DeVere Dunston Hall Hotel restaurant manager Alex Tranquillo discusses the menu.

Conference and banqueting manager

Answers supplied by Kieron Dudley, conference and banqueting manager, DeVere Dunston Hall Hotel. This 130-bedroom hotel is set in 170 acres of wooded parkland with an 18-hole PGA golf course, restaurants, bars, full leisure centre, beauticians and conference facilities including a selection of elegant meeting rooms.

What does the job entail?
As a conference and banqueting manager you need to be able to identify and adapt to the individual requirements of each booking. Attention to detail is extremely important and you need to be able to put people at ease while achieving a smoothly run operation working within budgets, timescales and other targets.

What skills and qualifications are needed?
Excellent communication, organisation and management skills, as well as individual customer service skills. Hospitality qualifications are an advantage but not essential.

What type of person will fit in?
Somebody who is flexible and versatile, calm under pressure, people-focused, confident as well as outgoing.

What are the pluses and minuses of the job?
The rewarding positive feedback from the customers is always encouraging. You meet many different people in all sorts of capacities and no day is the same, making the job enjoyable and sociable. The more challenging parts of the job are irregular hours and working weekends. At times it can be a quite a stressful environment with extremely fast turnaround times, seven days a week.

What opportunities exist for career progression?
Providing you show motivation and ability there are many opportunities which can allow you to progress to a deputy general manager or similar position. The job enables you to increase your skill in many directions, possibly even to running your own business.

What can I expect to earn?
The starting salaries depend on location, but for Norfolk, a typical starting salary would be about £21,000, often with generous performance-related bonus schemes and a contributory pension scheme..

Any hints on getting a job in this area?
The hospitality industry has a recognised training body,
Springboard, which supports hospitality training and gives advice for those
looking to join the industry. Norwich City College offers a good variety of hospitality courses. Each year, various hotels in the Norwich area support the Norfolk careers fair held at the Forum and there are many representatives present to discuss career opportunities. More senior positions are often advertised in the hospitality trade magazine — The Caterer — or placed with specialist hospitality agencies. Alternatively, keep an eye on the local press or telephone hotels direct for their latest job.