Meetings & Events - Sourcing specialist

EY; Ernakulam, Bengaluru; Hybrid; INR 2,500,000 - 3,500,000; Full time

Job summary

EY in India seeks a Strategic Venue & Supplier Sourcing expert to lead venue sourcing for meetings, conferences, leadership events, training programmes, offsites and client-facing events. You will analyse requirements, benchmark rates and develop sourcing strategies aligned with business objectives and attendee experience.

The role covers RFP/RFQ processes, contract negotiations, supplier governance, and performance monitoring across hotel operations and hospitality contracting, with focus on

Qualifications

• Experience in hotel sales, venue sourcing, or hospitality procurement.
• Proven ability to manage large-scale venue sourcing projects.
• Experience with global hotel chains, event agencies and hospitality suppliers.
• Experience in multinational, matrixed environments is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Lead venue sourcing for meetings, conferences, and client events.
• Analyse event requirements and align sourcing with budget and attendee experience.
• Source and evaluate hotels, venues, DMCs, and other suppliers.
• Conduct market research and benchmark venue rates and capabilities.
• Manage RFP/RFQ processes and negotiate terms to maximize value.
• Ensure supplier agreements comply with EY policies and templates.
• Monitor supplier performance and drive process improvements.

Skills

Hotel sales

Venue sourcing

Hospitality procurement

Destination management

Corporate event management

Strategic sourcing

Tools

CVENT

ARIBA

Job description

Role & responsibilities

• Strategic Venue & Supplier Sourcing
  • Lead venue sourcing activities for meetings, conferences, leadership events, training programmes, offsites and client-facing events.
  • Analyse event requirements and develop sourcing strategies aligned with business objectives, budget and attendee experience expectations.
  • Source and evaluate hotels, convention centres, resorts, event venues, destination management companies (DMCs), event agencies and other event suppliers.
  • Conduct market research and benchmark venue rates, supplier capabilities and industry trends to support decision-making.
  • Provide venue recommendations based on location suitability, contractual terms, operational feasibility, attendee experience and commercial value.
• Contract Negotiation & Commercial Management
  • Lead RFP, RFQ and proposal evaluation processes for hotels, venues and event suppliers.
  • Negotiate commercial terms, pricing, concessions and contractual protections to maximise value and mitigate risk.
  • Ensure all supplier agreements comply with EY procurement policies, legal requirements and standard contract templates.
  • Drive savings initiatives through strategic sourcing, preferred supplier utilisation and volume-based negotiations.
  • Support supplier renewals and contract reviews while maintaining a strong supplier governance framework.
• Hospitality & Industry Expertise
  • Serve as the M&E team's subject matter expert on hotel operations, venue management and hospitality contracting.
  • Demonstrate strong knowledge of hotel industry terminology including:
  • Guest room blocks and pickup analysis
  • Attrition and cancellation clauses
  • Food & Beverage minimum commitments
  • Meeting room rental structures
  • Complimentary ratios and concession strategies
  • Revenue displacement and peak period pricing
  • Force majeure and risk mitigation clauses
  • Commission and non-commission models, and negotiated rate structures
  • Advise stakeholders on hotel operational considerations that impact cost, attendee experience and event success.
  • Maintain knowledge of regional and global hospitality market trends, supplier capabilities and emerging venue solutions.
• Supplier Performance & Governance
  • Monitor supplier performance against contractual service levels and programme expectations.
  • Support supplier onboarding, due diligence and ongoing relationship management activities.
  • Maintain sourcing databases, preferred supplier catalogues and venue intelligence resources.
  • Identify opportunities to enhance supplier performance, improve service delivery and strengthen strategic partnerships.
• Reporting & Process Improvement
  • Analyse sourcing activity, contract performance and savings opportunities through reporting and KPI management.
  • Support compliance monitoring and programme governance initiatives across the M&E function.
  • Drive continuous improvement initiatives to streamline sourcing processes, improve stakeholder experience and enhance programme efficiencies.
  • Own and drive data entry and accuracy on CVENT and contract uploads on ARIBA
  • Support sourcing-related technology platforms, databases and supplier management tools.

Preferred candidate profile

• Minimum 3 5 years of experience in hotel sales, venue sourcing, hospitality procurement, destination management, corporate event management or strategic sourcing.
• Strong experience negotiating hotel contracts and managing large-scale venue sourcing projects.
• Experience working with global hotel chains, event agencies and hospitality suppliers.
• Demonstrated knowledge of meetings and events operations and procurement practices.
• Experience working in multinational, matrixed and stakeholder-driven environments is highly desirable.