Job Description
Apply now: Meeting Planning & Hospitality Specialist, Hybrid (Chicago, IL). Start date is ASAP for this 7 month contract position.
Job Title: Meeting Planning & Hospitality Specialist
Location-Type: Hybrid, 3 days onsite, Chicago, IL
Start Date: ASAP
Duration: Contract, through May 2027, with option to extend or convert
Compensation Range: $35-40/hr W2
Benefits: Eligible for Health, Dental, Vision, and 401K
Visa Sponsorship: Not eligible for visa sponsorship
Job Description: - This role supports the investment banking team by managing the end-to-end sourcing, planning, and execution of small to mid-scale corporate meetings, private dinners, and events, ensuring each engagement is handled with precision and professionalism regardless of lead time or complexity.
Job Summary - Source and evaluate private dining rooms, hotel conference rooms, and event spaces for corporate meetings, dinners, and small receptions, including locations outside the primary market.
- Partner directly with bankers and internal stakeholders to define meeting purpose, location, timing, attendee count, and space requirements, guiding the process when details are incomplete.
- Present venue options with relevant detail, including room setup, AV capabilities, and minimum-spend considerations, to help stakeholders make informed decisions.
- •Manage venue communication, minimum-spend negotiations, and the contracting and sourcing process from initial inquiry through executed agreement.
- Track and prioritize 10-15 concurrent meeting requests, balancing same-week deadlines with longer-lead planning while maintaining close attention to each engagement.
- Manage event budgets using existing templates, track expenses against established budgets, and submit post-meeting expense summaries as needed.
- Troubleshoot issues during meetings and events, serving as an escalation point and maintaining strong relationships with internal partners and external vendors.
Minimum Requirements: - 2-5 years of hands-on corporate meeting planning experience, including personal sourcing and contracting of private dining and hotel meeting space.
- Demonstrated ability to manage high-volume, short-turnaround requests, with experience handling multiple concurrent projects, some with same-week deadlines.
- Working knowledge of private dining minimum spends, hotel meeting-room setups, AV requirements, and venue contract review.
- Strong client-facing communication skills, including the ability to guide stakeholders when briefs are vague and speak credibly about venue costs and contract terms.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and working knowledge of Cvent or a comparable meeting planning tool.
- Ability to work onsite in downtown Chicago at least three days per week.
- Bachelor's degree, with a preference for Hospitality Management or a related field.
Preferred Qualifications: - Familiarity with investment banking, financial services, or similarly fast-paced, client-driven corporate environments.
- Experience assisting with larger firmwide conferences in addition to small-scale meetings and dinners.
Job Tags
Contract work, Work at office, Immediate start, 3 days per week