A convention services manager is responsible, as the name implies, for organizing the various services offered at a convention centre (or at a one-time convention), coordinating their activities and ensuring that visitors of the convention have immediate access to everything they might need. The convention services manager does their job by first assessing the location for the event, and then deciding how the different services will be arranged in the available space. Care must be taken to ensure that clients flow in a smooth pattern without scattering around the convention center too much.
A Bachelor’s degree in a management-related subject is usually required to become a convention services manager. Hotel management education is especially beneficial for attaining employment in this position, though many employers will accept degrees in similar subjects as well – such as hospitality management. A large portion of the skills involved in doing the job are attained in the course of employment, and for this reason convention sales managers with lots of experience tend to be valued highly on the job market.
A convention services manager isn’t paid as highly as one would expect considering the high demand on the market, and the annual salary for the position goes between $37,000 – $55,000. On the other hand, there are some traditionally high benefits and bonuses associated with the job, which has made it a popular choice among some people – however, the low base salary is still a major cause for loss of interest in many cases.