Sr Registration & Sourcing Manager

FREEMAN; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 95,000 - 115,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Insurance

Tuition Reimbursement

Paid Parental Leave

Retirement with Company Match

Paid Time Off

Annual bonus up to 7.5%

Job summary

The Freeman Company is seeking a Senior Housing & Sourcing Manager to source and contract hotel and venue programs for corporate and consumer events in the U.S. and internationally. The role leads client, hotel and vendor meetings, negotiates contracts, and collaborates with legal teams to mitigate risk.

The position supports the Registration team and offers a hybrid schedule, with in-office/show-site work 2–3 days per week. Base locations include Chicago, IL and other major cities.

Qualifications

• Typically 6–10 years of housing management and hotel contracting experience.
• Experience negotiating hotel contracts for events with multiple hotels and sub-blocks, including concessions and attrition management.
• Strong understanding of hotel contract clauses and working with legal teams to mitigate risk and gain approvals.
• Advanced Excel skills, including pivot tables, for tracking and accurate reporting.
• Ability to travel 25%–50% of the time.

Responsibilities

• Lead global hotel and venue sourcing from RFP through contract; negotiate room rates, rebates/commissions, concessions, attrition and other terms.
• Review hotel/venue contracts with client and legal teams to mitigate risk.
• Build and maintain hotel partner relationships for favorable terms and quick issue resolution.
• Participate in RFP processes for new and existing clients.

Skills

Contract negotiation

Vendor management

Leadership

Excel skills

Project coordination

Education

Bachelor's degree in related field

Tools

Passkey

Cvent

RainFocus

Swoogo

Job description

About Us

Sparks is a leading global brand experience agency, specializing in the design and execution of award-winning experiences that forge deep connections between brands and audiences. Recognized by Adweek as Experiential Agency of the Year, we bring a unique blend of strategic insight and execution excellence to every brand activation, corporate event, trade show exhibit, and immersive experience. Our commitment to creativity, innovation, and flawless execution drives us to craft impactful experiential marketing solutions that deepen relationships, inspire action, and build trust—all around the world.

Summary

The Senior Housing & Sourcing Manager is responsible for sourcing, contracting and managing hotel and venue programs for a wide range of corporate and consumer events of various scale, from a single property to many hotels and sub-blocks, in the U.S. and internationally. Serving as the main point of contact for housing, the Senior Manager leads client, hotel and vendor meetings, negotiates contracts and works with legal teams to mitigate risk, manages direct reports and contractors as assigned, and ensures programs are delivered on time and within budget.

This position will support our Registration team. It is eligible to work a hybrid schedule, generally requiring work in-office and/or show site 2-3 days per week. The ideal candidate will be based out of any of the following locations:

• Philadelphia, PA

• Los Angeles, CA

• San Francisco, CA

• Chicago, IL

• Royal Oak, MI

• St. Paul, MN

• Las Vegas, NV

• New York, NY

• Grand Prairie, TX

• Milwaukee, WI

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

Hotel & Venue Sourcing and Contracting

• Lead global hotel and venue sourcing from RFP through contract, utilizing departmental templates and proceduresNegotiate room rates, rebates/commissions, concessions, attrition, cancellation and other contract terms; route contracts to the client or Sparks VP+ for review and/or signature

• Review hotel/venue and client contract clauses and work with Sparks, client and hotel/venue legal teams to mitigate risk and gain approvals

• Build and maintain strong hotel partner relationships that support favorable terms and fast resolution when programs change

• Participate in RFP process for new business and existing clients

Housing Management & Event Leadership

• Lead execution of housing for various scale events, from one hotel to many hotels and sub-blocks, from kick-off through final reconciliation, with a focus on sub-block, concession, attrition and reporting management

• Develop and track project schedules, agendas and workbooks; drive timeline with team and clients

• Manage change throughout the program, including hotel substitutions, date changes, headcount shifts and room type changes; communicate the impact and updated plan to clients, internal teams and hotels

• Communicate with clients, internal teams, hotel partners and third-party vendors with a clear understanding of client goals and objectives

• Provide responsive client and attendee support and own escalations through resolution

• Collaborate with Registration Lead and contact center team; ensure quality of service and timely delivery of all necessary components for each event

• Lead, mentor and develop direct reports and contractors assigned to programs

• Additional responsibilities may include: BA training docs and execution, vendor staff housing and travel management, and VIP/Special Guest registration, housing and travel management

Budget, Accounting & Vendor Management

• Create and manage budgets (Procim/GS), hotel and vendor invoice/expense tracking and final reconciliation, ensuring programs are within budget, reconciled in a timely manner and meeting profit margin goals

• Reconcile hotel billing against contract terms, including concessions earned and attrition charges

• Negotiate contracts/agreements with third-party vendors and team contractors

• Commission tracking and collection as required

Technology & Reporting

• Strong working knowledge of Passkey; working knowledge of Cvent Supplier Network or an equivalent housing platform

• Build housing requirements within the registration technology workflow (Cvent, Swoogo), collaborating with the Registration Lead on workflow build and testing

• Provide detailed housing reports, analytics and audits; use Excel and pivot tables to track pickup, attrition, concessions and budget and ensure accurate reporting

• Ensure housing and attendee registration processes comply with GDPR and other privacy regulations, including consent management and data handling for rooming lists and attendee data

• Train managers, specialists and coordinators

Education & Experience

Required

• Typically 6–10 years of housing management and hotel and venue sourcing and contracting experience, including international sourcingExperience negotiating and managing hotel contracts for events with one-to-many hotels and sub-blocks, including concession and attrition management

• Strong understanding of hotel contract clauses and experience working with legal teams to mitigate risk and gain approvals

• Strong hotel partner relationships

• Working knowledge of Passkey

• Experience building housing requirements within a registration technology workflow (Cvent, RainFocus, Swoogo) and collaborating with registration teams on build and testing

• Advanced Excel skills, including pivot tables, for tracking and accurate reporting

• Strong client service and change management skills, including experience managing mid-program changes such as hotel substitutions and date changes

• Continuous follow-up and follow-through on project deliverables

• Strong written and verbal communication skills

• Leadership skills to manage a team, contractors and client

• Ability to execute with minimal supervision; mentor junior team members

• Ability to manage and reconcile hotel and event budgets, driving profit margin goals

• Mastery of G Suite (Slides, Sheets, Docs), Microsoft Office, Airtable, and all relevant internal and client tools

• Advanced proficiency in PowerPoint to build, format, and maintain polished client-facing presentations for project updates, event recaps, and strategic recommendations

• Ability to travel approximately 25% of the time

Preferred

• Certification in Cvent Supplier Network, or equivalent housing platform experience

Travel Requirements

Travel 25% to 50%

What We Offer

The Freeman Company provides benefits that aim to empower our people and their families to thrive mentally, physically, and financially. These are a handful of the types of programs and benefits our full-time people may be eligible for. There may be some variances in specific benefits across regions.

• Medical, Dental, Vision Insurance

• Tuition Reimbursement

• Paid Parental Leave

• Life, Accident and Disability

• Retirement with Company Match

• Paid Time Off

• Salary range of $95,000-$115,000 based upon experience

• Eligible for an annual bonus of up to 7.5% of the base salary

Diversity Commitment

At The Freeman Company, our commitment to diversity and inclusion is helping us to create not only a great place to work, but also an environment where our employees, our customers and our communities around the world can reach their goals and connect with each other. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status and other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

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