Employee Specification

Responsible to: Managing Director

Salary: negotiable

Hours: 35 hours per week. Core office hours are 0930 – 1730 with one hour for lunch

The Caribbean Council
The Caribbean Council is a well-established, small, not for profit consultancy and membership organisation which provides a range of research, advocacy and events services to corporate and public sector clients based in the UK, the Caribbean and Central America. The Council’s work covers a broad range of sectors including tourism, rum and financial services. It provides advice on political and economic developments, trade policy issues and other factors shaping the environment for those that it works with. The organisation only takes on assignments which are supportive of the development of the Caribbean and Central America. For more information about the company and its activities, please visit the web site at www.stagingcaribbean.wpengage.uk.

The role
The Caribbean Council is seeking to recruit an outgoing, hands-on and energetic Business Development Manager – Events, Publications and Membership. The Manager will be responsible for delivering on a commercial basis a changing annual programme of large and small events in the UK and overseas, driving new business development through marketing the Caribbean Council’s membership and publications services, building up the number of members/subscribers, and exploring new commercial opportunities

She/he will be expected to enhance the organisation’s earnings capacity from events, publications and membership. The successful candidate will have a proven track record in business development, events management, seeking sponsorship and funding, and ideally have experience of working in a membership organisation.

Essential Skills and Requirements
• 3-4 years’ experience in events organisation in the UK market
• Business development, sales and B2B marketing experience, particularly in a service or membership type context
• Solid understanding of marketing principles
• Organised with good time-management skills and the ability to work to tight deadlines, with the proven ability to organise on a commercial basis a range of events on time and to budget
• The capacity to develop a positive working relationship with existing and new clients, members and suppliers
• Proven experience of generating creative ideas
• Excellent negotiation skills
• Excellent standard of written and verbal communication and presentation skills in English
• Proficient in the use of MS-Office, including Excel, Word, and PowerPoint
• Proactive and with a positive ‘can do’ attitude and professional demeanour
• Maintain the ability to work under pressure and be flexible
• Self-motivated and able to work independently and as part of a team
• Spanish as a second language advantageous
• Experience of, or knowledge of the Caribbean, would be advantageous

Responsibilities
The post will variously entail:

Events:
• The management, development and commercialisation of a programme of conferences, seminars and missions, lunches, dinners, breakfasts and workshops to take place in the UK, the Caribbean Basin or elsewhere on an assigned basis
• The creative development of relationships with third parties, partner organisations and others in order to significantly enhance the scope of such events, their substantive content and financial return to the organisation
• The management, commercialisation and successful delivery of the annual reception at the House of Lords
• The development and delivery of relevant programmes with identified groups in the Caribbean community in the UK with existing or new partners
• Searching and seeking quotes for venues, handling venue bookings, ensuring the smooth running of all events within budget and developing relationships with venues to gain maximum value from partnerships
• Manage events including generating attendees, logistics, on-site support, admin and first point of contact
• Delivering an effective marketing strategy for all events
• Maintain good levels of customer satisfaction and gathering of feedback from clients/attendees
The post-holder will be provided with administrative support for events and membership.

Membership:
• The identification and prospecting of new membership and other business leads for the organisation
• The development of collateral marketing material for membership

Publications:
• The marketing and sales of our publications to a wider audience with growth in subscriber base
• The development of collateral marketing material for publications

Business development:
• Obtaining sponsorship and support for events from existing and new sources
• The identification and prospecting of new membership and other business leads for the organisation
• The commercialisation of business opportunities and events with partner organisations and relevant third parties in the Caribbean, Europe and North America;
• The commercialisation of activities relating to export and investment promotion;
• The identification of new opportunities and their commercial development for the Caribbean Council;
• Attending networking events and other such opportunities to promote the Council’s membership services and other services
Marketing:
• Responsibility for writing effective copy such as marketing brochures and promotional materials, as well as effective copy for digital use through web, social media and SEO etc
• Utilising email systems, web-based software, back-end website CMS and CRM to reach existing and new contacts; ensuring membership database is kept accurate
• Ensuring that the organisation’s website is up to date with interesting content
• Other comparable projects and activities as may from time to time arise

Such activities are to be delivered in conjunction with other members of staff and other organisations in a manner that provides a good financial return to the company while meeting the overall objectives of the organisation.

Remuneration
Salary: £25,000 p.a. plus performance related bonus

At the end of a probationary period, employees are eligible to apply to join the company’s personal pension scheme, non-contributory private health care scheme, free travel insurance scheme, and season ticket loan scheme.

Recruitment process
Applications will only be considered from those who already have the right to live and work in the United Kingdom. Candidates called for interview will be expected to provide evidence of this in accordance with UK Government guidelines.

Candidates wishing to apply for this post must send a CV with the names of two referees plus a covering letter to:

Chris Bennett
Managing Director
The Caribbean Council
Temple Chambers
3-7 Temple Avenue
London
EC4Y 0HP
Email: recruitment@stagingcaribbean.wpengage.uk