Events & Business Development Manager

Set within the historic heart of Clerkenwell, St John Ambulance's iconic Grade I listed venues-St John's Gate and the Priory Church-offer exceptional spaces for weddings, corporate events, conferences, private functions and filming. We are seeking an ambitious and commercially minded Events and Business Development Manager to lead the growth of this unique events portfolio. By expanding our client base, enhancing our offer and delivering outstanding customer experiences, you will generate vital income that supports our lifesaving first aid mission while helping to preserve and sustain our remarkable heritage estate, museum and collections for generations to come. This is an exciting opportunity for an entrepreneurial events professional to combine commercial success with meaningful social impact., As Events & Business Development Manager, you'll play a pivotal role in growing our events business while ensuring every event reflects the exceptional standards of St John Ambulance. Working with a dedicated team and a portfolio of unique heritage venues, you will combine commercial expertise with inspirational leadership to deliver sustainable income that supports our charitable mission.

In this role, you will:

Lead and inspire a high-performing events team, creating a culture of exceptional customer service, commercial success and continuous improvement.

Drive the commercial growth of our events business by developing and delivering the Events Business Plan, identifying new opportunities and achieving ambitious income and performance targets.

Oversee the end-to-end client journey, ensuring every event is planned and delivered to the highest standard, with robust contracts, documentation and financial processes.

Build lasting relationships with clients, partners and suppliers, representing St John Ambulance at networking events and securing long-term, mutually beneficial commercial partnerships.

Shape the future of our venues, contributing to new products, infrastructure developments and the estate masterplan to ensure the long-term success of the events business.

Champion inclusive, compassionate leadership, empowering colleagues, embracing diverse perspectives and living the HEART values in everything you do.

You are a commercially driven and inspirational events and business development professional with a passion for delivering exceptional experiences and creating sustainable income. A confident leader and strategic thinker, you thrive on developing new opportunities, building strong relationships and motivating teams to achieve ambitious goals. Organised, resilient and customer-focused, you are excited by the opportunity to combine commercial success with supporting a charity that saves lives.

You'll bring:

Proven experience of leading a successful events or commercial sales team, with a strong track record of growing income, developing new business opportunities and expanding a client base.

Strong commercial and strategic acumen, with experience of planning budgets, managing resources and delivering profitable outcomes that support organisational objectives.

Excellent relationship-building and negotiation skills, with experience of managing clients and third-party suppliers to deliver high-quality events and exceptional customer service.

Creative and organisational expertise, with the ability to develop compelling event packages, oversee multiple projects simultaneously and ensure the highest standards of delivery, compliance and presentation.

Outstanding communication and influencing skills, together with confidence using Microsoft Office 365, CRM systems and reporting tools to inform decision-making and drive performance.

An inclusive, values-led leadership style, demonstrating emotional intelligence, openness to feedback and a commitment to role modelling the HEART values while inspiring others to achieve their best.

This is a fantastic opportunity to join a team of over 1,100 employees and over 20,000 volunteers, united by our goal of saving lives through essential first aid services, training and campaigning. As a charity with rich heritage and a long history of serving humanity, we are proud of our past and excited about creating a healthier, safer, more resilient future.

St John Ambulance works at the heart of communities, supporting and enabling them to access and receive physical and mental health first aid. We do this through developing and providing effective community response and outreach services (e.g. Ambulance response) and using our longstanding expertise to empower people with vital clinical skills and the confidence to use them (e.g. our Volunteers and Community Advocates, and Young Responders programmes).

Salary - £36,924.00 - £45,000

Our offer to you

We pride ourselves in being a great place to work, providing a supportive culture with opportunities to grow and develop your career, achieve a healthy work life balance and to be recognised for the great work you do. You will receive:

Competitive salary and pension scheme

33 days holiday (inclusive of bank holidays) - increasing to 38 days over 5 years

Hybrid, Flexible working

Cycle to work scheme Electric Vehicle Scheme (subject to terms)

Health and Wellbeing portal - access to financial, health and wellbeing support and an Employee Assistance Programme

Discounts - you will have access to Blue Light and NHS Discounts as well as discounts on mobile phones, gym membership, cinema tickets, restaurants, holidays and shopping