Meetings and Events Senior Project Manager, Sourcing and Contracting

Job Title: Meetings and Events Senior Project Manager, Sourcing and Contracting

Brand: Emota

Location: Ashby-de-la-Zouch or London or Manchester (hybrid - min of 2 days a week in closest office)

Reporting to: Senior Director of Meetings and Events

Direct reports: None

A bit about the role …

As an experienced Senior Project Manager specialising in venue sourcing and contracting for meetings and events, you will play an important role in the early planning of global projects for one of our renowned clients. From the initial brief stage, you will shape meeting and events project requirements and goals, ensuring you align the venue sourcing with client needs, budgets and event priorities.

You will lead and co-ordinate the end-to-end venue sourcing process. Working in close partnership with the Emota Venue Sourcing Team, you will deliver comprehensive briefs, manage shortlisting activity, and present well-considered recommendations to clients. Taking ownership through venue selection, you will lead negotiations, manage and finalise contracts and develop detailed budgets, before ensuring a smooth and structured handover to delivery teams.

You will manage the full hotel contracting process, working with client hotel agreements where needed. By working with hotel partners, you will agree clear, balanced terms that help minimise cancellation and attrition risk. Through early planning and ongoing communication, you will help avoid unnecessary penalties while ensuring contracts meet client and delivery needs.

You will also mentor colleagues on best-practice approaches to venue contracting, commercial negotiation, and supplier management, building capability and consistency across the team.

Your role will involve close collaboration with clients, suppliers, and our teams, and some international travel to industry events.

We offer a comprehensive benefits package to you including volunteer days, enhanced annual leave with an option to buy/sell, company pension, life and health insurance and many other benefits.

You will…

Project Management:

· Lead the project from a client, internal team, and external partner perspective, with a primary focus on early-stage planning, venue sourcing, and contracting activity

· Manage projects during the sourcing and pre-delivery phases, being an important client contact and ensuring a seamless transition to delivery teams

· Shape and manage client briefs, ensuring you define requirements, goals, and sourcing strategies and align them with budget, compliance, and delivery considerations

· Lead the end-to-end venue sourcing and contracting process, managing hotels and venues from initial feasibility through to contract negotiation and confirmation

· Work in close collaboration with the Emota Venue Sourcing Team and third-party suppliers, promoting partnerships co-ordination

· Present venue options, recommendations, and costings to clients and team members, supporting informed decision-making

· Produce and circulate clear, structured project communications (e.g. status updates, sourcing summaries, and handover documentation) to our teams and external partners

· Conduct site inspections and planning meetings with venues and suppliers, before handover to delivery teams

· Ensure all sourcing and contracting activity follows regulatory, compliance, and client-defined guidelines

· Attend selected national and international meetings, events, and industry engagements

Client Liaison and Development:

· Develop trusted relationships with clients through regular engagement

· Lead client meetings during the briefing, planning, and sourcing phases, ensuring you define goals well

· Act as a senior contact for clients during venue sourcing and contracting activity, keeping them informed of progress, options, and important decisions throughout

· Identify new opportunities for our business development to share with a Client Engagement Director

· Contribute to the preparation and presentation of event proposals, venue recommendations, and costings, ensuring agreement on client needs and commercial goals

· Lead client planning meetings focused on sourcing and venue selection

· Manage preparation of supportive meeting planning materials for client planning meetings

· Provide structured updates to clients throughout the sourcing and contracting lifecycle, ensuring transparency and confidence in planning

· Be a subject matter expert for assigned client accounts, guiding and supporting colleagues with venue strategy, contracting best practice, and client‑specific requirements

Budget Management:

· Lead the development of event budgets during the sourcing and contracting phase, using company financial systems and tools

· Lead the preparation, maintenance, and refinement of budgets from initial estimates through to handover to delivery teams

· Approve all client invoices before dispatch associated with venue sourcing phase

· Identify, measure and communicate cost avoidance and cost-saving opportunities achieved through sourcing strategy and commercial negotiation

· Ensure compliance with company and client invoicing and financial processes

· Log time for the project

Development and Management:

· Provide ongoing mentoring, coaching, and practical guidance to team members on venue sourcing, contracting, and negotiation best practice

· Be the senior escalation point for venue contracting or supplier challenges, offering guidance and solutions to support team success

· Contribute to the continuous development of sourcing processes, templates, and best‑practice guidance, supporting capability building across the wider team

General:

· Be an ambassador for the agency

· Attend and contribute at team meetings

· Collaborate with other departments to ensure the delivery of client goals

· Work towards client and our service level agreements (SLAs) for all events

· Understand, apply, and promote our mission, vision, and values

· Comply with all company and client procedures, including those relating to Health & Safety, privacy and security

· Display an understanding of compliance, including ABPI and PhRMA guidelines, when working with healthcare clients

· Comply with all client and company privacy and security protocol

· Apply a knowledge of our range of services

· To be mindful of environmental sustainability in all aspects of your role and incorporate this mindset in your approach

What do you need to have …

· Previous experience (5+ years) of managing and delivering meetings and events in a corporate setting (ideally internationally)

· A working knowledge of international cities, venues and hotels specifically in Europe and America

· Experience managing event budgets from creation through to revisions and reconciliation

· Meeting and event project management and resource skills

· A customer-centric approach to event delivery

· Proficiency in a range of event management software, project management tools and Microsoft 365 suite (including Excel and ability to maintain complex spreadsheets)

· Whilst this role has limited travel, the company will require the flexibility and desire to travel both nationally and internationally to industry and supplier events, albeit less so than a meetings and events delivery role

· Experience working with Pharmaceutical/Healthcare clients is preferable

A bit about us ….

Emota is an award-winning global events agency that creates and delivers engaging, impactful experiences.

Part of Inizio Engage XD, we are an unusually shaped communications group that creates experiences that inspire lasting change. We partner with clients to provide employee engagement, learning and training solutions, scientific engagement and capability building, all underpinned by applied behavioural science. We engage internal and external audiences through the delivery of live and virtual experiences, film, digital, and immersive content.