Events and Lettings Officer

The Resources and Business Improvement directorate is led by Dianne Tranmer. It is responsible for: People Function, Facilities Management, Digital Experience Unit and Technology Group, Information Governance, Executive Support Team and leadership of all our shared services across the GLA Group.

The work of the directorate’s teams includes delivery of major events, designing and leading public affairs or marketing campaigns, providing data, evidence and analysis, leading cross-organisational programmes, to making sure we plan for and can respond to emerging events or emergencies in our city.

About the role

To deliver the landlord function in co-ordinating, authorising and overseeing the delivery of events and activities at the Authority’s core sites at City Hall, Union Street, Trafalgar Square and Parliament Square Garden.  This includes facilitating rallies and protests at the two iconic Squares and promoting spare capacity at the venues to commercial clients to achieve income targets. 

What your day will look like

• Delivering the Landlord functions for all events related lettings across the Authority’s core sites. This will include ensuring:

a.         Contracts for lettings are in place and signed,

b.         Health, safety and security principles are applied during the planning and implementation of events, including any new duties imposed by the landlord’s protect duty for public events and activities.

c.         Appropriate and adequate method statements and risk assessment are produced and signed off by the Authority.

d.         Adequate insurances are in place.

e.         Being a personal license holder for licensable activities

f.               Appropriate asset protection measures are in place, with particular attention to national heritage assts at the two Squares.

g.         Statutory and contractual compliance and initiating timely corrective action when needed.

h.         Raising invoices for lettings and following up on payments.

• Acting as the first point of contact for both internal and external enquiries for the use of Authority’s venues and event spaces, taking responsibility from the initial enquiry through to the delivery and conclusion of the activity. This includes internal events, GLA organised public facing events, commercial and charity hires, rallies and protests.
• Co-ordinate and undertake liaison with key stakeholders, including Mayor’s Office, London Assembly, GLA staff, contractors, event production companies, principal neighbours of Trafalgar Square, Parliament Square Gardens and City Hall, the Metropolitan Police, Local Authorities and other statutory bodies to ensure events comply with relevant regulatory requirements, are well managed and the impact on neighbours is considered and reduced.
• Assist and support promoting, marketing and expanding the use of surplus capacity at City Hall and Trafalgar Square for commercial events to meet budgeted annual income targets. Update venue hire advice and information on the Authority’s internet and intranet pages relating to venue hire.
• Provide reports and information and communicate relevant details about events and activities to senior staff, internal teams, contractors and other relevant stakeholders.
• Carry out condition surveys pre and post events and oversee contractors during the build process to ensure contracted services are safely co-ordinated and any damage incurred is recorded and appropriate recovery action taken.
• Work co-operatively with internal facility providers and production companies to ensure that the Authority’s event spaces are maintained and presented to a high standard and works and services are coordinated to support event delivery.
• Participate in the production and delivery of events and activities organised by the Authority.
• Support the Development and maintenance of finance and accounting systems relevant to the areas of responsibility, including the generation of reports.
• Support the development of guidelines, standards, policies and practices to improve the management and control of events.
• Perform the role of a duty building manager, monitoring the general functioning and safety of the building and events, liaising with specialist service suppliers, relevant Facilities Managers and addressing any issues that need resolving or that are emerging. This will mainly focus on immediate operational needs and taking responsibility for events that take place in City Hall. This will mean having operational management control over other FM disciplines such as Reception/Helpdesk, Catering, Cleaning, Porterage, Broadcasting and Maintenance.
• Carry out the duties of a Greater London Authority (GLA) warranted Enforcement Officer in relation to Trafalgar Square and Parliament Square and when required prepare evidence for prosecutions under the byelaws and Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011. Attending court to give evidence as necessary.
• Participate as a member of the command and control cadre for emergencies and incidents and participate in the out of hours Duty Officer management rota for the Authorities premises at City Hall, Union Street, Trafalgar Square and Parliament Square Gardens.
• Manage resources allocated to the job in accordance with the Authority’s policies and Code of Ethics and Standards
• Realise the benefits of a flexible approach to work in undertaking the duties and responsibilities of this job, and participating in multi-disciplinary, cross-department and cross-organisational groups and project teams.

Skills, knowledge and experience

To be considered for the role you must meet the following essential criteria:

• Experience of managing events, functions or hospitality services in high profile organisation or customer led environment, where multi-tasking and working under pressure to tight deadlines is required.

• Experience of performing the landlord function in relation to venue hire and event delivery, managing multiple processes and events across different spaces.

• Experience of promoting and marketing high profile venues and income generation, including updating or creating internet material.

• Experience of taking charge of a situation and resolving operational issues as they arise and dealing with service complaints. 

• IT literate in MS Office products such as Word, PowerPoint, Outlook and Excel and attention to detail - ensure that processes are followed effectively and be responsible for maintaining a high standard in work delivered.

• Level 2 Award for Personal License Holders qualification and possess a Personal Alcohol License or be able to obtain one (for licensable activities on Authority properties).
• A good knowledge of health and safety, security and statutory legislation in relation to facilities management and hospitality services, and an ability to promote best practice on environmental and sustainability issues. A NEBOSH national general certificate is desirable or IOSHH Managing Safely qualification.
•  Membership of a recognised professional body (for example, Institute of Hospitality, Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management).
•  Hold a valid first aid at work qualification, or equivalent qualification appropriate to the workplace.

Behavioural Competencies

Building & Managing Relationships

Developing rapport and working effectively with a diverse range of people, sharing knowledge and skills to deliver shared goals.

Level 2 indicators of effective performance

• Develops new professional relationships
• Understands the needs of others, the constraints they face and the levers to their engagement
• Understands differences, anticipates areas of conflict and takes action
• Fosters an environment where others feel respected
• Identifies opportunities for joint working to minimise duplication and deliver shared goals

Stakeholder Focus

Consulting with, listening to and understanding the needs of those our work impacts and using this knowledge to shape what we do and manage other’s expectations.

Level 2 indicators of effective performance

• Seeks to understand requirements, gathering extra information when needs are not clear
• Presents the GLA positively by interacting effectively with stakeholders
• Delivers a timely and accurate service
• Understands the differing needs of stakeholders and adapts own service accordingly
• Seeks and uses feedback from a variety of sources to improve the GLA’s service to Londoners

Communicating and Influencing

Presenting information and arguments clearly and convincingly so that others see us as credible and articulate and engage with us.

Level 2 indicators of effective performance

• Communicates openly and inclusively with internal and external stakeholders
• Clearly articulates the key points of an argument, in both verbal and written communication
• Persuades others, using evidence-based knowledge, modifying approach to deliver message effectively
• Challenges the views of others in an open and constructive way
• Presents a credible and positive image both internally and externally

Planning and Organising

Thinking ahead, managing time, priorities and risk, and developing structured and efficient approaches to deliver work on time and to a high standard.

Level 2 indicators of effective performance

• Prioritises work in line with key team or project deliverables
• Makes contingency plans to account for changing work priorities, deadlines and milestones
• Identifies and consults with sponsors or stakeholders in planning work
• Pays close attention to detail, ensuring team’s work is delivered to a high standard
• Negotiates realistic timescales for work delivery, ensuring team deliverables can be met

Problem Solving

Analysing and interpreting situations from a variety of viewpoints and finding creative, workable and timely solutions.

Level 2 indicators of effective performance

• Processes and distils a variety of information to understand a problem fully
• Proposes options for solutions to presented problems
• Builds on the ideas of others to encourage creative problem-solving
• Thinks laterally about own work, considering different ways to approach problems
• Seeks the opinions and experiences of others to understand different approaches to problem-solving

The GLA Competency Framework Guidelines further detailing each competency and the different level indicators can be found here: GLA Competency Framework

This role is predominantly an operational role that requires attendance in person at the Authority’s core sites at City Hall, Union Street, Trafalgar Square or Parliament Square.

Some working from home is possible when carrying out planning and project work.

Reasonable adjustment

Reasonable adjustment will be made to working arrangements to accommodate a person with a disability who otherwise would be prevented from undertaking the work.

Working Patterns

Flexibility in working hours is essential to the post.  Events and Lettings Officers will work 37 hours a week with a one-hour unpaid lunch break.  Weekend and evening work will be required when overseeing events that take place of core hours.

The job holder, in conjunction with their manager, will generally be able to determine for themselves their working pattern to support to the requirements of the service, ensuring that there is adequate cover.

The job holder will be required to participate in a duty manager rota to provide cover out of normal business hours, for which a special allowance is paid.

Special Conditions

1. This is predominantly an operational role that requires attendance in person at the Authority’s core sites at City Hall, Union Street, Trafalgar Square or Parliament Square. Some working from home is possible when carrying out planning and project work.
2. The job holder will be required to qualify to become a warranted enforcement Officer, within 4 months of commencing the role, training for this will be provided.
3. The job holder must maintain a valid first aid at work qualification, or equivalent qualification appropriate to the workplace.
4. The job holder must have personal resilience and maintain an appropriate level of physical fitness to carry out all aspects of the role including the ability to work outdoors on the Squares and move items of portable equipment and furniture should the need arise.
5. This is a non-uniformed position. The job holder will be required to maintain a standard of personal appearance which is appropriate to a front of house role, and which is acceptable to the Facilities Manager – Venues and Events. This requires the job holder to supply and wear their own formal business attire. 
6.  When on call as the Duty Officer the job, holder must be within 4 hours travelling time from City Hall and fit for duty.

If you would like to apply for the role you will need to submit the following:

• Up to date CV
• Personal statement with a maximum of 1500 words. Please ensure you address how you demonstrate the essential criteria outlined above in the advert.

Please ensure your CV and Personal Statement have a maximum file size of 1.5MB each and upload your Personal Statement to the ‘CV and Cover Letters’ section’ of the form, ensuring you address the technical requirements and competencies in your Personal Statement.

Word or PDF format preferred and do not include any photographs or images. Please ensure your CV and Personal Statement are saved with the job reference number as part of the naming convention (E.g., “CV – applicant name - 012345)

As part of GLA’s continuing commitment to be an inclusive and equal opportunity employer we will be removing personal identifiable information from CVs and Personal Statements that could cause discrimination. 

If you have questions about the role

If you wish to talk to someone about the role, the hiring manager Juliet Kenubia would be happy to speak to you. Please contact them at [[email protected]].

If you have any questions about the recruitment process, contact the [email protected] who support the GLA with recruitment.

Assessment process

Once you have submitted an application, your details will be reviewed by a panel.

If shortlisted, you’ll be invited to an interview/assessment.

The interview/assessment date is: TBC

Equality, diversity and inclusion

London's diversity is its biggest asset, and we strive to ensure our workforce reflects London's diversity at all levels. We welcome applications from everyone regardless of age, gender, gender identity, gender expression, ethnicity, sexual orientation, faith or disability.

We particularly encourage applications from Black, Asian and Minority ethnic candidates and disabled candidates who are currently underrepresented in our workforce.

We are committed to being an inclusive employer and we are happy to consider flexible working arrangements. We would welcome applications from candidates who are seeking part time work as this role is open to job share. 

Please note we are a Disability Confident Employer so for candidates who wish to be considered under the scheme and meet the essential criteria, they will automatically be invited to interview. Please note, should you require any adjustments through the process, we will accommodate as much as possible. Please contact the recruitment team for further information if required.

Benefits

GLA staff are hybrid working up to 3 days a week in our offices and remotely depending on their role. As part of this, you will need to split your time between home working and coming into the office.

In addition to a good salary package, you will be paid every four weeks, providing frequent salary payments. We also offer an attractive range of benefits including 30 days’ annual leave, interest free season ticket loan, interest free bicycle loan and a career average pension scheme.

Additional Information

Please note, all candidates will need to confirm that the information provided in this application form is true and correct. Should a candidate deliberately give false information, including the use of AI software, they understand that this would disqualify them from consideration.

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record (DBS) check but some roles may require additional security screening. 

Secondment Opportunity

If you are a GLA employee applying for an internal fixed-term position, as an internal secondment opportunity, you must ensure you satisfy the following secondment policy criteria listed below before applying 

• On a permanent contract or a fixed term contract where the time left on the contract at the point at which you apply for secondment is longer than the secondment period;
• successfully completed your probation period and are performing to the required standard for your current role; and
• at least 18 months service with the GLA 

If you do meet the criteria listed above, you will need to complete the Approval for secondment application form and gain line manager approval, before emailing the fully completed form to the Resourcing Assistant who is managing the vacancy. This form must be received by the closing date of the vacancy. Failure to provide this form will mean your application cannot be progressed.

If you are unable to satisfy all of the criteria, unfortunately, you are not eligible to apply for this vacancy as an internal secondment.  For further information, please see Secondment Policy and Procedure.

IMPORTANT: If you are a current GLA employee on a fixed-term contract, which is due to end BEFORE the end date of this vacancy, you DO NOT NEED to complete the Approval for secondment application form as it is not a secondment.

If you are successful in securing this secondment opportunity, you will need to be released from your existing role, so please ensure that you make your line manager aware of your application.

More Support

If you have a disability which makes submitting an online application form difficult, please contact [email protected].