Head of Venue Sales & Marketing

Salary: £58,239 to £67,030 per annum

Grade: SM1

Contract: Permanent

Hours: Full Time, 37 hours per week

Location: Harrogate, North Yorkshire

About us

Harrogate Convention Centre is one of the UK's leading conference and exhibition venues in the heart of the beautiful Yorkshire spa town of Harrogate.

The venue delivers circa £45m of economic impact each year to the North Yorkshire region and the recent announcement of the new £7m investment in additional large flexible conference rooms, will take the venue to the next level. HCC now requires an experienced conference and exhibition sales professional to lead the sales and marketing functions to even greater success.

The Role

In this senior role, you will be pivotal in developing and delivering our sales & marketing strategy and managing a team of professionals to ensure that Harrogate Convention Centre continues to grow income while enhancing the reputation of the venue as one of the leading conference centres in the UK. The Head of Venue Sales & Marketing role will be responsible for driving the sales function to attract high quality conferences, exhibitions, while in tandem shaping the future marketing vision for the venue.

The main duties and responsibilities of the role will include:

• Working with the Director of Harrogate Convention Centre to devise and monitor sales & marketing strategies for all market segments ensuring the venue is achieving its key performance indicators and wider strategic objectives.
• To lead both teams to maximise business development, in line with HCC's business objectives to secure multi-year returning contracts and ancillary incomes.
• Strategically managing the venue bookings diary to maximise profit and minimise dark days.
• Strategically managing the venue bookings and monitoring the venue's theoretical diaries to ensure the optimal product mix is achieved.
• Developing and leading the venue sales & marketing team, always being available to provide guidance, support, and direction on day-to-day activities, ensuring the Team's work is coordinated across sectors to secure optimal diary utilisation, and high sales calls and conversion rates.
• Working with a range of partners and agencies, both internal and external, to develop and maintain co-operative relationships, such as Visit North Yorkshire and Events North Yorkshire.
• For further details please refer to the job description linked below.

Required Skills and Experience

The ideal candidate will be passionate about our industry, our destination, our venue and dedicated to securing long-term relationships and multi-year hire agreements with event organisers for many years to come.

We are looking for an experienced event Sales and Marketing professional that has significant managerial experience to draw from and has the drive and ambition to maximise the many opportunities the venue has to offer.

Working for us

Harrogate Convention Centre is owned and operated by North Yorkshire Council and the successful candidate will secure a number of generous employment benefits including:

• Flexi working options.
• Local government pension scheme
• Salary sacrifice schemes
• Employee discount benefits including shopping, supermarkets, gym discounts and more!
• Travel loans
• Health Assured - confidential help and support for your wellbeing

Click on our Total Rewards Brochure at the bottom of this advert to see the full range of benefits.

Contact and Apply

If you think you have the necessary qualities and experience we are looking for and would like an informal discussion in confidence prior to applying, then please contact Diane McDonald at who will arrange a convenient time to discuss the role with the Director of Harrogate Convention Centre.

Applications should be submitted through the North Yorkshire Council employment portal no later than Sunday 8th March 2026.

Key Documents

Job Description

Total Rewards Brochure

Key Dates:

Closing Date: Sunday 8th March 2026.

Interview date: w/c 16th March 2026.

NYC are committed to directly recruiting staff and will not accept applications nor services from agency suppliers in respect of our vacancies.

We are committed to meeting the needs of our diverse community and aim to have a workforce reflecting this diversity. We are also committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

North Yorkshire Councils' purpose is to deliver services and facilities to the diverse residents and visitors of North Yorkshire. To ensure we deliver inclusive services we strive to have a diverse workforce where everybody can be themselves by respecting differences and embedding equality of opportunity. We celebrate diversity and recognise each other's contributions; we therefore welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds.