General Manager | Full-Time | Santa Clara Convention Center

Oak View Group

Oak View Group is the global leader in venue development, management, and premium hospitality services for the live event industry. Offering an unmatched, 360-degree solution set for a collection of world-class owned venues and a client roster that includes the most influential, highest attended arenas, convention centers, music festivals, performing arts centers, and cultural institutions on the planet.

Position Summary

The Santa Clara Convention Center General Manager will oversee all Directors and assist with the management, promotion, and operation of the facility in all facets, including operations, sales, marketing, finance, food and beverage, security, IT, production, technology, capital projects, partnerships, special events, community relations, sustainability, branding, and all other related departments within the Convention Center. The General Manager is responsible for shaping the overall culture, direction, coordination, and evaluation of the team and facility. This executive will also be responsible for maximizing the number of events and revenue opportunities at the venue and will work in unison with City of Santa Clara, DMO (Discover Santa Clara) and community stakeholders to maximize the amount of regional and national convention/meeting business which occurs annually at the Santa Clara Convention Center.

This role pays an annual salary of $225,000-$250,000 and is bonus eligible

Benefits for Full-Time roles: Health, Dental and Vision Insurance, 401(k) Savings Plan, 401(k) matching, and Paid Time Off (vacation days, sick days, and 11 holidays)

This position will remain open until October 17, 2025.

About the Venue

The Santa Clara Convention Center is proudly owned by The City of Santa Clara and proudly managed by Oak View Group. We are strategically located in the heart of Silicon Valley, a prime location for conventions, trade shows and exhibitions, and the host to some of the top technology and trade events in the country. The Santa Clara Convention Center is minutes from hotels, restaurants, Levi’s Stadium, California’s Great America Theme Park, and many of the largest and most influential technology companies in the world, with easy access to freeways and Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport and only 45 miles south of San Francisco.

The Convention Center features 100,000 square feet of exhibit space, a 22,400 square foot ballroom, 31 breakout rooms and a 607-seat theater and attracts over 350,000 visitors annually. The facility is an integral economic component of Santa Clara, generating economic benefits through attendee direct and indirect spending and sustaining over 500 local jobs. The convention center is also connected to the beautiful 500 room Hyatt Centric Santa Clara Silicon Valley. This luxury, boutique hotel is a few minutes from San Jose Airport and numerous other major attractions.

Responsibilities

• Maintains active contact and effective working relationships with in-house food and beverage provider (Levy), Contract Administrator, City of Santa Clara Departments, CVB (Discover Santa Clara), Facility Clients, Community Stakeholders, convention/live event industry decision makers, labor unions, and community and civic organizations. 
• Monitors Oak View Group’s compliance with all provisions of the management contract.
• Aggressively promotes the use of the facility with the local destination sales and marketing organization (Discover Santa Clara) to maximize the facilities utilization with high impact events.
• Negotiates contractual agreements as determined necessary and in the best interests of the facility.
• Negotiates lease agreements with meeting planners, third party organizations, event organizers, and promotors.
• Coordinates facility involvement and event hosting with Convention and Visitors Bureau (Discover Santa Clara).
• Assures the coordination, implementation and administration of specific policies and procedures prescribed by OVG corporate directives, to include: matters of training and development; quality assurance; energy efficiency; safety/emergency procedures, crowd control, crisis management procedures, or other areas as needed.
• Develops and implements facility goals in accordance with the management contract, the client’s objectives, corporate policy, and good business practices.
• Prepares and maintains required and necessary reports/records for the Contract Administrator/City of Santa Clara, Board Members, and the OVG Corporate Office.
• Plans, organizes, coordinates and directs all activities and personnel engaged in maintaining and operating the facility.
• Assists and coordinates with the development of the annual operating event calendar, operations schedules, capital improvement plans, and projections for all revenues and expenses.
• Conducts leadership and staff meetings on a consistent basis. 
• Directs the development and administers the execution of facility operating and marketing financial budgets, to include, operating revenue, expense budgets and capital expense plans.
• Maintains daily oversite for all operations and event activity at the Santa Clara Convention Center in collaboration with fellow Oak View Group staff, assuring the successful coordination and execution of all activities.
• Provides final approval of all contracts and agreements with licensees, vendors, suppliers for necessary activities and services at the facility.
• Provides or coordinates for timely and effective response to directives and requests received from internal and external organizations, boards, stakeholders, partners, agencies, departments and individuals; assures and maintains the integrity of the facility and OVG360 in all forms of communication and personal contacts.
• Oversees and advises Human Resources on any necessary revisions/modification to the staffing plans, including number and types of employees, essential functions, salaries, and benefits.
• Assures the administration of personnel and the operation of the facility are conducted in accordance with applicable local, state and federal regulations.
• Continually evaluates facility practices and recommends improvements to better reflect the needs of the client and the facility, and/or to improve the efficiency and safety of operations, in compliance with OVG360 policies and procedures.
• Responsible for recruiting, training, supervising and evaluating administrative and supervisory staff.
• Establishes and maintains effective working relationships with all Oak View Group Santa Clara Convention Center team members.
• Responsible for creating an exceptional working environment for all Santa Clara Convention Center staff.
• Assures that the Santa Clara Convention Center is at peak operating efficiency and all facility improvement projects are completed on time and on budget. 

Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

• Bachelor’s Degree (BA) from a four-year accredited college or university with major course work in business or public administration or related fields.
• Minimum 10 years progressively responsible experience in supervision and/or management of a facility of similar size preferable.
• Or, equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience in contract negotiations, budgeting, forecasting, purchasing, personal supervision, human resources, finance, operations, capital projects, security, sponsorships, event management and sales and marketing.
• Experience in labor relations and union contracts.

SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• An extremely strong collaborator and relationship builder with a proven history of success with clients, stakeholders and managed teams.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills and organizational ability.
• Detail oriented with experience producing high level reporting for board and corporate review.
• A true multi-tasker.
• Ability to work with and maintain highly confidential information is required.
• Ability to work simultaneously with a broad variety of vested interest groups and to foster a cooperative and collaborative environment.
• Demonstrated knowledge of the principles and practices required in the successful management of a convention facility.
• Ability to anticipate problems and implement immediate corrective action.
• Ability to perform effectively under significant pressure typically associated with meeting the demands and timetables of the convention and live entertainment industry.
• Considerable knowledge of safety regulations and other federal, state or local laws and regulations.
• Experience working in collaboration with DMO and local hotels to drive high impact business.
• A leader and mentor with an entrepreneurial spirit.

Strengthened by our Differences. United to Make a Difference

At OVG, we understand that to continue positively disrupting the sports and live entertainment industry, we need a diverse team to help us do it. We also believe that inclusivity drives innovation, strengthens our people, improves our service, and raises our excellence. Our success is rooted in creating environments that reflect and celebrate the diverse communities in which we operate and serve, and this is the reason we are committed to amplifying voices from all different backgrounds.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Oak View Group is committed to equal employment opportunity. We will not discriminate against employees or applicants for employment on any legally recognized basis (“protected class”) including, but not limited to veteran status, uniform service member status, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information or any other protected class under federal, state, or local law.