Director of Sales & Marketing – AO Arena

ASM Global are world leaders in the management, delivery and execution of live events and entertainment, boasting some of the highest profile and flagship venues, theatres, stadiums, and exhibition centres of their kind.

In the UK, we operate the following venues:

• AO Arena, Manchester
• P&J Live, Aberdeen
• The Playhouse, Whitley Bay
• Utilita Arena, Newcastle
• first direct arena, Leeds
• York Barbican
• Bonus Arena, Hull
• The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester
• OVO Arena Wembley
• Olympia London

POSITION PURPOSE

We are looking for a commercially astute ambitious individual, that can bring fresh and innovative thinking to the AO Arena and play a key part in driving the arena forward during the most exciting period in its history. The venue is currently going through a £50m+ redevelopment, whilst remaining fully operational. A larger capacity, new and improved facilities, brand new premium spaces and arena wide upgrades are all scheduled for completion within 2023.

Reporting into the venue’s General Manager, the successful candidate will oversee all sales and marketing functions, including Ticketing, Premium Sales, Hospitality, Partnerships and Merchandising. You should have an acute understanding on how to execute sales processes utilising the correct marketing tools, be comfortable working with autonomy, be used to a high-pressure environment, motivate colleagues and lead by example. You will work with your teams to build pipeline, develop strategy, create and execute on business success metrics, and consistently push them to beat team and individual targets.

By coaching on procedure, technique, and pipeline management, you will ensure career progression and job satisfaction for your team. Lastly, you will provide venue leadership driving the cultural values and engagement of ASM Global.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• The successful achievement of numerous AO Arena sales revenue targets.
• Working with the Head of Premium Seating and Hospitality to support the development of the full end-to-end sales process; including the prospecting strategy, client presentations and meetings, commercial negotiations and contractual finalisation across Ticketing, Premium, Hospitality, Merchandising and Partnerships.
• Full accountability for Sales and Marketing budget to assure success via appropriate spend.
• Researching and developing marketing opportunities and plans, understanding consumer requirements, identifying market trends, and suggesting system improvements to achieve marketing goals.
• Experience of working with CRM systems and digital/social platforms to maximise opportunities and produce returns.
• Oversee all AO Arena Marketing Campaign & Promotion Activities.
• Have a clear vision of growth and continuous improvement to ensure the AO Arena is maintained as a market leader.
• Have experience of prospecting new clients through lifecycle management utilising CRM tools.
• Ensure the venue is maximising its partnership opportunities alongside fulfilling existing partnerships. We currently work with AO, Three, Vuse, Heineken, Fountain Hard Selzer, Lifebuoy and Coca-cola to name a few.
• Ensure our naming rights partnership is successful; achieving both the venues and AO’s objectives.
• Work with the Head of Ticketing to ensure all opportunities are delivered between us and Ticketmaster maximising revenue for both the venue and promoters/clients across all ticketing functions.
• Monitor performance of commercial activities and produce reports for ASM Global’s senior management
• Recruiting, training, coaching, and managing teams to ensure sales and marketing human resource objectives.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

• An excellent understanding and working knowledge of the hospitality industry.
• Demonstrable experience in Sales and Marketing delivery.
• A proven track record of leading/managing teams to success.
• Experience with establishing partnerships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Experience within driving sales and acquisition of new business opportunities.
• Experience of using marketing to drive revenues.
• Commercial understanding and execution.
• Possess a creative and innovative outlook.
• Solid knowledge of performance reporting and financial/budgeting processes.
• Strong leadership skills: communication, influence and empathy.
• A proven track record of over-performance.
• Analytical ability to understand and report periodical team performance to company leadership.

 

GENERAL INFORMATION

The requirements of the business are such that it is necessary to have a flexible approach and therefore some business-related travel to be able to work at our venues and operational sites will be required.