Senior Associate, Event Sales

The Obama Foundation’s mission is to inspire, empower, and connect people to change their world. We seek to build an active democratic culture where people are equipped and motivated to make change in their communities. On Chicago’s South Side, we’re constructing a global center for change that offers coordinated programming, community outreach, and educational opportunities for visitors from around the corner or across the globe.

About the role

The Senior Associate, Event Sales will advance event rental sales opportunities aligned with the Foundation’s mission, revenue goals, operational capabilities, and visitor experience standards. Reporting directly to the Senior Manager of Event Sales, this role manages the full sales cycle and cultivates relationships with diverse clients.

Responsibilities

• Manage assigned event rental inquiries from initial contact through proposal, follow-up, site tours, contract negotiations, pipeline tracking, and handoff to Venue Management after finalizing agreements.
• Respond to prospective client inquiries promptly and professionally, providing accurate information about spaces, rental opportunities, capacity, pricing, food and beverage requirements, parking, vendor policies, and general event capabilities.
• Conduct site tours for prospective clients, corporate groups, community organizations, institutions, and event planners, presenting spaces to support revenue goals while setting realistic expectations.
• Support proactive business development by identifying prospective clients, researching market opportunities, building target lists, and assisting outreach campaigns to cultivate repeat business and relationships with event planners, corporate clients, nonprofits, and other partners.
• Identify opportunities to capture additional revenue through auxiliary services such as food and beverage, parking, retail tie-ins, special access, tours, or other approved enhancements.
• Maintain accurate CRM records, including pipeline status, client notes, lead status, proposal status, follow-up dates, revenue projections, and conversion activity to support sales reporting and forecasting.
• Assist with competitive research, market analysis, pricing comparisons, and peer institution benchmarking to inform event rental strategy and revenue optimization.

Key Deliverables

• Consistent and timely follow-up with event rental inquiries, improving client responsiveness, conversion, and revenue opportunity.
• Accurate and professional event rental proposals reflecting approved pricing, venue capabilities, operational considerations, and client needs.
• Improved sales conversion through disciplined lead tracking, consistent communication, and effective coordination.
• Accurate and up-to-date CRM, pipeline, and sales tracking records supporting forecasting and decision-making.
• Successful client site tours that present the venue professionally and set clear expectations.
• Clean handoffs after contract execution, reducing confusion and client experience gaps.
• Reliable sales activity reporting, including inquiry volume, proposal status, conversion activity, revenue forecast, lost business trends, and market insights.
• A professional, client-centered sales experience that strengthens the reputation of the Obama Presidential Center as a world-class, mission-aligned event venue.

Requirements

• 4 years of professional experience in the event industry, with experience at a cultural institution preferred.
• Extensive knowledge of sales practices, event logistics, and best practices for large and small-scale operations.
• Experience in venue rentals and collaborating with internal teams and third-party vendors to meet or exceed sales targets or revenue goals of $2–4 million.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail, managing multiple inquiries, proposals, deadlines, site tours, and client follow-ups simultaneously.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to collaborate with and influence diverse internal and external partners.
• Resilient self-starter with a bias for action, ownership, and comfort navigating ambiguity in a fast-paced environment.
• Flexibility to work early mornings, late nights, weekends, and holidays in indoor and outdoor environments.
• Ability to work onsite at the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park or other Chicago locations.

Pay

The salary range for this role is $79,040 to $98,800.