Venue Sourcing Manager, Corporate Events

Building a Brand Starts with a Story

FIRST is a leading global brand experience agency providing Content, Creative, Digital Technology, Management & Delivery, and Data & Insights services. Operating as a full-service agency partner or through embedding specialist talent into client teams, FIRST brings brands and people together through creative, connected experiences.

FIRST works with clients across various industries, including financial services, technology, new & traditional media, aerospace, healthcare, and professional services. FIRST has received numerous accolades, including being named one of the Top 150 Event Organizers & Agencies in the USA by Eventex, being listed among the "200 Top Marketing Agencies" in 2023, 2022 & 2021 by Chief Marketer, being recognized as one of the "50 Top Event Companies" by Special Events, being included in the Top 100 "Best Places to Work in NYC" by Crain's New York Business, and being listed as one of the "1000 Companies to Inspire Britain" by The London Stock Exchange Group.

FIRST also understands that businesses worldwide, including ours, need to adopt more sustainable and socially responsible practices. Our vision of sustainability at FIRST is about fostering a People-centric, Purpose-driven & Planet conscious culture.

Learn more at www.firstagency.com

Our story started over 25 years ago growing through collaboration, innovation, strong culture, and a focus on people, specifically our people. Our people inspired, developed, and grew FIRST to the incredible brand experience creator it is today. 

And our hope is that you become the next page of our story in developing how our agency connects more people beyond what they thought was possible.

A welcoming, creative and ambitious workplace that offers personal and professional growth for all individuals. 

At FIRST, you'll find:

• A welcoming workplace that fosters diversity and belonging with a focus on team members feeling valued, respected, and supported. 
• An experiential organization that cares about the development and career experience of each employee, focusing on excellence and flexibility with the right balance of structure to thrive.
• Creative teams that enjoy challenging work with an ability to make an impact on those around them.

What You Would Get To Do

The Venue Sourcing Manager will consistently deliver exceptional service to our clients through excellent meetings management. This position is an integral part of our Venue Sourcing/ Client Solutions team and will be responsible for managing the venue sourcing process for various events as a dedicated resource within our Solutions division for a management consultancy firm.

The ideal candidate for this role will have excellent communication and negotiating skills and the ability to successfully manage stakeholder relationships. This person should also have excellent knowledge of hotels and venues nationwide, having built relationships with these venues and negotiated contracts.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Venue Sourcing & Contract Management
• Provide site selection services for meetings and events
• Review venue contracts and client addendums for accuracy and negotiate where applicable
• Develop and submit RFP’s (Request for Proposals) via Cvent
• Consolidate information to fulfil client reporting requirements
• Ensure CVENT is kept up to date
• Manage complex space, rates, costs, concessions, and terms of contract agreements negotiations
• Ensure allocated work is correctly logged and updated for venue sourcing monthly reports to management
• Cultivate and maintain relationships with internal and external clients and suppliers
• Create and maintain best practices and SOP for venue sourcing across the team
• Maximize and closely monitor opportunities for increasing value adds, savings, and cost efficiencies
• Field questions and offer advice to team members to assist with VS creative problem solving
• Work with Operations Lead to create client reporting to maintain our SLA, drive better procurement and tea