Director of Meetings & Conventions, FL Association and International

Discover The Palm Beaches•West Palm Beach, FL

5d•Onsite

About The Position

This position is responsible for marketing, promoting, and selling Palm Beach County as a premier destination for conventions and meetings within the group market. The ideal candidate will be a highly experienced Director with a group sales background in hotel and convention sales and proven leadership capabilities. The candidate must demonstrate success in driving group business by leveraging Palm Beach County’s hotels and the Palm Beach County Convention Center, with the goal of achieving assigned annual definite room night bookings in alignment with Discover The Palm Beaches’ strategic sales and marketing plans. Strong leadership qualities—as both a coach and mentor—are essential, along with a disciplined, systems-driven approach to sales, strategic planning, and accountability. The ability to manage and fulfill expectations from both internal and external stakeholders while maintaining confidentiality and professionalism is critical. This is an in-office position based in The Palm Beaches. Candidates must reside in Florida and work on-site at our office. Territory focus is Florida Association and International groups with 25 or more rooms on peak.

Requirements

Four-year degree from an academic institution or equivalent related work experience, with a minimum of 5 years experience in the tourism industry.
Strong working knowledge of the state, national association markets, corporate, third-party organizations, and key vertical market segments that produce in first and second tier destinations.
Must be a self-starter; be self-motivated, and able to multitask.
Must be creative and detail oriented.
Strong consensus builder and relationship builder.
Must be able to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing with all publics.
Must exercise solid judgment and diplomacy in a wide variety of public contact situations.
Ideal candidate must physically be located in market.
Must be flexible with traveling and be able to adjust to changing conditions and circumstances around work events.
Must demonstrate a positive attitude and cooperate with staff.

Nice To Haves

DMO and convention center selling experience a plus.
Experience with Simple view, Cvent, and Empowerment a plus.

Responsibilities

Responsible for generating group leads and definite rooms nights for Palm Beach Hotel collection and the Palm Beach County Convention Center.
Ensures maximum exposure for the convention district effectiveness and coordinates within the market to obtain the strongest presence possible for the destination and its partners.
Plans, develops, coordinates, and attend travel trade shows, destination reviews, customer site inspection trips and sponsored events assigned within territory with a focus on ROI.
Proactively and systematically prospects lead generation through trade shows, sales missions, and third-party sales organizations for the Convention Center District.
Responds to and solicits business from all inquiries (phone or written requests) developed or assigned.
Creates and submits pre-and-post sales trip reports.
Executes sales and marketing plan strategies and directives geared to hotel and convention center group sales and the development and achievement of annual goals.
Establishes positive relationships with destination partners creating value add and revenue producing opportunities.
Develops and recommends annual action plan with suggestions on sales programs, activities, and sales approach to accomplish goals within region and markets assigned. Includes solicitation call schedule, volunteer involvement within beneficial customer industry organizations, travel schedule and personal suggestions geared to generate prospects and leads.
Becomes an active member of organizations, in accordance with the Marketing Plan, within assigned territory and market segments. Seeks such opportunities as the organization may provide for volunteer work to develop relationships with key decision-makers, thereby developing leads and promoting the visibility of the County as an important and viable destination for groups, meetings and conventions.
Manages and participates during destination reviews for key clients when appropriate.
Develops and manages trade show, client events and other activities creatively and effectively to ensure ROI.
Covers a sales territory directly with an individual booking goal.
Effectively obtains and manages client confidential information and lead details for the inclusion within CRM and community partners.
Ability to gather competitive DMO sales strategies and deploy against them.
Manages a shared Sales Account Executive
Manages assigned budgets effectively and processes expenses in accordance with finance workflows and systems.
Assists DTPB Executive Team with other projects as directed.