Events Programme Manager

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We are on the hunt for a talented Events Programme Manager to join our Customer team in our Central Support Office in Lasswade to help us champion garden living.

You will be a customer and commercially focused decision maker, leading the delivery of a compelling programme of events that support a great customer experience across our stores. Events will be tailored to drive community engagement and maximise commercial benefit.

Join us to help position Dobbies as a great local day out.

Responsibilites

• Lead and deliver a compelling programme of year-round events and community engagement activity for customers, creating experiences that bring people and communities together. All events should align with our brand purpose
• Collaborate with CSO and store operational teams to ensure a quality customer experience, with clear briefing process - build strong internal relationships
• Work with marketing, PR, online and digital stakeholders to drive awareness and ticket sales for all events
• Monitor trends and identify opportunities that will contribute to a successful events and community programme - build industry contacts
• Track and analyse event and community programme performance (pre and post events) to make sure we're maximising available capacity, driving participation and driving a strong ROI. Update internal stakeholders ongoing
• Deliver full activity analysis to identify experience and revenue gains for future planning
• Manage supplier relations and build strong relationships for collaboration
• Manage budget and develop the annual P&L, with ongoing monitoring to ensure on track and accurate

Who we are looking for

• Considerable manager-level experience with a similar events programming role
• Strong team player, working considerately with others
• Calm, focused and able to work under pressure
• Passionate about delivering the right outcome for the customer
• Proactive, driven to get things right every time, exceptional attention to detail
• Strong planning, prioritisation, presentation, and problem-solving skills. You'll need to be comfortable managing multiple tasks within tight deadlines and to budget
• Brilliant interpersonal skills - building relationships throughout the business and with external agencies, suppliers and relevant industry contacts
• Good negotiation skills - experience with external suppliers is ideal
• Ability to think strategically and to evaluate activity, using multiple data sources
• Budget management and P&L development experience
• High level of computer literacy, including word, excel and Powerpoint
• Can demonstrate our values at all times - we're one team, getting better everyday. We bring a smile. We live and breathe gardens. We make it work for our customers.

What we offer

• Holiday - enjoy a well deserved break with 33 annual leave days per year (pro-rata for part time)
• Discount - treat yourself with generous uncapped discount across our stores with 50% off in our Restaurants, 25% off in the Garden Centre and 10% off in our food halls
• Hybrid working - a combination of office and home working to help balance your work life balance
• Pension - save for the future with our company contributed enhanced Group Pension Plan
• Season ticket loans - spread the cost of travel with an interest free loan
• Access to Wagestream - support your financial wellbeing, with ability to access earnings ahead of pay day, save for the future and financial advice
• Access to Retail Trust - seek confidential support, access to a Virtual GP, free counselling service and discounted retail rewards with our employee wellbeing platform
• Access to Dobbies Academy - continue your development with our eLearning platform and development programmes
• Study assistance - invest in your professional development with funded courses and qualifications
• The little things to keep you going through the day - free tea, coffee, and milk
• Collaborative office space - with access to our wellbeing room, learning resources and even a book swap
• Invites to our annual company conference, summer and Christmas social events

About us

At Dobbies, we're proud to have history dating back to 1865. Founded by James Dobbie, we're the UK's largest garden centre retailer, with 3,800 colleagues and 77 stores, including six little dobbies, and a Central Support Office near Edinburgh.

Our passion and joy for gardens and plants is what makes us special. In our stores, we showcase this through own brand and branded products, concession partners and services. We have something for every season, occasion and style of garden, outside and in.

Many of our stores also feature a restaurant or coffee shop, where customers can enjoy refreshments or meals in a relaxed and welcoming environment.

At Dobbies, we champion garden living all-year-round and offer a calendar of events and experiences that bring people and communities together.

We're committed to being a great place to work. We're one team and we encourage our colleagues to be the best version of themselves, every day; to share their wins and celebrate success. Together, we make it work for our customers.