Senior Banquet Service Manager

Description

Who We Are

Founded in 1926, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation is a private, not-for-profit educational, historic, and cultural institution that owns and operates one of the largest and best-known museum complexes in the world. Our mission is “that the future may learn from the past” through preserving and restoring 18th-century Williamsburg, Virginia’s colonial capital. We engage, inform, and inspire people to learn about this historic capital, the events that occurred here, and the diverse peoples who helped shape a new nation.

Today, Colonial Williamsburg is the largest living history museum in the U.S. The Historic Area is the 301-acre restored colonial capital with 88 original buildings and 525 buildings reconstructed to how they appeared in the 18th century through extensive archaeological, architectural, and documentary research. The Historic Area is staffed by highly trained, historically dressed interpreters and expert tradespeople who bring the 18th century to life. The Foundation also owns and operates two world-class museums, the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum, and the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum, The Bob and Marion Wilson Teacher Institute, and a renowned research library, the John D Rockefeller Jr Library.

Additionally, Colonial Williamsburg is home to five world class accommodations at the Williamsburg Inn, Williamsburg Lodge Autograph Collection, the Griffin Hotel, the Williamsburg Woodlands Hotels and Suites and the unique Colonial Houses in the Historical Area. Visitors may also indulge in food and drink at our many on site restaurants and taverns that blend a historically inspired dining experience with today’s evolved tastes. Each year over 5 million people visit Williamsburg and another 20 million engage with us digitally.

About the Position

The Senior Banquet Service Manager provides leadership to the Banquet department and manages the strategic planning and execution of banquet guest service, food quality, product, esthetics, and experience of banquet functions according to the established standards and procedures established in the department. The scope of work includes maintaining and improving the level of banquet service experience through interdepartmental communication and strategizing with the Culinary, Utility, Shipping and Receiving, Beverage and Rooms departments. These departments are celebrated within all Colonial Williamsburg outlets and properties including: The Williamsburg Lodge, The Woodlands Hotel and Conference Center, and to include all other offsite function locations.

Essential Functions:

1. Provides day-to-day leadership and development for the banquet staff. Responsibilities may include hiring, promotions, terminations, scheduling, ensuring new employees receive appropriate training, observing performance of employees and providing feedback and counseling. Responsible for performance reviews of direct reports.

2. Develop, train, and maintain the use of opening, closing and operational checklists, standard operating procedures, Banquet Service Standards, and all critical quality control points.

3. Develops and preserves all Banquet Storeroom operations to organize, zone and maintain equipment and property stewardship at the highest level. Maintains an updated equipment inventory and focuses on projected equipment, décor and supply needs based on forecasted event/sales volumes.

4. Collaborates with Conference Services/Catering to finalize event changes and guarantees on the BEOs for clients. Collaborates with Food and Beverage department to develop banquet menu ideas, table- top design, buffet set up, floral arrangements, event spaces, and special events/holidays.

5. Maximizes profitability by reviewing procedures, product, labor, and instituting industries best practices to effectively improve the bottom-line performance of all banquet functions.

6. Collaborates with People & Culture to ensure the administration of the Collective Bargaining Agreement is upheld.

7. Monitors and maintains service standards of all food and beverage standards on and off property. Collaborates with the stewarding department on the type and amounts of equipment needed for the various functions and events. Projects supply needs for banquet department (China, glass, silver, etc.).

8. Manages the food and beverage needs for BEOs, and coordinates set-up and service of all food functions with the culinary team to include buffets, hors d 'oeuvres service, table arrangements, types of service, and number of staff needed to do the event.

9. Oversee all departmental revenue and financial policies and processes. Conducts audits of banquet checks and service charges to ensure sales, revenue and costs are appropriately accounted for.

10. Monitors the performance of the Lodge Banquet Coordinator which includes BEO and Change Log distribution, menu printing, invoice processing, supply ordering, schedule updates and other necessary tasks.

11. Manages the quality of service provided during events and takes the initiative to resolve any issue or complaints; Ensures that leadership is aware of any complaint.

12. Review and evaluates guest comments and other reports to determine the degree of customer satisfaction, takes action to correct identified deficiencies.

Programs InfoGenesis (POS Systems) with holiday meal and special event offerings.

13. Ensure that banquet checks are posted in V-1 and/or Opera within 24 hours following events.

14. Ensure that re-posting log checks are re-posted, and adjustment made to service charges as needed.

15. Performs other related duties as required.

Required and Preferred Education and Experience:

Required: A bachelor’s degree in hotel administration or business/hospitality management or the equivalent of seven (7) or more years of supervisory experience in banquets involving multiple sites, events, or locations.

Preferred: Management experience in a collective bargaining unit environment; Previous experience as a Banquets Captain or Banquet Set set-up manager.

Qualifications:

o In depth knowledge of various types of banquet services (American, French, Family Style) and banquet room set-up.

o Must possess outstanding interpersonal and public contact skills.

o Must have mathematical skills to perform and process banquet checks and tip allocation sheets.

o Must have the ability to supervise and train professional banquet service employees.

o Basic computer skills including Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook) and industry Point of Sale and Hotel Data Input Systems (Opera).

o Must be able to analyze expenses and manage to budgetary guidelines.

o Must be able to work flexible hours including nights, weekends, and holidays.

o Must ensure outstanding guest service and experience in stressful situations.