Careers at Tuscaloosa Tourism and Sports
Now Hiring: EVENT & PARTNERSHIP SERVICES MANAGER
ABOUT VISIT TUSCALOOSA:
Visit Tuscaloosa is the official destination marketing organization (DMO) for Tuscaloosa County, Alabama. The passionate team at Visit Tuscaloosa helps strengthen the community’s economic position and vitality, and provides opportunity for its residents. The organization works to create a harmony of quality of life for residents and quality of place for visitors.
Visit Tuscaloosa is committed to driving overnight visitation by growing and enhancing its destination awareness and supporting industry partners through marketing and communication and sales efforts. The organization is mainly funded through its government partners at the City of Tuscaloosa, City of Northport, and Tuscaloosa County.
In 2023, visitors spent over $999 million throughout Tuscaloosa County and helped generate 10,443 jobs. As an organization, Visit Tuscaloosa generated $30 million in estimated economic impact through sports tourism, meetings, conferences, group travel and more.
This job is open until 5:00 pm (CST) on Friday, May 3, 2024.
REPORTING TO: Director of Community Partnerships & Group Tour Experiences
FLSA Classification: Exempt; Competitive salary and benefits package commensurate with experience.
POSITION SUMMARY:
The Event & Partnership Services Manager will support and enhance the sports sales team and community partnership team in implementing sales and service activities, participating in the cultivation of opportunities to attract new sporting events, group tours, and community events to our destination. The Services Manager coordinates these activities with other team members, partners, and stakeholders to maximize overall guest and client satisfaction, as well as economic impact. The Event & Partnership Services Coordinator will function as a liaison between the sports tourism sales team and community partnerships team and their clients and serve as a key player in streamlining the planning journey, providing excellent customer service, and exceeding guest and client expectations.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:
Sports Tourism & Community Event Servicing
- – Assist with the coordination of Visit Tuscaloosa special events and special projects. Assist in servicing sporting events and group tour opportunities.
- – Support organizers and group tour operators in various ways, including hotel lead generation, catering and group meal coordination and delivery, group discounts for attendees, volunteer support and recruitment, development of related collateral materials, and coordination of gift and welcome bags.
- – Manage on-site event presence as needed, through registration services, event setup and breakdown, visitor surveys to capture spending and overnight data, etc.
- – Assist sports tourism and group tour sales managers with repeat business and assist in the submission of RFP bid packages – identifying facility rental fees, special concessions, etc.
- – Assist with coordination of FAM Trips and Site Visits through scheduling, planning, and completion of itineraries for potential clients.
- – Maintain a well-informed working knowledge of the attractions, venues, and services available in the area, as well as hotel partners’ properties and services.
- – Maintain and update the CRM as needed at the direction of the Sales Managers.
- – Assist the Director of Community Partnerships with maintaining an active reference database of visitor service providers, stakeholders, meeting sites/venues, dining options, through the CRM.
- – Event Coordinator for the annual Tuscaloosa Oktoberfest, hosted by Visit Tuscaloosa.
Community Partnerships
- – Assist with corporate sponsorship fulfillment in partnership with the Director of Community Partnerships & Group Tour Sales.
- – Coordinate Visit Tuscaloosa’s annual partner events, which include National Travel & Tourism Week and Tuscaloosa’s Tourism Bash.
- – Assist the Director of Community Partnerships & Group Tour Sales and the Marketing Team with Tuscaloosa Restaurant Week planning.
- – Assist with ancillary partner events designed throughout the year, such as quarterly meetings with hotel partners.
- – Perform all other related duties as assigned.
QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE:
To perform this job successfully, the employee must be able to perform each essential duty. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and ability needed.
- – Bachelor’s degree or higher in hospitality management, sports management, marketing, communications, or a related field.
- – Three plus years of experience in event planning, sports event management, hotels, tourism, and/or hospitality industry
- – A love for event management, the ability to provide excellent customer service, and a solid understanding of the economic impact of tourism on our community.
- – Strong attention to detail and ability to work collaboratively
- – Ability to work occasional nights and weekends, depending on the event
- – Self-motivated and team player
- – Strong event planning, organizational, and project management skills
- – Ability to attend industry events and travel locally, occasional domestic travel
Disclaimer: Job descriptions should not be construed to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, skills, efforts, or working conditions associated with a job. They are intended to be reflections of the principal job elements essential to that position. Visit Tuscaloosa reserves the right to revise this description.
Please submit a cover letter, resume, and three references to careers@visittuscaloosa.com by 5 pm on Friday, May 3, 2024. Applicants must live in or be willing to relocate to the surrounding Tuscaloosa, AL area for this position.
Visit Tuscaloosa is an Equal Opportunity Employer that does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, disability (mental or physical), sex, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, arrest record, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local laws.