as we expect you to ensure all our customers receive a high-quality experience. Documenting all client details accurately on the booking system is essential, as this will ensure we are able to build and maintain up to date client records.

The postholder will liaise closely with the Event Management team to ensure that the client's requirements are understood and that events are delivered successfully.

The Sales Account Executive is the first point of call for incoming enquiries and will be expected to stay on top of enquiries. The individual is responsible for his or her own workload and will schedule follow up phone calls with clients accordingly. Customer service skills are a necessity as we take great pride in our high level of delivering customer excellence.

Main duties

You will be responsible for the full range of duties relating to sales including:

• full ownership of designated accounts including negotiations;
• developing an in-depth understanding of customers' needs in order to produce outline proposals;
• dealing with incoming sales enquiries and ensure they are captured appropriately on bespoke software;
• following up on sales leads promptly by cold calling or otherwise reaching out to prospects;
• identifying when sales leads should be referred to alternative venues;
• developing and implementing sales initiatives designed to drive sales forward;
• evaluating sales initiatives to identify future improvements;
• proactively contacting customers who have not purchased with us for some time to explore opportunities;
• liaising with third party agents and build relationships with suppliers;
• presenting and demonstrating the value of products and services to prospective customers;
• building long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationships with external contacts and internal departments to create a better customer experience
• dealing with complex complaints from initial contact to resolution;
• nurturing strategic relationships with top accounts to identify the best opportunities for growth and service to the client.
• You will gather and analyse sales reports and data to identify trends and make recommendations for improvements to processes.
• You will be expected to keep up to date on industry trends.
• Support the Account Manager with developing sales plans and the setting of targets.
• Conduct site visits of our venues on and off campus.
• Represent the university at trade shows and networking events when required.

General

You will contribute to more general management in the department by:

• supporting managers in promoting sustainability, including supporting ISO20121 (sustainable events)
• monitoring service standards and working with internal customers to ensure these are adhered to;
• providing support for events and other designated activities;
• taking responsibility for allocated elements of health and safety implementation.
• Supports equality and values diversity, moderates own behaviour to avoid unfair discriminatory impact or bias on others.
• Any other duties as may reasonably be expected by the relevant manager.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

• Educated to A level standard, or equivalent level 3 qualification such as a level 3 NVQ, or level 3 national diploma or relevant work experience evidencing the skills and ability to undertake the role.
• Minimum of grade C in Mathematics and English at GCSE or equivalent level 2 qualifications.
• Previous relevant experience of working in a finance or sales team
• Experience of managing budgets
• In-depth knowledge of Health and Safety legislation; a Health and Safety qualification such as IOSH would be an advantage
• Highly proficient IT skills including Microsoft packages. The post holder should also be confident and able to quickly learn new IT skills and software packages as required as in-house systems are used for procurement
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Excellent attention to detail with high standards of accuracy
• Excellent interpersonal skills. You will need to inspire confidence and command authority with a range of colleagues and provide excellent customer service at all times
• A high degree of initiative, personal judgement, resourcefulness, flexibility, and a self-motivating approach
• Ability to work effectively in a large, complex organisation, and to develop a good understanding of how the University and higher education institutions work
• Ability to understand policy and procedures and how to apply these
• Understands the importance of equality and diversity in the workplace
• Ability to identify and respond to equality and diversity issues in line with relevant policies and procedures
• Understanding of data privacy standards
• Confidentiality discretion at all times is essential
• Go about duties in a resource efficient way, minimising impacts to the environment wherever possible

Informal enquires to Ryan Adams-McGlasson r.j.adams@bham.ac.uk