Business Development Manager

For 120 years, the Abbey Theatre has played a significant role in reflecting Ireland's evolving cultural, political and social identity through the creation and staging of an important literary repertoire which has helped Irish people to understand and communicate what it means to be Irish. This role continues as the nation's sense of identity evolves and our population becomes increasingly multicultural.
The Abbey Theatre's mission is to effectively and imaginatively engage with all of Irish society through the production of ambitious and courageous theatre, in all its forms. Ireland's National Theatre is artist-led and audience-focused. We aim to ensure our programmes are driven by ambitious, big ideas by theatre-makers of all disciplines, relevant to our times, and communicated effectively with all our citizens and stakeholders.
Our vision is to build a 21st-century theatre and company, where creativity drives our every move, developing the artists and audiences of the future. We will be a confident collaborative company, leading the way in how Irish theatre is developed, produced and disseminated; and where everyone who works with us, irrespective of their role, knows that they are contributing to the work of one of the world's great theatres.
The Abbey Theatre is the National Theatre of Ireland, comprised of two auditoriums: the Abbey Stage with a capacity of 492 seats, and the Peacock Theatre, with a capacity of 132 seats. The company produces a year-round programme of productions, public readings, talks, workshops and artistic development work.
The Role:An opportunity exists in the Abbey Theatre for an experienced business development professional looking for an ambitious, results-driven role to drive the ancillary revenue streams including group bookings at the box office. This person should thrive in generating new business, be an excellent relationship manager, and optimise sales potential from existing stakeholder relationships.
This role will optimise business development opportunities through having a comprehensive understanding of our ancillary revenue streams:
Tours and ExperiencesEventsAbbey Theatre Skills for BusinessPegeen's CaféGroup packages for educational, tour operators and group bookers at the box officeThe Business Development Manager is a member of the Sales and Customer Service management team and line manages the Events Coordinator and the Tours & Experiences Coordinator. This role will have sales targets in the areas mentioned above.
ResponsibilitiesGeneral: Learning and familiarising with content and benefits of all the Abbey Theatre's ancillary revenue streams.New business development for experiences and backstage tours, Abbey Theatre Skills for Business for corporate clients, events and group packages for educational and group bookers.Retain and optimise revenue potential from existing educational and corporate clients.Identifying, creating and nurturing positive and trusting relationships with clients.Working closely and nurturing relationships with workshop facilitators and foster strong interdepartmental relationships.Recording all client interactions on Tessitura, our customer relationship management system.Reaching annual business development targets, agreed KPIs and increasing market share for all ancillary revenue streams.Monitoring experiences and new revenue streams as they develop in leading Irish and international venues. Drive revenue-generating opportunities and product development in this space.Business Development: To introduce our ancillary revenue streams to an agreed number of new contacts per month.Attendance at networking events to reach prospective clients.To continue to build and nurture existing client relationships with an agreed number of contacts per month.Meet agreed Business Development targets on a monthly basis.Lead on our ancillary Business Development strategy.Arrange and host industry nights and client nights.Customer Service: Provide leadership to an integrated customer service team that delivers an efficient, professional and welcoming environment to the public and all stakeholders.Listen to and respond to a client brief with an articulate quote.Respond to client feedback/enquiries within 24 hours.Constantly update knowledge regarding experiences/activity in similar theatres, venues and visitor attractions.Leadership and Management: With the Customer Service management team, implement the agreed sales strategy to deliver department objectives.Represent the organisation at relevant external and internal meetings and events as required.Establish and maintain relationships with industry peers and stakeholders.Ensuring all direct reports are delivering on their KPI's.Finance: Implement, maintain and review Standard Operational Procedures (SOPs), policies and systems to improve efficiency and reduce costs.Experience of budgeting and financial management; provide accurate reporting and forecasting to ensure all KPIs are being achieved to the required standard.Undertake any other tasks as may be deemed reasonable and appropriate.Ongoing reviews of product pricing in Pegeen's to ensure profitability.Continually working with Pegeen's staff to look at ways to drive further sales.Health & Safety: Adhere to the theatre's Health and Safety policy and to current legislation.Work closely with the Director of Operations and other Abbey Theatre team members and consultants to create and maintain a safe working environment, develop safe systems of work and training for the S&CS department.Strategy: Lead on the sales strategy for ancillary revenue streams.To introduce our ancillary revenue streams to an agreed number of new contacts per month.To continue to build and nurture existing client relationships with an agreed number of contacts per month.Meet agreed Business Development targets on a monthly basis.Work closely with the marketing team to deliver the business development strategy.Key RelationshipsInternal: Sales & Customer ServiceCorporate Partnerships & PhilanthropySenior Management TeamCommunicationsCommunity and EducationProductionFinancePeople & CultureExternal: Abbey Theatre customersAbbey Theatre stakeholders including Failte Ireland, AVEA and Dublin ChamberThe corporate marketThird level institutionsTour operatorsPotential group bookers for productions on the Abbey and Peacock stages.Person SpecificationAt least 3 years' experience in a business development focused industry with tangible examples of nurturing client relationships and achieving sales targets in a B to B and B to C environment.
At least 3 years' experience in approaching, interacting and securing business from a mix of new and existing clients.
Excellent people skills and enthusiasm for creating meaningful relationships.
A rigorous approach to service delivery, including strong administration skills, strong communication skills and great attention to detail.
Passion and experience for cross-selling and identifying new opportunities.
A high level of self-motivation and autonomy with the ability to contribute to the Sales and Customer Service team's goals.
Desirable Skills: An interest in theatre, arts and personal/professional development.
Application ProcessTo apply, please follow the link attached and include the below:
(Outlining why you want this particular post and highlighting the skills and experience that you could contribute)
The Abbey Theatre is an equal opportunities employer.

#J-18808-Ljbffr