BMO Director of Business Development

About the Calgary Stampede

The Calgary Stampede is a not-for-profit community organization that preserves and promotes our western heritage, cultures and community spirit with a vision to create a world-class, year-round gathering place for the community.

Exemplifying the theme We’re Greatest Together, the Stampede is one of the most respected volunteer-based organizations in the world governed by a Board of Directors with over 2,500 passionate volunteers and 1,200 year-round employees.

As an organization that exists for the benefit of the community, inclusion and equity are woven into our core values of western hospitality, pride of place, integrity and commitment to the community.

The world-class, year-round gathering place we have built for the community also welcomes visitors from around the world and those who are new to the local community.

We know that blending diverse cultures with our long-standing traditions makes community spirit thrive.

Position Summary

The Director - Business Development, Conventions and Events is a critical senior leadership role that leads the business development for the BMO Centre.

This role also builds upon and is accountable for all phases sales of the business development lifecycle, including ideation on growth opportunities, lead generation, event funnel management, contract negotiations, relationship management and tracking to targets.

This position is responsible for leading a team in sustaining and developing relationships with current and future clients as well as industry leaders to promote the Calgary Stampede and Calgary Stampede’s BMO Centre as a premier meeting and convention destination in the domestic and international marketplace driving our city to become a tier-one convention destination.

Responsibilities

• Manage a team of sales managers and provide leadership so that individual sales managers can achieve periodic production targets.
• Develop sales strategies for all phases of the sales lifecycle (listed above)
• Collaborating with the team to set and achieve financial goals, monitor key performance indicators, and drive revenue generation to achieve financial targets.
• Long term strategy development and business planning to grow Calgary as a meeting & convention destination, supporting the organization with sustainable financials and future growth
• Execution and tactics development to support achievement of annual and long-term financial targets (including revenue, expenses and yield on event space)
• Ongoing reporting on achievement of revenues in comparison to prior year pace and current year targets
• Develops and builds a sales culture focused on strategically achieving growth objectives.
• Shared accountability with other Directors as it relates to the daily oversight of the Calgary Stampede sales, marketing / branding, sponsorship and financial goals, ;

policy review and recommendations / approvals, strategic plan execution, people leadership, change management and cascading information, performance management, product development, people development (divisional staff) and financial responsibility.

Functions as a senior management team member, operating at both a strategic and operational level, responding to departmental challenges and opportunities for growth and development.

Strategic Focus :

• Know and comply with all Calgary Stampede safety standards, competencies, policies, and procedures.
• Develops, contributes to and supports the organizations strategic direction through the cascading of goals from the division to the department, to individual employees.
• Communicates (directly and through managers) organizational messages ensuring that employees are engaged and knowledgeable about organizational matters.
• Development of Sales & Marketing plan to achieve longer term strategy and annual goals. In addition, contributes to Division’s long term and annual business plans.
• Proactive management of monthly, quarterly, annual revenue targets (with consideration for related expenses, yield on space and guest experience scores).
• Financial and strategic approach to evaluating growth opportunities
• Functions as a partner to cross functional departments and looked to for the creation of efficiencies
• Strategically prospect and relationship development to grow events at BMO Centre (this includes industry peers, associations, meeting planners, local champions, corporate, etc..)

Operational Focus

• Create innovative and effective means of achieving Conventions & Events business and reputational objectives including pricing, product development, sales strategies, marketing and advertising activities.
• Business development work includes but is not limited to; Identifying and developing optimal revenue models for each event class;
• this includes product, pricing and sales lifecycle processIdentifying and negotiating strategic partnerships including financial arrangements, customer sharing, and intellectual property rightsPrioritizing and tracking investments across new product development initiatives;

be responsible for project managing / integrating new business ideas and / or acquisitions

Financial Management : Managing the Business Development investments to maximize return on this investmentAnalyzing potential markets, competitor positioning, and customer buying patterns to project demand / profitability for potential products, key product features / requirements, favorable timing for product launch, etc.

Partnering with industry stakeholders to ensure that client needs for each targeted segment are incorporated into product design, communication, pricing, and experienceAnalyzing financial performance at various levels (ie event class, event) and provide recommendations of areas of risk and opportunities

People Management

• Mentor, coach, develop, and lead people that are trusted business partners who are collaborative, knowledge, and results-orientated.
• Leads, motivates and mentors Sales Managers to ensure alignment with divisional strategic plan and achievement of individual production targets.

Directly accountable for personal and team’s development opportunities and succession planning.

Provide strong leadership, fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement. Develop team initiatives and processes including recruitment and selection, succession planning, engagement, professional and leadership development.

Skills & Competencies

Core Competencies

Greatest Together - Ability to work co-operatively within diverse teams, work groups and across the organization to achieve goals.

The desire and ability to understand and respond effectively to other people from diverse backgrounds with diverse views.

• Supporting Organization Success - Commitment to ensuring the longevity of the Calgary Stampede by balancing brand and culture with a commitment to safety, service and operational excellence.
• Being Future Ready - Adapting to new contexts through being open-minded and seeing the big picture. Ability to balance tradition with innovation.

Leadership Competencies

• Helping Others Realize Their Potential - Showing care about the development of others supporting the effort and empowering talent to grow their own skills.
• Inspire Others - Leaders inspire others by demonstrating personal inspiration, excitement for the organization’s vision and direction, and sharing that passion across teams.

Health, Safety & Environment (HSE) Competencies

• Ensure all Calgary Stampede Health and Safety & Environment standards are understood, followed and complied with by all employees.
• Ensure employees and contractors are orientated and trained and given appropriate supervision
• Ensure employees are competent to perform their assigned tasks and fit for duty.
• Participate in HSE audits, hazard analysis, safety meetings, HSE committee meetings (as requested) and program reviews.
• Ensure the incident reporting and investigation standard is implemented and timelines achieved for reporting, notification, investigation, etc.

Financial Competencies

• Strong business acumen skills to make competent financial decisions that supports organizations’ overall business strategies and objectives.
• Strong financial literacy skills and ability to establish, monitor and optimize departmental budgets, workforce productivity and discretionary spending.

Qualifications

University degree in Finance, Business or Hospitality Management, or a related discipline

• Minimum 10 years of related experience, with at least 5 years of senior leadership experience working in the meetings, convention and trade show industry
• Minimum 5 years experience leading a team
• Advanced skills in MS Office Suite, Enterprise (previous Ungerboeck)
• Knowledgeable in marketing technology software or tools (Customer Relationship Management (CRM), SEO / SEM, Slack, Google Analytics, etc.)
• Effective leadership skills including strong strategic thinking, business acumen, relationship building, and successful sales and marketing execution.
• Strategic business development and client relations.
• Hands-on experience strategizing and negotiating complex agreements to arrive at mutually advantageous relationships with corporations, partners, advertisers and other stakeholders.
• Able to develop and lead a high-performing team and fosters a collaborative working environment ensuring team achieves both long-term strategic, short-term operational, and career development goals.
• Strong public speaking and verbal communication skills, including high comfort level in delivering presentations to senior audiences and serving as institutional representative when appropriate.

In addition, outstanding verbal and written communication skills.

• Capacity to engage and communicate highly complex issues with an ability to operate at both a strategic / conceptual level and at a detailed, operational level
• Able to work in environment with diverse systems, multiple stakeholders, and competing priorities.
• Exceptional planning and organizational skills with ability to handle multiple assignments and meet tight deadlines.
• Knowledge of trending and emerging marketing and branding ideas and solutions.

Physical Demands

Willingness to work a flexible schedule during peak periods.

• Involves repetitive arm, hand and finger movements
• Occasional lifting up to 20 lbs
• Pushing, crouching, bending, kneeling and reaching, daily stair climbing.
• Fast-paced environment, work under pressure, attention to detail.
• Accurate visual acuity and colour vision are required

Working Conditions

Office environment with occasional exposure to animals in action, noise, dust, fumes, gases, odours, animal dander, and changes in temperature.

To Apply

Please submit your resume and a brief cover letter.

All applicants are thanked in advance and only those selected for interviews will be contacted.