Event Sales + Planning Specialist

Position Type: Contract, Part-time to start (20-25 hours/week) Location: Hybrid / Chicago, IL Reports To: CEO/COO Caviar Dream is a modern lifestyle and experiential brand making caviar more approachable, culturally relevant, and memorable for its clients and customers. Through private celebrations, corporate activations, brand partnerships, and educational experiences, we create elevated moments that invite guests to experience luxury without the gatekeeping. We are seeking an organized, polished, and commercially minded Events Sales + Planning Specialist to represent and grow our events business. This person will serve as the primary point of contact for prospective event clients and manage each opportunity from initial inquiry through proposal development, contract close, event planning, and execution. Position Overview The Events Planning Specialist owns the client journey for Caviar Dream events. This role combines event sales, proposal development, client relationship management, logistics, and hands-on event planning. The ideal candidate is equally comfortable leading a discovery call, building a detailed event budget, presenting a compelling proposal, following up to secure the business, and creating an execution plan that ensures the event is delivered at the level promised. Well-honed project management skills are a must! This is not solely an administrative planning position. We are looking for someone who understands how to turn an inquiry into a well-scoped, profitable, and successfully executed event. Key Responsibilities: Client Intake and Event Sales Serve as the primary point of contact for new event inquiries. Respond to prospective clients promptly and professionally. Conduct discovery calls to understand the client’s event, audience, vision, budget, venue, timeline, and service requirements. Educate clients on Caviar Dream’s event offerings and recommend the experience best suited to their goals. Identify opportunities to expand the engagement through additional services, products, staffing, or custom experiences. Maintain consistent follow-up throughout the sales process and confidently guide qualified opportunities toward a decision. Represent the Caviar Dream brand with warmth, polish, cultural awareness, and professionalism. Proposal Development and Closing Translate discovery-call information into clear event concepts, scopes of work, budgets, and client-facing proposals. Coordinate internal pricing for caviar, food accompaniments, supplies, shipping, travel, staffing, rentals, production, and other event expenses. Ensure proposals are accurate, visually polished, strategically presented, and aligned with profitability requirements. Maintain proposal templates, event packages, pricing resources, and supporting sales materials. Present proposals to clients and clearly communicate the value of the recommended experience. Respond to questions, revise scopes when appropriate, and manage negotiations within approved parameters. Coordinate contracts, deposits, payment schedules, and the formal transition from prospective client to confirmed event. Maintain accurate records of inquiries, proposals, follow-ups, decisions, and booked revenue. Event Planning and Production Develop comprehensive plans for confirmed events, including timelines, staffing plans, service formats, quantities, vendor requirements, travel, shipping, setup, and breakdown. Create and maintain event briefs, production schedules, checklists, run-of-show documents, packing lists, and contact sheets. Coordinate with clients, venues, caterers, planners, vendors, brand partners, and internal team members. Confirm venue access, refrigeration, food-handling requirements, delivery instructions, load-in procedures, insurance requirements, and other operational details. Calculate product and supply quantities based on attendance, service format, and the scope sold to the client. Identify potential risks or logistical issues early and develop solutions before they affect the event. Ensure the final execution plan remains consistent with the approved proposal, budget, and client expectations. On-Site Event Execution Lead or support on-site event execution when required. Direct event staff and provide clear pre-event briefings, assignments, and service expectations. Oversee setup, styling, product presentation, guest flow, service standards, and breakdown. Serve as the primary client or planner contact during the event. Make calm, practical decisions when timelines, attendance, venue conditions, or other circumstances change. Ensure every guest-facing detail reflects Caviar Dream’s standards for hospitality, education, and luxury. Document event details and capture operational notes that can improve future events. Financial and Operational Management Build and manage event budgets with close attention to cost, pricing, margin, and scope. Track deposits, outstanding payments, vendor expenses, reimbursements, and event-related purchases. Prevent scope creep by documenting client changes and communicating associated costs. Maintain organized digital records for each event. Track event pipeline activity, proposal value, close rate, booked revenue, and upcoming workload. Participate in post-event reviews to evaluate profitability, client satisfaction, operational performance, and opportunities for improvement. Help improve the systems, templates, and workflows used to manage the events business as it grows. Qualifications Three or more years of experience in event planning, event production, hospitality, catering, experiential marketing, venue management, or a related field. Demonstrated experience managing events from initial inquiry through execution. Experience conducting client discovery calls and developing event proposals, estimates, or scopes of work. Strong understanding of event budgets, vendor costs, staffing needs, timelines, and production logistics. Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Strong client-service instincts and the confidence to lead conversations with executives, planners, partners, and high-profile clients. Exceptional attention to detail, organization, and follow-through. Ability to manage multiple events and sales opportunities at different stages simultaneously. Ability to work independently, prioritize effectively, and take ownership of outcomes. Calm, solutions-oriented approach to changing circumstances and time-sensitive decisions. Proficiency with spreadsheets, presentation tools, project-management platforms, and customer relationship management systems. Availability to work occasional evenings, weekends, and holidays based on the event calendar. Ability to travel and provide on-site event support when required. Experience working with luxury, culinary, hospitality, or culturally driven brands is strongly preferred. The Ideal Candidate The ideal candidate is both a planner and a closer. They understand that a successful event begins well before production—it begins with thoughtful discovery, accurate pricing, a compelling proposal, consistent follow-up, and clear expectations. They are energized by building relationships, organizing complex details, and creating exceptional guest experiences. They do not wait to be told every next step. They anticipate needs, communicate early, protect the budget, and take responsibility for moving each opportunity and event forward. They also understand that luxury is communicated through responsiveness, preparation, discretion, presentation, and attention to detail. Measures of Success Success in this position will be evaluated based on: Speed and quality of responses to new event inquiries. Accuracy and presentation quality of proposals. Proposal-to-booking conversion rate. Booked event revenue and profitability. Timeliness of contracts, deposits, and client payments. Accuracy and completeness of event plans. Client satisfaction and repeat business. Quality and consistency of on-site execution. Ability to manage multiple events without missed details or deadlines. Contributions to improving the efficiency and scalability of Caviar Dream’s events operation. Compensation and Benefits $30 per hour plus bonuses , with the potential for expanded responsibilities and increased hours as the events business grows. Flexible work location , with remote planning work and in-person attendance required for select meetings and events. Flexible scheduling outside of client calls, deadlines, and confirmed event commitments. Complimentary caviar and product education , including opportunities to taste and learn about Caviar Dream’s products and service experiences. Meaningful departmental ownership and visibility in a growing startup, where your ideas and contributions can directly shape the events business. Hands-on experience across sales, hospitality, operations, partnerships, and experiential marketing. Opportunities to attend and support distinctive events , including luxury celebrations, corporate experiences, brand activations, and culturally significant gatherings. Exposure to high-profile clients, venues, planners, chefs, and brand partners. Room for professional growth as the company expands, with the potential to help build and eventually lead the events function. A collaborative, entrepreneurial environment that values initiative, creativity, sound judgment, and thoughtful problem-solving. The opportunity to help build a culturally relevant luxury brand that is redefining how people experience and engage with caviar. This is an opportunity to help shape and grow an emerging luxury events business. The Events Sales + Planning Specialist will have meaningful ownership of the client experience and play a central role in building the systems, relationships, and standards that support Caviar Dream’s continued growth. We welcome candidates who combine exceptional hospitality with strong business judgment and who are excited to create culturally relevant luxury experiences that guests remember. #J-18808-Ljbffr Caviar Dream