Assistant Director of Events

Marriott International, Inc.

The Assistant Director of Events provides strategic leadership for the planning and delivery of contracted corporate and social events, as well as catering enquiries with or without guest rooms. The role leads, delegates, coaches and develops the Events team, building the capability and confidence of managers, supervisors, coordinators and trainees to take ownership of their programmes and deliver consistently at luxury-service standards. Maintaining oversight from sales handover through post-event follow-up, the position sets clear priorities, strengthens workflows, anticipates operational and financial risks, and ensures effective cross-functional coordination. With a strong commercial and business-development focus, the role trains the team to maximise total-event revenue and leads the creation of new social, corporate, offsite-catering and Marquee business solutions, including the Marquee’s catering-only proposition, market positioning, pricing approach and operating model.

Core Work Activities

• Drive a strong commercial mindset across the department by training the team to identify and convert relevant upselling opportunities across food and beverage, venues, audiovisual, spa, recreation, transportation and resort experiences.
• Lead the development of new business solutions for the Marquee, including a clear catering-only proposition, market positioning, lead-routing process, pricing approach, operating model and commercial follow-up.
• Create and implement innovative social, corporate, offsite-dinner and offsite-catering concepts in partnership with Culinary, Food & Beverage, Operations, Finance, Sales, Revenue and approved external partners.
• Build a structured business-development plan for catering and event opportunities, strengthen relationships with planners and partners, and convert client feedback into repeat, referral and new-business potential.
• Establish clear ownership for event documentation, financial follow-up and recaps; review performance with the team and ensure discrepancies, risks and lessons learned are addressed promptly.
• Act as the strategic link between clients, the Events team and property leadership, remaining visible during key moments while enabling team members to lead day-to-day planning and client communication with confidence.
• Provide visible, strategic leadership to the Events team, setting clear priorities, service expectations and commercial objectives aligned with the property’s business plan.
• Delegate confirmed events and new catering enquiries according to team capability, workload, programme complexity and development needs, while maintaining clear accountability for results.
• Coach, train and empower managers, supervisors, coordinators and trainees to take ownership of their files, make sound decisions and deliver consistently at luxury-service standards.
• Build individual development plans, provide regular feedback and create structured learning opportunities through file reviews, shadowing, cross-training and progressive delegation.
• Develop Supervisors’ capability to lead large groups, complex programmes and full or partial buyouts, intervening directly only where senior leadership or strategic support adds value.
• Review and improve workflows, tools and standards across the full event journey to reduce unnecessary workload, strengthen efficiency and enable the team to focus on high-value client and commercial activities.
• Ensure the team understands all contractual commitments, commercial conditions and client objectives before planning begins, and coach associates to resolve outstanding points proactively.
• Maintain strategic oversight of the event portfolio from turnover through post-event follow-up, using regular reviews to anticipate operational risks, programme conflicts, financial exposure and service opportunities.
• Empower the team to translate client requirements into clear operational plans and lead cross-functional coordination with Food & Beverage, Culinary, Banquets, Rooms, Spa, Engineering, Loss Prevention, Transportation and other resort teams.

Leadership and Business Responsibilities

• Create a high-performance team culture built on Marriott values, luxury-service standards, clear accountability and confident ownership of each event programme.
• Lead through structured delegation, coaching and progressive development, using workload allocation, individual development plans, file reviews, shadowing and cross-training to strengthen capability at every level.
• Build strong cross-functional and external partnerships to develop commercially viable social, corporate, offsite-catering and Marquee solutions, in line with property procurement, approval and operating requirements.
• Translate event performance, client feedback, market intelligence and financial results into business-development priorities, improved processes and measurable revenue opportunities, with particular focus on the Marquee and catering-only business.

Candidate Profile

• High school diploma or equivalent with substantial experience in luxury hotel event management, food and beverage, catering sales or a related professional area; OR a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management, Hospitality, Business Administration or a related discipline with relevant leadership experience.
• Demonstrated success leading the planning and delivery of complex luxury events, including large groups, social programmes, buyouts, catering-only events and high-value food-and-beverage experiences.
• Proven people leader with experience delegating effectively, coaching different levels of talent, building development plans and empowering team members to take ownership and make sound decisions.
• Strong commercial and business-development experience, with the ability to shape new event and catering propositions, assess market potential, support pricing decisions and convert opportunities into measurable revenue.
• Strategic understanding of event operations, contractual commitments, financial follow-up, upselling, workflow improvement and cross-functional coordination within a luxury resort environment.
• Working knowledge of hotel event, sales and property-management systems; Marriott systems experience is preferred.
• Fluent professional English; Italian and additional international languages are an advantage. Eligibility to work in Italy is required.

Core Competencies

• Strategic leadership, sound judgement and visible team direction
• Delegation, coaching, training and talent development
• Commercial acumen, business development and total-event revenue growth
• Concept development, market positioning and entrepreneurial thinking
• Operational anticipation, risk management and decisive problem-solving
• Cross-functional influence, stakeholder engagement and partnership building
• Performance management, process improvement and financial accountability

Marriott Culture, Safety and Inclusion

• Model Marriott service values and create an environment in which associates feel welcomed, supported and accountable.
• Follow all company, property, safety, security, confidentiality and data-protection policies and procedures.
• Maintain a professional appearance and communicate clearly and respectfully with guests, clients, partners and colleagues.
• Perform other reasonable job duties as requested by leadership to support business needs.

At Marriott International, we are dedicated to being an equal opportunity employer, welcoming all and providing access to opportunity. We actively foster an environment where the unique backgrounds of our associates are valued and celebrated. Our greatest strength lies in the rich blend of culture, talent, and experiences of our associates. We are committed to non-discrimination on any protected basis, including disability, veteran status, or other basis protected by applicable law.

Marriott Hotels strive to elevate the art of hospitality, innovating at every opportunity while keeping the comfort of the oh-so-familiar all around the globe. As a host with Marriott Hotels, you will help keep the promise of "Wonderful Hospitality. Always." by delivering thoughtful, heartfelt, forward-thinking service that upholds and builds upon this living legacy. With the name that's synonymous with hospitality the world over, we are proud to welcome you to explore a career with Marriott Hotels. In joining Marriott Hotels, you join a portfolio of brands with Marriott International. Be where you can do your best work, begin your purpose, belong to an amazing global team, and become the best version of you.

JW Marriott is part of Marriott International's luxury portfolio and consists of more than 100 beautiful properties in gateway cities and distinctive resort locations around the world. JW believes our associates come first. Because if you're happy, our guests will be happy. JW Marriott associates are confident, innovative, genuine, intuitive, and carry on the lega