Senior Venue Sourcing Specialist, Meetings & Events

Encore Travel•Montreal, QC

About The Position

Encore runs complex, high-stakes Meetings and Events programs for financial services clients across North America. The events carry real business weight. The venue shapes the experience, the experience shapes the outcome, and the outcome matters to the people who commissioned it. Getting sourcing right is not a detail. It is the foundation everything else is built on. As Senior Venue Sourcing Specialist, you own the full sourcing cycle across Encore's Meetings and Events portfolio: RFP strategy, site selection, contract negotiation, commission oversight, and the market intelligence that informs decisions before a brief is even issued. You work closely with event coordinators on program delivery and with Leadership on commercial outcomes. This is a senior role. You are not supporting someone else's sourcing process. You are leading it.

Requirements

5+ years in hotel venue sourcing and contract negotiation in an agency, TMC, or corporate travel environment
Proven experience managing high-volume RFP pipelines independently
Direct, hands-on experience negotiating hotel contracts: attrition, cancellation, commission clauses included
Familiarity with venue sourcing platforms and standard corporate travel and event management tools
The ability to carry a complex, active portfolio without losing a detail or a deadline
Strong written and verbal communication skills, client-ready at all times

Nice To Haves

Experience in financial services events or similarly regulated, high-expectation environments
Bilingual in English and French
General event experience is valuable. This role requires sourcing and contracting depth specifically.

Responsibilities

Lead the RFP cycle from brief to client presentation.
Develop sourcing strategies based on event type, budget, location, and program objectives.
Prepare client-ready RFPs with clear evaluation criteria and timelines.
Manage multiple active RFPs simultaneously without compromising quality or speed.
Present venue options with the clarity and confidence clients in this vertical expect.
Lead hotel and venue contract negotiations across the portfolio.
Secure favorable rates, attrition protection, cancellation terms, and concessions.
Review every contract for risk: force majeure, commission language, liability clauses — before it reaches a client.
Manage deposit schedules, option dates, and contractual milestones.
Keep the team ahead of deadlines, not chasing them.
Maintain strong relationships with key hotel properties in priority markets.
Track openings, renovations, brand changes, and market shifts.
Identify preferred property opportunities that benefit multiple clients and bring them to Leadership.
Provide sourcing expertise early in the sales process, when it shapes what gets proposed and what gets won.
Serve as the escalation point with hotel group sales teams on room blocks, reservations, and special requests.
Ensure properties honor contracted terms.
Flag discrepancies quickly.
Keep coordinators supported and clients protected through the full accommodations cycle.
Ensure expected commissions are documented at contract execution.
Partner with accounting to track collection.
Escalate outstanding, disputed, or overdue commissions.
Bring unresolved commission issues to Leadership with the context and a recommended next step.
Partner with event coordinators throughout the planning cycle and ensure clean handoffs of sourcing deliverables.
Develop and maintain sourcing templates, venue reference materials, and market guides.
Join client calls when venue expertise is needed.
Contribute to process improvements as the team grows.