Director of Banquets

To provide a friendly and professional service that always exceeds guest’s expectation

• Hire, train, motivate, discipline, direct and supervise the work of the employees in the Banquet Department
• Develop and maintain all training programs on a continual basis to insure a high degree of professionalism within the staff
• Schedule all employees to maintain the service standards of Four Seasons while operating within budgeted labor cost guidelines
• Ensure proper care, security and maintenance of hotel equipment through proper supervision of service personnel
• Maintain a daily housekeeping program to include storage and operational areas and staff appearance
• Assume responsibility for shift supervisory duties on a regular basis, especially with VIP and 'at cost' functions
• Coordinate and insure the needs of the Catering department with the managers of interrelated departments
• Prepare banquet checks with all back‑up for collection at the end of functions
• Attend and participate in all required meetings on a regular basis
• Organize and orchestrate any last minute changes or details to functions
• Post all contracted function sheets and gives instructions to Assistants, Captains, or staff to insure the success of the function
• Constantly monitor the staff's appearance, attitude and degree of professionalism to insure their strict adherence to Four Seasons' standards of quality service
• Communicate directly with the hosts of functions and goes over the details of the function
• Oversee the actual set‑up and service of contracted functions by giving specific menu information to the servers, by coordinating the timing of the dinner with the Banquet Chef and by assigning functions to the Captains to insure their success
• Conduct monthly departmental meetings to provide vital information to the banquet staff, obtain staff feedback regarding the department itself, and provide a regular forum for improving departmental communication
• Take an active role in implementing safety procedures and following up within the department
• Perform other tasks or projects as assigned by hotel management and staff
• Control labour and operating expenses through effective planning, budgeting, purchasing decisions, policy making, and inventory control, while focusing on creative cost control and revenue generation solutions to maximize profit in the division and the hotel
• To assist in the preparation of timely accurate forecasts
• To use all the IT systems utilized within the department and maintain key operators/trainers for each systems to ensure full utilization of all the systems relevant to the area
• To co-ordinate the recruitment, training, development and evaluation of employees and managers within the department
• To maintain up to date records on employee attendance, appearance, standards, vacation, overtime, labour costs, payroll and disciplinary action
• To implement action plans to correct problems identified in operations surveys such as LQA and Employee Engagement Surveys
• To accept responsibility for the health safety and welfare of all areas of the department, guests and employees and to respond properly in any hotel emergency situation
• To safeguard guests and employees with knowledge and application of health and safety, accident prevention, fire drills and first aid
• To attend and participate in all management meetings and events and to attend functions either social or business to develop relationships with the community and support the sales process
• To ensure you read the hotel's employee handbook and have an understanding of and adhere to the hotel's rules and regulations and in particular, the policies and procedures relating to Fire, Hygiene, Health and Safety
• To report for duty punctually wearing the correct uniform/attire and name badge
• To maintain a high standard of personal appearance and hygiene and adhere to the hotel and department personal appearance standards
• To comply with local legislation as required
• To maintain good working relationships with your colleagues and all other departments through working by The Golden Rule
• To respond to any changes in the department as dictated by the needs of the industry, company or hotel
• To be flexible and extend job duties to carry out any other reasonable duties and responsibilities within the job capability as assigned, including redeployment to alternative departments/areas if required, to meet business demands and guest service needs
• To deliver the very best employee experience developing all of its elements: uncompromising quality, unstinting dedication, attention to details, personal attention, outstanding service, enduring culture, shared sprit and abiding ethic