Event Planning Specialist

For more than three decades, Techo-Bloc has been redefining outdoor living. What began as one family's question, "why should creativity be limited to a handful of paver styles?", has grown into a family-owned North American leader in hardscape design and manufacturing, with 36+ patents to its name.
Today, our 850+ employees, 9 production plants, 800+ dealers and 14,000 certified Techo-Pros shape homes and public spaces across the continent. We are proud to be recognized as one of
Canada's Best Managed Companies. If you're ambitious, love a challenge and don't quite fit the mold, you'll fit right in.
Job DescriptionThe Opportunity : You build the groundwork that makes Techo-Bloc events possible. While our execution team runs events on the ground, you work a full season ahead: mapping the calendar, finding the right venues and lining up the contracts and vendors that set the team up for success. Our program includes two tours across about 40 cities, with a different venue in each, plus loyalty events and trade shows across Canada and the US. You do the planning, sourcing and negotiating, and the Events Manager signs off. By the time an event is ready to execute, your work is done and the team never has to scramble.
What You'll Do
Most of this job is venues: Finding them, negotiating them and keeping those relationships strong.
Map the route 9 to 12 months out for approved markets and find the right venue for every stop, sourcing, comparing and recommending options for brand fit, logistics, capacity and costRun RFPs and negotiate rates and terms with venues and key vendors (pricing, F&B minimums, attrition, BEOs, payment schedules, cancellation policies), with sign-off from the Events ManagerBuild long-term relationships with venue partners and vendors so we have options when plans change, flexibility on dates and terms, and better pricing through early booking and multi-event agreements
You'll also:
Build and track event budgets from first estimate through reconciliation, including purchase orders, invoices, payment schedules and post-event financial reportsMaintain the master event calendar and track milestones in our project management tool so timelines, dependencies and resource needs are clear to everyoneKeep Marketing in sync: brief campaign managers, social, marketing automation and architects early so their work is built into the event, not added last minuteSpot risks early (venue availability, supplier constraints, budget pressure), bring solutions to the Events Manager and hand each event to the execution team with contracts, BEOs, logistics and supplier agreements finalizedContribute to post-event reviews on venue performance, vendor quality and budget accuracy
A Day in the Life
Touring a venue to see if it fits next year's roadshow formatNegotiating terms with a hotel for an event eight months awayComparing budget actuals to forecast and flagging a variance earlyBriefing the content team six months out so campaign assets are planned alongside the eventBuilding a supplier comparison for a sourcing decisionBriefing the execution team on a venue's specific requirements
You’ll Thrive Here If You
Like working months aheadEnjoy negotiating and building good relationships with venues and vendorsStay organized across many events and timelines at onceCatch problems before they reach the teamLike building checklists and templates that make next season easier
Qualifications3 to 5 years in event planning or coordination, ideally in hotel sales or banquets, an event agency or trade showsHands-on experience negotiating with hotels or venuesExperience with BEOs, supplier agreements, quotes and payment termsExperience tracking event budgets, purchase orders and invoicesComfortable briefing creative, digital and marketing teamsProject management tools (Teamwork, Asana, Monday or similar) and Microsoft OfficeExcellent French and English, written and spokenValid driver's license and passport. Occasional travel for venue scouting and site visits, mostly outside peak season.
Additional InformationWhat we offer
Competitive compensation and a bonus planGroup insurance, RRSPwith employer contribution, and 24/7 telemedicine and EAPWeekly one-on-ones, leadership development and ongoing trainingDiscounts on Techo-Bloc productsTeam events and an employee referral program
Growth: Our events program is growing. This role has a clear path toward team leadership within the events function as the planning mandate expands.
Why Techo-Bloc? You'll build the groundwork the whole events team relies on: the venues, the contracts, the relationships and the calendar. If you like thinking long term and negotiating a good deal, we'd like to meet you.
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