Director of Booking| Enmarket Arena - Oak View Group

Oak View Group:

Oak View Group is the global leader in venue development, management, and premium hospitality services for the live event industry. Offering an unmatched, 360-degree solution set for a collection of world-class owned venues and a client roster that includes the most influential, highest attended arenas, convention centers, music festivals, performing arts centers, and cultural institutions on the planet.

Position Summary:

The Director of Booking reports to the General Manager and oversees all aspects of booking and scheduling ticketed and non-ticketed events at the venues, as well as oversees the creation and implementation of our full-service private special events department.  Responsible for delivering a superior level of content procurement, private and special events, customer service and effective relationships with clients, promoters, tenants, staff and guests.

 

This role will pay a yearly salary of $70,000 to $100,000 and is bonus eligible.

 

For FT roles: Benefits: Health, Dental and Vision insurance, 401(k) savings plan, 401(k) matching, and paid time off (vacation days, sick days, and 11 holidays).

 

This position will remain open until March 13, 2025

About the Venue:

Located just under one mile from Historic Downtown Savannah, Enmarket Arena has brought a new level of entertainment to the region while breathing new life into the west side of Savannah.  The arena has created a vibrant center of activity in Savannah’s core, seats up to 9,500 people for live events such as concerts, family shows and Savannah Ghost Pirates ECHL hockey games.  Johnny Mercer Theatre is a 2,600 seat, historic theatre with one of the largest prosceniums in the Southeast.  The theatre is located in Historic Downtown Savannah as part of the Savannah Civic Center.

Responsibilities:

• Responsible for soliciting, contracting, and managing from start to finish, ticketed, non-ticketed and special events at Enmarket Arena and Johnny Mercer Theatre.
• Working in tandem with the General Manager and Assistant General Manager, establish all booking guidelines, policies and procedures for the arena and theatre.
• Responsible for all services and activities of the booking & special events department including sales tools and materials, proposals and estimates, sales calls and contracts.
• Oversee and manage the venues booking calendar.
• Establish arena and theatre rental rate card as well as catering minimums for all private event spaces at the venue.
• Participate in the development and administration of the annual budget and event forecasting.
• Prepare written proposals and estimates; reevaluate potential business value of various events and clients; initiate contractual arrangements, finalize all booking arrangements, prepare contracts, negotiate rental and other rates as required.
• Initiate, develop and maintain new relationships with promoters, agents and other event producers/organizers while exploring new and creative event opportunities for the venue.
• Establish and enhance an expansive network of event producers, promoters, artist agents / managers and other clients to bring more concerts, sports and other events (both public and private) to the venue.
• Initiate and develop vendor relationships such as staging, sound and lights, décor, etc. to support arena and theatre events.
• Conduct facility tours for potential clients; answer questions and provide information regarding venue capabilities.
• Develop and deliver presentations to clients, associations, corporations and others interested in renting the facilities.
• Develop bid proposals for potential clients and follow through on pending bookings.
• Negotiate various deal structures including straight rentals, co-promotions, and direct buying.
• Pursue new rental and co-promotional opportunities with potential corporate and community clients.
• Source and buy talent as needed.
• Identify low-usage periods and formulate strategies to increase facility usage and revenue production during these periods.
• Development of new in-house events at the venue focused on driving additional revenue, sponsorship opportunities and economic impact.
• Collaborate with General Manager, Assistant General Manager, Director of Marketing & PR to secure new events for the venues
• Develop and execute market segment sales strategies for Corporate, SMERF and Social markets.
• Coordinate event communication with a Client-First focus and be the primary point of contact for event inquiries and customer service issues from initial client contact, through contracting phase and settlement of the event.
• Assist the Director of Finance with settlements of events.
• Prepare statistics, reports, budgets as needed for senior management and client.
• Act as liaison between venues and all outside parties and provide high level of service to key stakeholders such as City of Savannah, Savannah Ghost Pirates, agents, tours and promoters.
• Remain current on national events and culinary trends in the industry and local market changes that affect the venue.
• Recruits, hires, trains and develops managers / coordinators as the department expands.
• Represent Enmarket Arena in meetings, trade shows, conference calls for events, community outreach and other industry events and associations.
• Meets with General Manager and Assistant General Manager on regular basis to discuss all matters pertaining to booking and special event goals and activities.
• Serve as Manager-on-Duty for events as assigned.
• Other duties as assigned, including but not limited to admin task and responding to inquiries, etc.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree or the equivalent training and experience
• 5-7 years’ experience booking arena and/or stadium or theaters with direct responsibility for supervising/directing staff across a wide-range of functions in a fast-paced environment in sports & entertainment industry.
• Experience in contract negotiation, development and execution
• Experience with settlements and reconciliation of settlements for artists/shows
• The ability to research, develop and maintain relationships with artist agents and artist management as well as local, regional and national promoters
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Highly detail oriented, able to multi-task, and work in a fast-paced environment
• Strong interpersonal skills with proven ability to build and cultivate relationships
• Computer savvy and skilled in MS Office and the Adobe Creative Cloud (Outlook, Word, Excel, Photoshop) and ability to learn required business systems
• Ability to work independently to perform job, as well as in a team environment
• Ability to think critically, analyze information, and find mistakes
• Ability to prioritize work load and meet strict deadlines
• Must be a self-starter and have ability to work under minimal supervision
• Ability to work a flexible schedule including nights, weekends, and holidays
• Has a strong track record of building relationships and generating new business

 

Intellectual/Social, Physical Demands and Work Environment:

• The intellectual/social, physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

 

Intellectual/Social demands:

• While performing the essential functions of this job, the employee is continuously asked to multi-task under time limits. Position requires constant attention to precise details and accuracy of specified standards including following simple to complex (more than 3 steps) instructions, and concentration which frequently extends beyond 30 minutes at a time. Employees in this role will constantly be in leadership role; this requires directing others either verbally or in writing to complete tasks in prescribed time frame. This position also requires constant use of interpersonal skills including but not limited to: ability to direct/motivate/inform staff and foster collaboration, being able to recognize and resolve conflicts, being able to openly communicate in writing and verbally with clients.

 

Physical demands:

• While performing the essential functions of the job, the employee constantly operates a computer and other office devices such telephones, copy machines, fax machines, etc; occasionally moves about inside the office to access storage areas, cabinets and office machinery; constantly moves about the facility/outside the facility to meet with clients/supervise staff; constantly communicates via telephone, email and in-person with others to exchange accurate information. The ability to lift 50 lbs. as needed.

 

 

Work environment:

• The essential functions of this position are performed indoors. The noise level in the work environment can range from minimal to loud during events depending on the employee’s location and is minimal during non-event times.

Strengthened by our Differences. United to Make a Difference:

At OVG, we understand that to continue positively disrupting the sports and live entertainment industry, we need a diverse team to help us do it. We also believe that inclusivity drives innovation, strengthens our people, improves our service, and raises our excellence. Our success is rooted in creating environments that reflect and celebrate the diverse communities in which we operate and serve, and this is the reason we are committed to amplifying voices from all different backgrounds.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

Oak View Group is committed to equal employment opportunity. We will not discriminate against employees or applicants for employment on any legally recognized basis (“protected class”) including, but not limited to veteran status, uniform service member status, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information or any other protected class under federal, state, or local law.