Conference & Banqueting Manager

IHG - Voco Grand Central Glasgow; Glasgow; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 52,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Annual bonus

IHG perks and staff discounts

31 days’ holiday

Employee discounts

Job summary

voco Grand Central Glasgow is seeking an experienced Conference & Banqueting Manager to lead its busy events operation with passion and hands-on leadership. You will drive delivery of weddings, galas, conferences and private celebrations, while developing a high-performing team and maintaining exceptional guest experiences in a historic Glasgow venue.

You’ll collaborate with Sales, Events and Kitchen teams to optimise plans, staffing and costs, ensuring immaculate spaces and service standards

Qualifications

• Minimum of two years’ management experience within Conference & Banqueting or a similarly fast-paced hospitality environment.
• Experience managing a high-volume, events-led operation, ideally within a large hotel or venue.
• Strong people leadership skills with the ability to coach, develop and motivate a team.
• Excellent organisational and communication skills with the ability to manage multiple events and changing priorities.
• Good commercial awareness including experience managing labour, costs and productivity.

Responsibilities

• Lead the day-to-day Conference & Banqueting operation, ensuring events are planned, prepared and delivered to an exceptional standard.
• Inspire, coach and develop a high-performing team and set clear expectations.
• Collaborate with Sales & Events, Kitchen and hotel teams to turn event plans into seamless experiences.
• Manage a busy, events-led operation and oversee multiple functions and priorities.
• Plan staffing levels and rosters around demand while controlling labour costs and productivity.
• Ensure event spaces are set, presented and maintained to the required standards.
• Drive service excellence with strong health & safety, food safety and hygiene compliance.
• Manage departmental stock, equipment and budgets with focus on costs and profitability.
• Build strong relationships with guests/clients and handle feedback proactively.

Skills

Leadership

People management

Event operations

Staff planning

Budget management

Guest service

Job description

At voco Grand Central Glasgow, we’re looking for an experienced Conference & Banqueting Manager to join our team and lead the delivery of memorable events, exceptional service and, of course, a warm voco welcome.

Our locally curated hotel stands proudly in the heart of Glasgow city centre, bringing together over 140 years of history, culture and storytelling with relaxed, unstuffy service and genuine Glasgow hospitality. Home to our impressive Grand Ballroom, one of the city’s standout event spaces and flooded with natural daylight, alongside our iconic, award‑winning Champagne Central Bar, Grand Central is a hotel made for bringing people together.

At voco, everyone’s a host. We believe in service that is relaxed but attentive, warm but never pretentious, and reliably different. We want every guest to leave with a lasting impression, whether they are staying overnight, joining us for dinner or celebrating one of life’s biggest moments. We’re also committed to making more environmentally conscious choices throughout the guest experience and across our hotel.

Our Conference & Banqueting operation is a huge part of what we do, from elegant weddings and gala dinners to large‑scale conferences, corporate events and private celebrations, no two days are quite the same. With three function suites with capacities of over 600 guests, alongside four meeting rooms, this is a busy, high‑volume operation that needs a strong leader at the heart of it.

We’re looking for someone experienced, passionate and hands‑on who can lead from the front, develop a great team and make sure the detail behind every event is just as impressive as the event itself.

What you’ll be doing

• Leading the day‑to‑day Conference & Banqueting operation, ensuring every event is planned, prepared and delivered to an exceptional standard.
• Inspiring, coaching and developing a high‑performing team, setting clear expectations and creating an environment where everyone takes pride in delivering a brilliant guest experience.
• Working closely with our Sales & Events, Kitchen and wider hotel teams to turn event plans into seamless experiences for our guests and clients.
• Leading a busy, events‑led operation, confidently managing multiple functions and priorities at the same time.
• Planning staffing levels and rotas around business demand while effectively managing labour costs and productivity.
• Ensuring our function and meeting spaces are consistently set, presented and maintained to the standards our guests and clients expect.
• Driving service excellence while maintaining strong standards across health & safety, food safety and hygiene compliance.
• Managing departmental stock, equipment and budgets, with a clear understanding of costs, efficiency and profitability.
• Building strong relationships with guests and clients, confidently handling feedback and taking ownership when something needs to be resolved.
• Being visible and hands‑on within the operation, particularly during our busiest and most important events.

You’ll ideally bring

• A minimum of two years’ management experience within Conference & Banqueting, Events Operations or a similarly fast‑paced hospitality environment.
• Experience managing a high‑volume, events‑led operation, ideally within a large hotel or hospitality venue.
• Confidence leading large teams and delivering events for significant guest numbers while maintaining attention to detail and consistently high service standards.
• Strong people leadership skills, with the ability to coach, develop, motivate and hold a team accountable.
• Excellent organisational and communication skills, with the ability to manage multiple events and changing priorities simultaneously.
• Good commercial awareness, including experience managing labour, departmental costs, productivity and performance.
• A genuine passion for hospitality and creating memorable experiences for guests.
• The flexibility to work 40 hours per week, five days out of seven, including evenings, weekends and bank holidays in line with the needs of our events operation.

Why join voco Grand Central Glasgow?

Located in the heart of Glasgow and directly connected to Glasgow Central Station, Grand Central is one of the city’s most recognisable and historic hotels. This is an opportunity to take ownership of an important part of our operation, lead and develop a talented team and deliver everything from intimate celebrations to large‑scale events and memorable occasions.

As part of IHG Hotels & Resorts, you’ll also have the opportunity to develop your career with one of the world’s leading hotel companies, with access to learning, development and career opportunities across the UK and internationally.

• Competitive salary, plus annual bonus and great IHG perks.
• 31 days’ holiday each year, including bank holidays, increasing to a maximum of 33 days (pro rata).
• Access to Wagestream, a financial wellbeing app giving you the opportunity to save, track and access your pay as you earn it.
• Company sick pay, life insurance, generous maternity and paternity pay, a 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme and access to trained Mental Health First Aiders.
• Professional career development through our IHG leadership programmes, extensive training and opportunities for career progression across the world.
• 2 paid volunteering days each year to support a cause of your choice.
• Fantastic worldwide discounted hotel rates across IHG, plus discounted food and beverage when travelling on an employee rate and generous Friends & Family rates.
• Access to our employee perks portal, with discounts across supermarkets, retailers, experiences and more.
• Hotel‑specific benefits including subsidised city‑centre NCP parking at £5 per day, 50% off food and beverage at Champagne Central at Grand Central Hotel and iasg Restaurant at Kimpton Blythswood Square, plus 30% off the Blythswood Spa.
• A variety of gifts and recognition to celebrate milestone occasions.
• Most importantly, we’ll invest in helping you grow and develop as an individual.

If you’re ready for your next challenge and want to lead a team creating memorable events in

one of Glasgow’s most iconic venues, we’ll love to hear from you.

You must meet the legal requirements to work in the UK.

IHG has been recognised as a ‘Best Employer 2025’ in the UK by Mercer.

As a Disability Confident Committed Employer, we are committed to providing an inclusive and accessible recruitment process. Please let us know if you require any adjustments or support at any stage, and your recruiter will assist you accordingly.

At IHG Hotels & Resorts, we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We firmly believe that all our colleagues deserve to be treated equally and have the same opportunities to develop and grow their skills within our business and provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants and colleagues without regard to an individual's, race, colour, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, marital or familial status, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.