Commercial Events Coordinator

Package Description

Required for: as soon as possible

Location: Deans Yard - Westminster School

Contract: full-time, permanent

Salary: £37,000 per annum

The School also offers a range of benefits, including:

 - free school lunches

 - private medical insurance (opt-in)

 - discretionary Christmas shut down period 

 - free access to the School’s leisure facilities, including a fitness gym (restricted hours)

 - access the School’s Cycle to Work Scheme and season ticket loans following completion of our standard probation period.

The closing date for this role is midday on Monday 24th February 2025.

Longlist interviews will take place in-person w/c 3rd March 2025. Shortlist interviews will take place in-person w/c 10th March 2025.

Job Introduction

Westminster School Enterprise Ltd [WSEL] is a newly formed department of Westminster School that is responsible for raising additional revenue to support bursaries and other areas of the School. The Commercial Events Coordinator will join at an exciting time as we grow the business.

There are seven main revenue streams. The postholder does not need to be an expert in all areas, though knowledge/experience would be of benefit:

• Residential and Day Education Camps
• Venue Hire
• Film, TV and Photoshoots
• Sports Hall and Pitches Hire
• Digital IP
• Nenthead House holiday home in Cumbria
• Commercial Lettings

In essence, the department is responsible for hiring out commercial space, classrooms, venues and sports facilities to a diverse variety of residential and non-residential clients throughout the year.

The department’s mission is to deliver an excellent service to all clients, in beautiful and prestigious surroundings, to help them achieve successful and memorable events.

Due to the nature of the role, some out of hours work may be required including evenings and weekends, potentially within the discretionary school close down period.

As we work in a School environment, the safety and security of the Westminster School pupils and the wider School community is of paramount importance. To that end, the postholder will need to understand the sensitive nature in which the department is raising revenue for the School.

Main Responsibilities

Primary Role 

• Line managed by the Commercial Director, they will be responsible for the overall management of Commercial events sales: fielding initial enquiries from clients, negotiation of prices and fees, issue contracts and event protocols, event delivery and on-site management, invoice and credit control.
• Responsible for maximising revenue and profits from the sales and marketing of academic venues and assets to residential and non-residential clients.
• Responsible for raising additional funds for Westminster School Enterprise Ltd [WSEL].

Principal Duties 

• Assist the Commercial Director to maximise client relationship development, revenue growth and profits for the commercial business.
• Responsible for meeting and/or exceeding the pre-agreed annual Budget figure.
• Responsibility for WSEL Events.
• Provide high level events experience, logistical advice and support to customers.
• Coordination and relationship management of WSEL’s approved suppliers.
• Liaise with stakeholders’ and departments, particularly Estates, Site Services, Almanack and Co-Ed and the on-site catering team, to establish planned forecasts and plans for forthcoming year, to establish timeframes of which College assets are available to Let.
• Record and manage all commercial events requirements via a single central database.
• Communicate with clients to agree provisional numbers and minimum numbers guaranteed for contracts.
• Liaise with on-site residential client managers, the on-site teaching and pastoral staff, to monitor adherence to contractual obligations, in respect of regulations and safeguarding issues.
• Liaise with Human Resources to ensure any contractors/guests accessing the site comply with safeguarding legislation and checks.
• Set the standards expected for delivery of a highly professional service to clients, to ensure their event brief expectations are accurately met and exceeded throughout the event process.
• Communicate effectively and publish final commercial lets plans to School departments, to ensure all staff are fully aware of activities taking place beyond the normal academic year.
• Assist with School events when required.

Hours of work

This is a full time, permanent position. Core hours are 09:00 – 17:00, Monday to Friday, with one hour unpaid lunchbreak. The role will include working some evenings and weekends for which TOIL will be given. This role is required all year round.

Salary

The salary for this role is £37,000 per annum.

The Ideal Candidate

Please refer to the below (attached) person specification.

Equal Opportunities

We are an equal opportunities employer. We therefore encourage candidates to apply irrespective of age, disability, marriage or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion and belief, gender identity, sex or sexual orientation.

Safeguarding and Child Protection

Westminster School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. Applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service.

About The School

Working at Westminster

Westminster School is a busy, purposeful and vibrant place to be and an excellent workplace. The community is made up of 750 pupils, 120 teaching staff and 108 support staff.

Westminster School is friendly and welcoming, and all newcomers quickly become part of the rhythm of life here.

There is a real sense of community here as, being a boarding school many members of staff and pupils live on site and the School’s premises are very much treated as a home away from home. School life starts before breakfast and continues way beyond the working day; as a result, there is always a lively atmosphere in and around School and always someone to share a tea and biscuit with in the Common Room. Support staff as much as teaching staff are encouraged to embrace the School’s day-to-day activities, whether that be attending an evening concert or a morning service in the Abbey.

At Westminster we will always select the best candidate for every position. We do know, however, that we can only truly choose the best person on every occasion if a broad and diverse pool of candidates see the job advertised and are encouraged to apply.

As such, we continue to work on how our job roles are encountered, and particularly welcome applications from groups who have traditionally been underrepresented here.

Westminster School is for everyone, regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation or any other protected characteristic. We hope you are encouraged to apply.

The School

Westminster School is an independent day and boarding school for boys aged 13-18 and girls aged 16-18, with a long history, a distinctive ethos, and a unique sense of place in the very heart of London. Pupils achieve exceptional examination results and entrance to some of the top universities in the world. It is a busy, passionate and purposeful place where independent and deep thinking is enjoyed, encouraged and respected by all, and where holistic excellence is nurtured and valued.

While the School is one of the foremost centres of academic excellence in the country, its commitment to academic life does not make it a hothouse for passing examinations. Pupils’ success at examinations and entry to leading universities is instead a result of their enjoyment of academic enquiry, debate and search for explanation, well beyond published syllabuses. Pupils are intellectually, socially, ethically and politically engaged and our aim is to ensure that their enthusiasm for learning is developed further, allowing them to take full advantage of the opportunities presented to them in the future. At Westminster, pupils have the freedom to lead on projects outside of the classroom and embrace a whole range of extra-curricular activities and interests. A host of pupil-led societies take place every week at the School, often with expert guest speakers, and pupils can choose to study an additional language, play an instrument or two, volunteer in local primary schools, row along the Thames, take part in plays and musicals, and much more. 

The School’s ethos resides in the enduring values of the liberal tradition reflected in the 1560 Charter of Westminster’s Elizabethan foundation, where it is stated that: ‘the youth which is growing to manhood, as tender shoots in the wood of our state, shall be liberally instructed in good books to the greater honour of the state’. Whilst academic and cultural attainments are highly prized at Westminster, the School is fully committed also to each pupil’s spiritual, moral, emotional and physical development and wellbeing – with a particular emphasis on drawing out individual talent wherever it lies – and to prepare young people for fulfilled private and public lives.

From September 2028, the School will welcome both girls and boys at 13+ entry, offering a Westminster education to all. By 2026, Westminster Under School will have opened its brand new pre-prep for girls and boys at 4+ and girls will have joined boys in Years 3 and 7, at the 7+ and 11+ entry points. By 2030, all year groups at Westminster School and Westminster Under School, from ages four to 18, will be fully co-educational, reflecting the School’s dedication to inclusivity and excellence.