Jobs

Hopetoun House – Sales & Events Executive (Weddings)
Hopetoun House is arguably Scotland’s finest stately home. Built in 1699 for the first Earl of Hopetoun this stunning example of 18th century architecture remains a family home and is still lived in by the current Earl & Countess of Hopetoun along with their four children.
From Good Friday through to the last weekend in September Hopetoun is open as a 5 star visitor attraction and from October to March the house and grounds are closed to the public. The house and grounds are available for private hire all year round and offer a flexible and incomparable setting for exclusive events such as weddings, conferences, gala dinners, media location shoots and many more exciting events.
For more general information see www.hopetoun.co.uk.

The Role
A broad and challenging position that offers the right candidate a wealth of experience and opportunity to contribute, learn and develop in an exciting sector, set within a premier historic 5 Star hospitality setting.

The primary role is to sell, design and oversee delivery of approximately 20 weddings per year. We work with an experienced operations team who will oversee some weddings during busy periods to ensure adequate weekends off. There will also be an Operations Manager from Heritage Portfolio working on every wedding days to manage and deliver the event from a food and beverage perspective.

Alongside this the role is responsible for administering and developing our renowned and key public event, the Hopetoun Christmas Shopping Fair, and other smaller in-house and third-party public events.

This role is responsible for providing the Director of Sales assistance in marketing these activities, and supporting the Visitor, Ranger and Education Teams in marketing theirs.

This role works alongside, supports and learns from the Senior Events Manager whose role focuses on corporate and incentive hospitality business as well as larger-scale third-party public events and filming.

Working as part of a small team the candidate must be sales focused, energetic, enthusiastic, highly professional and above all a strong ambassador for the Hopetoun brand.
This role has 4 core responsibilities as follows:
Sales
Ultimately the candidate will be the first point of contact for all wedding enquires and therefore must be able to sell Hopetoun as an exclusive use events venue. The candidate should be able to anticipate the clients’ needs, create personalised creative proposals and follow up on these sales leads in a timely manner following all office procedures. Site inspections are actively encouraged in order for the client to see the scale and grandeur of what Hopetoun can offer and the candidate must have previous experience of converting live enquires. In the short terms virtual tours will be offered. The candidate must be confident delivering online live tours.

Event Planning
The candidate must be able to plan events with confidence and provide accurate and detailed functions sheets so that lines of communication are kept strong between all departments. Above all the candidate must be confident in managing client expectations and working together to create high level events.

Event Delivery
As the onsite venue contact to represent Hopetoun on the day / evening of the event, the candidate must be completely confident in running small and large scale events bringing together many different suppliers. Working on such prestigious events the candidate must be able to work well under pressure and remain calm. Working in an historic building and most of all a family home, the candidate is responsible for protecting the house and the contents within it so communication with external suppliers is key. The candidate must also be capable of managing a small team of event stewards to ensure that the event runs to the high standards expected at Hopetoun so that our reputation for quality is upheld.
There is a separate catering team that manage food and drink service on the day, lead by our Hopetoun Operations Manager at Heritage Portfolio.

Marketing
Ideally the candidate will have some experience of managing company social media accounts on a day to day basis. The successful candidate will work alongside the Director of Sales & Marketing in order to manage social media channels and website content across all areas of Hopetoun.

We are looking for someone educated to degree level, with at least 1 years’ experience in both event sales and event delivery in the luxury venues market. Applicants must be able to:
– Work well within a small team and under pressure
– Take a sense of ownership
– Prioritise workloads in a fast paced environment
– Manage time and differing workloads effectively
– Multitask and manage a number of bookings at different stages along the sales journey
– Take accountability
– Show initiative
– Think logically
– Work with minimum supervision
– Maintain a positive attitude both internally with colleagues and externally with clients
– Deliver a high level of customer service and exceed client expectation every time
– Demonstrate excellent communication skills internally and externally
– Possess strong customer relationship skills
– Operate CRM systems (preferably KX)
– Show genuine desire to develop the business at Hopetoun and create seamless events
– Usual working hours are Monday – Friday 9-5, however when delivering events, you will be expected to work variable shifts. Time off in lieu is given for evening and weekend event delivery duties. During peak wedding season (May – October) the candidates work pattern will most likely be Tuesday – Saturday however you would not be expected to work more than 2 weddings in a row.
The Package
– Salary c. £24,00 – £28,000 (DOE)
– We offer 29 days paid holidays (including Bank Holidays), plus a discretionary 3 additional days at Christmas.
– Pension contributions
– Discount in the Stable Kitchen Restaurant during open season
– Discount at the Hopetoun Farm Shop
– Various other company benefits
The candidate must have their own car and hold a full clean driver licence as travel to and from Hopetoun is required.
Please note that we are unable to acknowledge all applications, only those selected for interview will be contacted. If you have not been contacted within four weeks, you have not been selected for interview. Only those with a right to work in the UK will be considered.

The Hopetoun House Preservation Trust (Scottish Charity Number SC009760), Hopetoun House, South Queensferry,

Application Deadline: Monday 25/07/2022