Senior Associate, Event Sales

At The Obama Foundation, our mission is to inspire, empower, and connect people to change their world. We seek to build an active democratic culture where people are equipped and motivated to make change in the communities where they live, work, and play. Right here on the South Side of Chicago, we’re building a home for this vision, a global center for change with a range of opportunities - coordinated programming, community outreach events, educational moments, and more - that invite visitors from down the block or across the globe to turn hope into action.

Achieving our ambitious goals starts with an exceptional team built on our Hope to Action Values - Courage, Empathy, Integrity, Accountability, Community, Inclusivity, Pragmatism, Resilience, Imagination, and Hope. A Framework that anyone, anywhere, can use to build trust, activate participation, and expand opportunity in their community.

The Senior Associate, Event Sales will be responsible for advancing event rental sales opportunities that are aligned with the Foundation’s mission, revenue goals, operational capabilities, and visitor experience standards. As the Senior Associate of Event Sales, you’ll be reporting directly to the Senior Manager of Event Sales.

• Full-Cycle Inquiry & Pipeline Management
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  Manage assigned event rental inquiries from initial contact through proposal, follow-up, site tours, contract negotiations, pipeline tracking, and handoff to Venue Management after the agreement is finalized.

• Client Information & Inquiry Response
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  Respond to prospective client inquiries in a timely and professional manner, ensuring clients receive accurate information about available spaces, rental opportunities, capacity guidelines, pricing parameters, food and beverage requirements, parking considerations, vendor policies, and general event capabilities.

• Site Tours & Venue Presentation
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  Conduct site tours for prospective clients, corporate groups, community organizations, institutions, event planners, and other qualified prospects, presenting spaces in a manner that supports revenue goals while setting realistic expectations based on capacity, operational feasibility, visitor experience, and venue policies.

• Proactive Business Development & Relationship Management
  :
  Support proactive business development efforts by identifying prospective clients, researching market opportunities, building target lists, and supporting outreach campaigns to cultivate repeat business and build relationships with event planners, corporate clients, nonprofit organizations, community partners, educational institutions, civic organizations, tourism partners, and cultural institutions.

• Revenue Enhancements
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  Identify opportunities to capture additional revenue through auxiliary services, including food and beverage, parking, retail tie-ins, special access opportunities, tours, add-on experiences, or other approved revenue enhancements.

• CRM Maintenance & Sales Reporting
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  Maintain accurate pipeline records, client notes, lead status, proposal status, follow-up dates, revenue projections, and conversion activity in the designated CRM or tracking system to support sales reporting, revenue forecasts, market trend analysis, and booking pace tracking.

• Market Analysis & Benchmarking
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  Assist with competitive research, market analysis, pricing comparisons, and peer institution benchmarking to inform event rental strategy and revenue optimization.

• Consistent and timely follow-up with event rental inquiries, resulting in improved client responsiveness, stronger conversion, and increased revenue opportunity.

• Accurate and professional event rental proposals that reflect approved pricing, venue capabilities, operational considerations, and client needs.

• Improved sales conversion through disciplined lead tracking, consistent communication, timely follow-up, and effective coordination.

• Accurate and up-to-date CRM, pipeline, and sales tracking records that support forecasting, reporting, and revenue decision-making.

• Successful client site tours that present the venue professionally, set clear expectations, and support…