Manager, Venues & Client Experience - Cambridge Executive Connections, Inc. (CEC)
Operating under the founding principles of Cambridge Forums Inc., Cambridge Executive Connections (CEC) focuses on offering sophisticated learning and networking experiences for family offices, institutional investors, and advisors, from around the world.
Based in downtown Toronto, we are seeking an experienced, event professional, to join our team to manage and grow our small Venues & Client Experience team, while also personally managing and executing several events per year. Reporting to the Managing Director, the Manager, Venues & Client Experience will serve as the team’s people leader and will have accountability for day-to-day team management, performance, priorities and workload allocation. The manager will work closely with a senior and long tenured leader of the team, who supports the department remotely, to keep our processes, standards, and “Cambridge way” of doing things running smoothly and consistently.
Our ideal candidate is a seasoned events professional who thrives in a fast-paced, high-touch environment, has led people before, and is energized by both the strategic and the in-the-weeds realities of running world-class events for senior clientele.
This position requires domestic and international travel approximately 10-12 times per year, for 2-4 days at a time. A valid passport with no travel restrictions is mandatory.
Key Responsibilities:
Team Leadership & People Management
- Directly manage, coach, and support the Associate, Venues & Client Experience – setting priorities, providing feedback, and supporting their growth and development
- Act as the day-to-day people leader for the department, fostering a close-knit, high-performing, and positive team culture
- Partner closely with the remote Venues & Client Experience leader to ensure consistency in process, quality, and the “Cambridge way” across all programs
- Support recruitment, onboarding, and training as the team grows
- Own performance management and workload balance across the team
Event & Client Experience Execution
- Oversee the full lifecycle of events from venue management to onsite execution, ensuring flawless delivery across a calendar of 10-12+ events per year
- Coordinate logistics with hotel and restaurant venues – event schedule, menu selection, rooming lists, transportation, AV, etc.
- Manage onsite event details with flawless and professional presence, acting as a focal point between participants, venues, and internal teams
- Provide service excellence to event participants through effective communication of their itineraries, dietaries, rooming requirements, and ad hoc requests
- Ensure the team delivers a meticulous pre-Forum and onsite client experience that reflects CEC's brand and hospitality standards
- Represent CEC onsite, providing a polished, professional presence with senior clients, sponsors, and partners
- Work with the internal sponsorship team to ensure key deliverables for sponsored evenings are executed to standard
Operations & Process Stewardship
- Learn and uphold CEC's existing processes and vendor relationships
- Monitor events budgets, ensuring spend stays on track while maintaining a high-end, personalized guest experience
- Support ongoing venue research, costing, and contract review for upcoming programs
- Maintain the venue database to organize and record critical venue information
- Collaborate with internal teams to monitor participant status, attrition, and special requests
- Once ramped up, contribute ideas for refining processes and raising the bar – in partnership with, not in place of, the team's established practices
- Other administrative and event-related duties as assigned
Experience You’ll Bring to the Role:
- 8+ years of experience in a corporate event planning role; experience with professional service firms, an asset
- Prior experience directly managing or mentoring team members, with a genuine interest in people leadership
- Demonstrated ability to manage project plans, multiple concurrent events, and hard deadlines
- Strong track record working with hotel and restaurant venues and managing BEOs
- Experience communicating and building relationships with senior-level clients, executives, or principals
- A valid passport with no travel restrictions is mandatory – able to travel within Canada and to the US, UK, Europe, Asia, and Latin America
- Intermediate-to-advanced computer skills – MS Excel, Word, Outlook, CRM, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, SharePoint
Characteristics and Skills You Possess:
- A natural people leader – supportive, clear, and invested in helping others do their best work
- Humble and coachable – willing to learn an established way of working before changing it
- Client-centric – focused on creating and delivering high-touch experiences for event participants
- Highly organized – strong time management, able to oversee numerous projects and events simultaneously
- An effective communicator – both written and oral, with internal teams, clients, suppliers, and stakeholders at all levels
- A keen eye for detail – across event planning, execution, budgeting, and client service
- Agile and composed – comfortable with change and able to make sound decisions under pressure
- A collaborative partner – works well with a remote colleague and a small, tight-knit team
- A relationship builder – enjoys developing and maintaining a network of event professionals and service providers
- Sense of humour – we spend a lot of time together as a team and have a lot of fun doing it
What’s In It For You:
- Hybrid work environment - both remote and in the office
- Extended health care coverage
- 3 weeks' vacation, plus a summer and winter shutdown and half-day Fridays in July and August
- Opportunity for bonuses based on company performance
- Company social and team-building events
- Opportunity to travel domestically and internationally to 5-star venues
- The chance to build and lead a growing team that has a lot of fun together
Cambridge is committed to fostering an accessible, inclusive, and equitable workplace. We strive to provide barrier-free employment practices in accordance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). If you require accommodation at any stage of the recruitment or selection process, please inform us when contacted. We will work with you to ensure your needs are met.
