Events and Hospitality Manager

Horizon Leisure Centres; Havant; On-site; GBP 35,000; Full time

Job summary

A community-focused leisure provider in the UK is seeking an Events and Hospitality Manager to lead the strategy and operations for events across venues. The role involves ensuring exceptional customer experiences while driving commercial performance. Ideal candidates will have proven experience in event management, strong leadership skills, and a customer-focused approach. This position offers significant benefits and supports innovation within the team, encouraging you to make a meaningful impact on the community.

Benefits

Free gym access

Employee discounts

Healthcare cash plan

Employee Assistance Programme

23 days annual leave

Company pension scheme

Generous sick pay scheme

Qualifications

• Proven experience in events and hospitality management or venue sales.
• Demonstrated success in developing and delivering a diverse range of events.
• Strong commercial awareness with a track record of driving new business.

Responsibilities

• Lead the strategic growth and operational delivery of events and hospitality.
• Develop and maintain relationships with clients for repeat business.
• Ensure high standards across event delivery and customer satisfaction.

Skills

Leadership

Networking

Event Management

Commercial Awareness

Relationship Building

Education

Ongoing professional development in events or hospitality

Job description

Overview

Job title: Events and Hospitality Manager

Hours: 37.5

Location: Havant

Salary: £35,000

Looking for a workplace that ignites your passion, values respect, encourages innovation, and embraces being dynamic? Look no further! This role offers you the opportunity to join a team that believes in empowering its colleagues to unlock their full potential with Horizon.

The Trust:

Horizon Leisure Centres is a leisure trust operating since 1997, with centres in Waterlooville, Havant and Guildford. We are passionate about health and wellbeing and are committed to making an outstanding positive impact on our customers and within our local community. Our mission is to support and inspire our local communities to live healthier and happier lives by providing affordable access to sport and leisure facilities to all.

The Role:

As Events & Hospitality Manager, you will lead the strategic growth, commercial performance, and operational delivery of Horizon’s events and hospitality offer across our venues. Based at Havant and reporting to the Head of Operations, you will take full ownership of event development, venue hire, and hospitality operations, ensuring all activities deliver exceptional customer experiences, strong commercial outcomes, and alignment with Horizon’s charitable purpose. This is a senior, commercially focused role combining business development with operational excellence. You will be responsible for identifying new opportunities, securing bookings, building long-term client relationships, and ensuring the seamless delivery of events from enquiry through to execution. Alongside this, you will lead café and hospitality teams to deliver consistently high standards of food quality, service, and value.

You will work in close partnership with:

• Head of Operations
• Senior Leadership Team
• Operations and Duty Management teams
• Marketing, Finance, and Catering teams

You will act as the central point of accountability for Events & Hospitality, providing clarity, leadership, and commercial focus across this key business area.

Interested? Want to know how you can join our team? Take a look at this great opportunity!

We are looking for an Events and Hospitality Manager to join us in transforming our business from 'good' to 'great'! This is a thrilling time for our company, and we need a key team member like you to help us achieve unprecedented success.

Our ideal candidate!

• Proven experience in events and hospitality management, venue sales, or a similar customer-focused, commercial environment.
• Demonstrated success in developing, selling, and delivering a diverse range of events.
• Experience managing food and beverage or café operations.
• Strong commercial awareness with a track record of driving new business and revenue growth.
• Experience leading and developing teams within a hospitality or events environment.
• Budget management and financial reporting experience (desirable).

The main focus of the role will be to:

Strategic Leadership & Commercial Accountability

• Lead Horizon’s Events & Hospitality strategy, translating commercial objectives into high-quality operational delivery.
• Drive sustainable revenue growth across events and venue hire, balancing commercial performance with community impact.
• Deliver event and hospitality performance against agreed KPIs, including revenue, profitability, customer satisfaction, and repeat bookings.
• Report regularly to the Senior Leadership Team on performance, opportunities, risks, and investment recommendations.

Events Development & Delivery

• Proactively generate new event business across all Horizon venues, identifying opportunities to diversify and grow the events portfolio.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with promoters, clients, corporate partners, and community groups to secure repeat business and referrals.
• Act as the main point of contact for clients from initial enquiry through to event delivery, ensuring a professional, seamless experience.
• Conduct engaging venue tours, showcasing the full potential of Horizon’s event spaces.
• Own and manage event budgets, ensuring robust cost control and profitability.
• Work closely with Operations, Catering, Marketing, and Finance teams to ensure smooth coordination, delivery, invoicing, and payment scheduling.
• Ensure all events comply with health & safety, licensing, and regulatory requirements, working in partnership with the Health & Safety Manager.
• Demonstrate flexibility to work evenings, weekends, and public holidays in line with event schedules.

Customer Experience & Community Impact

• Champion Horizon’s customer service standards across all events and hospitality touchpoints.
• Ensure every event and hospitality experience is inclusive, welcoming, and aligned with Horizon’s charitable mission.
• Support community-focused events and initiatives that encourage participation, connection, and wellbeing.

Continuous Improvement & Collaboration

• Proactively identify opportunities to enhance facilities, technology, or equipment to maximise event and hospitality revenue.
• Contribute to organisational projects, audits, and service development initiatives.
• Take a solutions-focused approach to improving systems, processes, and ways of working across Events & Hospitality.

Skills and competencies

• Strong leadership presence with the ability to influence, motivate, and hold teams accountable.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and relationship-building skills.
• Highly organised, able to manage multiple events and priorities simultaneously.
• Commercially astute, confident analysing data and driving performance improvements.
• Creative and innovative, able to develop new event concepts and partnerships.
• Confident presenter, able to bring venues and event ideas to life for clients.
• Proactive, resilient, and solutions-focused, thriving in a fast-paced environment.
• Customer-focused, values-led, and committed to Horizon’s charitable mission.

Qualifications

Essential

• Evidence of ongoing professional development within events, hospitality, or sales.

What you can expect from us

• A comprehensive induction and training programme; you don’t need to have worked in the leisure industry before. We will teach you all you need to know!
• Support from the wider team who have a great deal of combined knowledge and experience and who are eager to help you succeed!
• Variety; no two days is the same!
• An environment that encourages innovation and free thinking, surrounded by really dynamic, empowered individuals.

Benefits

• Free access to our award-winning gym’s and exercise classes for you and a +1
• Employee discounts and wellbeing platform
• Healthcare Cash plan
• Free 24/7 access to GPs using our SmartHealth plan
• Employee Assistance Programme - support for when you need it most
• 23 days annual leave + 8 days bank holiday
• Internal recognition schemes
• Opportunities for training, development and progression
• Free onsite parking - subject to availability
• Hybrid and family friendly policies
• Generous company sick pay scheme
• Employee referral scheme
• Company pension scheme
• Death in service benefit
• And much more....

This role will be based at Havant but will be expected to travel to other company site as the need requires.

Interview Process:

The recruiting manager will review your CV and if shortlisted, you will be invited to a formal interview/assessment process where we will evaluate your suitability for the role.

There may be times when due to the volume of applicants to need to close a vacancy early to avoid disappointment, be sure to get your application in as soon as possible!

If you are a recruitment agency, please note we operate a PSL and do not take cold calls.