Convention and Tourism Representative II #JR-01011

About the role

The City of Virginia Beach’s Convention & Visitors Bureau is seeking a dynamic and motivated sales manager to sell Virginia Beach as a premier meeting and convention destination. The position is based in Virginia Beach and involves regular office hours (M‑F 8 am‑5 pm) on non‑travel days, with travel that may require evenings, weekends, and extended hours.

Responsibilities

• Perform specialized sales work to increase meeting and convention sales within the city.
• Represent the City of Virginia Beach at travel industry trade shows and domestic market events.
• Manage the Request for Proposal (RFP) process with hotels, venues, restaurants, attractions, etc., delivering timely proposals.
• Prospect and generate new accounts, meetings, and conventions, producing sales leads for Virginia Beach business.
• Generate, plan, and execute successful sales missions, site inspections, and tradeshows (including FAMs).
• Work extensively within the CRM system (Simpleview).
• Collaborate with local stakeholders to support effective sales and marketing strategies.
• Provide support to assigned state, regional, and country accounts and local hospitality stakeholders in developing meetings and conventions.
• Coordinate citywide opportunities, rate negotiations, promotional specials, rebates, and other negotiating tools to develop business proposals and presentations.
• Demonstrate strong interpersonal and persuasive communication skills to facilitate leads, conduct site visits, assist in closing contract negotiations, and make impactful presentations to meeting planners, boards of directors, C‑suite executives, and government agencies.
• Apply strong problem‑solving skills to achieve desired outcomes for meeting business.
• Serve as a liaison between country, state, and/or regional clients and local hospitality stakeholders to coordinate, book business, and build trust.
• Manage detailed finances and travel expenses through the city procurement process and administrative directives.
• Assist the Vice President of Sales & Services, the Director of Convention & Meetings Sales, and other sales managers in developing ideas to improve sales missions and goals for the Meeting & Conventions division.
• Work effectively and efficiently both independently and as part of a team, including teammates, stakeholders, and senior leadership.
• Be proficient in Microsoft Office Suite to create needed documents and reports.

Requirements

Ideal candidate experience

• Experience selling a 2nd or 3rd tier destination or large hotel/convention center within the association and/or government markets, with measurable sales achievements, quota attainment, and high conversion ratios.
• Experience selling a destination while coordinating citywide meeting opportunities that require multiple hotels, large meeting venues, and/or other facilities.

Additional desired skills

• Experience driving group sales and achieving Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
• Experience facilitating clear and concise oral, visual, and written communication to all stakeholders.
• Experience serving on industry boards or committees and/or obtaining hospitality industry certifications (e.g., CMP, CASE, CDME).
• Proficient experience using a Customer Relationship Management system (CRM); Simpleview preferred.

Additional requirements

• DMV Transcript: Yes
• CDL: No
• Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse: No
• CPS Check: No
• Physical: No
• Respirator: No
• Psychological Screening: No
• Polygraph: No
• At Will: No

Minimum qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing or business administration and three (3) years of experience in destination group sales, venue group sales, hotel group sales, sports tourism group sales, or related industries (or equivalent experience totaling seven (7) years).

Special requirements

• May be required to work hours beyond the normal schedule in response to short‑term department needs or city‑wide emergencies.
• Must be available to work and travel outside normal business hours, including nights