SENIOR DIRECTOR HOSPITALITY

ArtsQuest; Bethlehem (Northampton County); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

ArtsQuest seeks a Senior Director of Hospitality in Bethlehem, PA to lead private and corporate events across venues, designing hospitality programs and driving revenue through premium experiences.

You will oversee budgets, coordinate with F&B partners, and collaborate with Marketing, Operations, and Finance to ensure flawless guest experiences while mentoring the hospitality team.

Qualifications

• Ten years of hospitality, venue management, or related experience with at least five years in a senior leadership role.
• Proven ability to meet revenue and profitability targets aligned with budgets.
• Strong contract negotiation and relationship management skills.
• Knowledge of the Lehigh Valley business community.
• Ability to design and direct multiple projects with deadlines and accountability.
• Professional communication, both written and verbal.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a multi-year hospitality and venue rental strategy.
• Identify new revenue opportunities and partnerships to drive growth.
• Monitor market trends to enhance ArtsQuest’s competitive position.
• Establish annual sales goals and KPIs for hospitality operations.
• Manage annual operating budget for Hospitality department operations, ensuring revenue and profitability goals.
• Coordinate with Levy Restaurants (or current F&B Concessionaire) to develop and sell food and beverage packages.
• Consult with corporations, individuals, and groups to create and sell the experience they envision.
• Cultivate strategic relationships with regional business organizations and partners.
• Collaborate with departments to create packages for corporate events and groups.
• Establish sales processes and performance metrics to drive efficiency and satisfaction.
• Oversee contract fulfillment for all private/hospitality events.
• Direct the Hospitality department for event coordination, invoicing, and payments.
• Foster growth and professional development for Hospitality team members.
• Create a positive work environment with team engagement.
• Guide the team through organizational changes and process updates.
• Collaborate on fundraising and cultivation events with ArtsQuest team.

Skills

Hospitality management

Budgeting

Contract negotiation

Relationship management

Leadership

Time management

CRM platforms

Microsoft Office

Raiser's Edge

Event operations

Tools

Raiser's Edge

CRM platforms

Event management software

Data reporting tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Senior Director of Hospitality

Brief Description

Senior Director of Hospitality. Reports to Chief Programming Officer & Manager of the ArtsQuest Center. Direct Reports: Hospitality Sales Manager(s), Hospitality Assistant.

Position Overview

The Senior Director of Hospitality is accountable for the design, planning, implementation and fulfillment of all private, corporate, and group rental events for all ArtsQuest venues and programs. Responsible for developing and maintaining relationships with Members, Sponsors, Donors, and corporate and social clients/guests. Responsible for lead revenue generation, business development, and hospitality operations across all ArtsQuest venues through strategic sales initiatives, exceptional client service and executional excellence. Collaborate with internal departments, food and beverage partners, vendors and external stakeholders to deliver unique guest experiences and exceed client expectations.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a multi-year hospitality and venue rental strategy aligned with ArtsQuest’s organizational goals.
• Identify and evaluate new revenue opportunities, partnerships and hospitality offerings to drive growth.
• Monitor market trends, competitor offerings and customer insights to enhance ArtsQuest’s competitive position.
• Establish annual sales goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) for hospitality operations and venue rentals.
• Develop, manage and monitor annual operating budget for Hospitality department operations, ensuring achievement of revenue and profitability goals.
• Coordinate with Levy Restaurants (or current F&B Concessionaire) to develop and sell food and beverage packages for all rental events at ArtsQuest venues.
• Consult with corporations, individuals, and groups to create and sell the experience they envision for their event at one of ArtsQuest’s venues or events.
• Cultivate strategic relationships with regional business organizations, tourism agencies, community partners and economic development groups to increase awareness of ArtsQuest hospitality and rental opportunities.
• Collaborate with multiple departments including Visual Arts, Programming, Production and Retail to create packages for corporate events, teambuilding activities, tour companies, and other groups to utilize ArtsQuest venues and events for their activities.
• Establish, optimize and monitor sales processes, systems and performance metrics that drive efficiency, accountability and customer satisfaction.
• Oversee the operation and fulfillment of contract agreements for all private and hospitality events to ensure compliance with organization policies, insurance requirements and risk management standards.
• Direct the Hospitality department for coordination and execution of all events, including BEO creation and communications, contracting and invoicing, event planning and execution, and final payment.
• Establish performance expectations, conduct coaching and performance evaluations, and support professional growth and success planning for Hospitality team members.
• Create and maintain a positive work environment by fostering team spirit, recognition, and engagement.
• Address employee concerns and conflicts professionally and promptly while fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability and mutual respect.
• Guide the team through any organizational changes and process updates, ensuring smooth transitions.
• Collaborate with the ArtsQuest team to create fundraising and cultivation events for the development of new members and partners.
• Work with the Operations department to oversee the operation of all Hospitality/rental events.
• Work with the Finance department to ensure proper accounting of all revenues and expenses for related events and private functions.
• Work with the Marketing department to ensure complete and accurate information on websites and promotions as well as strategy to promote rental business and all hospitality offerings throughout the year.

Knowledge, Skills And Abilities

• Ten (10) years of progressively responsible hospitality, venue management, event operations, hotel, catering or related experience, including at least five (5) years in a senior leadership role overseeing teams, budgets and revenue generation.
• Proven ability to achieve revenue and profitability targets aligned with annual budget.
• Strong contract negotiation and relationship management skills.
• Knowledge of the Lehigh Valley business community.
• Ability to design, implement, and direct multiple projects, set deadlines and ensure program accountability.
• Professional communication, verbal, written, and interpersonal skills.
• Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, CRM platforms, event management software, and data reporting tools; experience with Raiser’s Edge or similar CRM systems preferred.
• Ability to work collaboratively in a team environment.
• Extremely organized, initiative-taking, and energetic work ethic with strong time-management skills.

Other Duties

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive list of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Regularly required to communicate, either verbally and/or in writing. Frequently required to stand; walk, stoop, bend, crawl, kneel; use hands to finger, handle or feel; and reach with hands and arms. Frequently required to lift up to 10 pounds, and up to 25 pounds occasionally, with or without reasonable assistance. Frequently required to travel between our facilities, using reliable transportation. Employee may occasionally be required to travel offsite for business meetings. Employee should have the ability to read, write and communicate in English; bi-lingual ability in Spanish or other language is a plus.

Position Type/Expected Hours of Work

This is a full-time management level position. Normal business hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., however the employee must be willing and able to work outside normal business hours to support our events and activities throughout the year as needed, including evenings, weekend and holidays when necessary and during events and festivals.

Travel

Travel is required between buildings, for off-site meetings and events and is expected for this position. Employee to have a valid driver’s license and reliable means of transportation to enable them to travel between our buildings, facilities and festivals.

Working Conditions

• ArtsQuest offices are smoke-free.
• Ability to work harmoniously in a diverse office environment
• Normal working environment is mostly indoors, however, the ability to work indoors and outdoors in all types of weather conditions during festivals and events is required.

Core Values

ArtsQuest demonstrates its Core Values of: Serve our Communities, Be Curious, Act Generously, Be Transparent and Find Joy in all aspects of our culture. It is our goal to maintain these values to consistently deliver exceptional experiences to our employees and our community. Our employees are the most valuable assets we have. The collective sum of the individual differences, life experiences, knowledge, inventiveness, innovation, self-expression, unique capabilities, and talent that our employees invest in their work represents a significant part of not only our culture, but our reputation and the organization’s achievement as well. ArtsQuest is a workplace where all employees feel valued and respected whatever their age, color, disability, ethnicity, family or marital status, gender identity or expression, language, national origin, physical and mental ability, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, and/or veteran status. We embrace and encourage our employees’ characteristics that make them unique, because we value and appreciate life experiences.

FLSA Status: Exempt/in-person

ArtsQuest is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer.