Event Services Director

Event Services Director at Walt Disney World Resort summary:

The Event Services Director at Walt Disney World leads a team responsible for selling and executing convention and event services, including catering, entertainment, and admissions for contracted groups. The role involves sales strategy, client relations, team leadership, and cross-functional collaboration to ensure high-quality guest experiences and financial goals. The position requires extensive event services experience, hospitality knowledge, and leadership skills within a resort or convention environment.

As an Event Services Director, you will be responsible for driving catered food and beverage, entertainment, admissions, and other ancillary revenue to Walt Disney World parks and resorts, from contracted convention groups. This dual role manages a team that sells Disney Event Group products and the Event Service team that plans and implements all onsite conventions at Walt Disney World Resorts and Theme Parks.

You will ensure convention clients, and their attendees experience the highest level of service that supports a Disney quality experience.

You will report to the Senior Event Services Director.

This is a Full-Time position.

On any given day, as an Event Services Director, you might:

• Ensure the Event Consultants and Event Services Managers are upselling and achieving financial goals

• Be an active member of two resort leadership teams and influence operating partners, to ensure Group Guest experience is maintained at a high level

• Lead Cast Members on their performance, to ensure continuous growth and development

• Participate in monthly forecast meetings

• Compile forecast and variance justifications for Catering Food & Beverage and Disney Event Group revenue

• Define and execute the annual sales strategy plan

• Develop innovative and creative meeting and event solutions representative of the Disney brand

• Assist Resort Sales team by participating in sales site visits to help bring together future business

• Remove barriers so that Cast Members can effectively perform their role

• Be responsible for recruiting and finding right fit talent

• Manage resources to ensure your team optimally meets the needs of clients and internal partners at multiple resorts

• Support Event Services Managers to ensure that all contractual obligations are met

• Assist with contract language requests to ensure business moves forward

• Be engaged with all aspects of Resort renovation and construction, to infuse the group guest perspective. Mitigate impact to guest experience. Be a problem solver with Engineering and Facilities Asset Management

• Work together with Operations on various aspects of future convention events

• Ensure the local training effort for new Cast is in place and lead all aspects of ongoing training for all Cast

• At least s even plus years of Event Services or Sales experience, preferably in a resort environment

• At least t hree years of leadership or formal mentoring experience

• Hospitality experience in a group convention environment within the past two years

• Strategic understanding of the business objectives associated with different markets and what clients are trying to accomplish

• Ability to proactively anticipate any potential group challenges and provide outstanding solutions tailored to the client

• Knowledge of all convention resort function space and all Theme Park venues

• Understanding of the end-to-end sales process to be used to assist in converting business and upselling

• Thorough understanding of Rooms and related line of business

• Build and maintain strong relationships with operating partners

• Ability to seek constructive resolutions to issues and resolve them effectively

• Develop action plans with the Hotel/Cast which is vital when Client feedback reflects negative experiences

• Demonstrated ability to build outstanding and innovative experiences to exceed Client expectations through effective consultative skill application

• Effective problem-solving skills with a focus on removing barriers

• Confirmed understanding of Food & Beverage and Entertainment line of business

• Proven…