What does a catering & event manager do?
Catering & event manager responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real catering & event manager resumes:
- Own, operate, and manage an online record store, featuring underground, electronic dance music and DJ gear.
- Manage marketing exhibit assets, giveaways and promotional items.
- Prepare and manage BEOs to client specifications including auto-visual requirements.
- Manage contracted teams of event contributors including DJ and develop plans for floral arrangements.
- Manage all aspects of these events and act as onsite manager to ensure meeting are delivered effectively and professionally.
- Work with the chef to design wine pairing menu.
- Book private member events and create BEO's and event write-ups.
- Service events by setting up, bartending, serving and cleaning up
- Help prepare and execute sales blitz for local/social sales of SMERF markets.
- Take food and beverage orders from guests, enter orders in POS system.
- Conduct research on POS systems and software to replace the old legacy system.
- Assist servers with orders, serving tables, bartending and the exchange of money.
- Participate in weekly BEO meetings with club managers to ensure guest's needs are met.
- Plan all food and beverage functions with the client utilizing sales and catering software, Delphi.
- Develop inventory of elegant event equipment and plans for floral arrangements and conduct food and wine tastings.
Catering & event manager skills and personality traits
We calculated that 8% of Catering & Event Managers are proficient in Guest Satisfaction, Wine, and Booking. They’re also known for soft skills such as Business skills, Detail oriented, and Physical stamina.
We break down the percentage of Catering & Event Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Guest Satisfaction, 8%
Maintained catering & sales accounts by ensuring guest satisfaction before, during, and after the event
- Wine, 7%
Developed inventory of elegant event equipment and plans for floral arrangements and conducted food and wine tastings.
- Booking, 7%
Assisted with booking of events, selecting and costing menu items, and pricing as needed.
- Event Planning, 6%
Managed high-end catering operation with emphasis on complete party and event planning.
- Event Sales, 6%
Set up and maintain event sales from previous years and communicate with public on new events.
- Culinary, 6%
Trained and managed kitchen personnel and supervised/coordinated all related culinary activities.
Common skills that a catering & event manager uses to do their job include "guest satisfaction," "wine," and "booking." You can find details on the most important catering & event manager responsibilities below.
Business skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a catering & event manager to have is business skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "food service managers must understand all aspects of the restaurant business, including how to budget for supplies, comply with regulations, and manage workers." Catering & event managers often use business skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "assisted local businesses and charitable groups to capitalize on revenue opportunities. "
Physical stamina. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of catering & event managers is physical stamina. This skill is critical to many everyday catering & event manager duties, as "managers often work long shifts and sometimes spend entire evenings actively helping to serve customers." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "facilitated monthly customer service and physical safety trainings in order to ensure efficient and flawless operations. "
Customer-service skills. catering & event manager responsibilities often require "customer-service skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "food service managers must be courteous and attentive when dealing with patrons." This resume example shows what catering & event managers do with customer-service skills on a typical day: "developed and implemented training programs including diversity awareness, food safety and customer relationship management. "
Leadership skills. Another common skill required for catering & event manager responsibilities is "leadership skills." This skill comes up in the duties of catering & event managers all the time, as "managers must establish good relationships with staff to maintain a productive work environment." An excerpt from a real catering & event manager resume shows how this skill is central to what a catering & event manager does: "recruited catering coordinators and food service supervisors and trained to work events independently and be successful in their leadership positions. "
Organizational skills. Lastly, "organizational skills" is an important element of what a catering & event manager does. Catering & event manager responsibilities require this skill because "managers have many different responsibilities, including scheduling and overseeing staff, budgeting, and maintaining financial records." This resume example highlights how catering & event manager duties rely on this skill: "lead a team of 30-40 hourly employees to increase guest satisfaction, and drive revenue to achieve the organizational goals. "
The three companies that hire the most catering & event managers are:
- Panera Bread124 catering & event managers jobs
- Carl's Jr. India10 catering & event managers jobs
- Elior North America8 catering & event managers jobs
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Compare different catering & event managers
Catering & event manager vs. Director of catering
A director of catering spearheads and oversees catering services and programs, from planning to execution. They usually lead the hiring and training procedures, establishing goals and timelines, managing budgets and controlling costs, setting protocols and guidelines, coordinating managers and teams, and negotiating with suppliers, building positive relationships in the process. They may also participate in developing marketing plans, meeting with clients to identify their needs and preferences, monitoring inventories, solving issues and concerns, and supervising catering services to ensure operations run smoothly and efficiently.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between catering & event managers and director of catering. For instance, catering & event manager responsibilities require skills such as "event logistics," "excellent guest," "beos," and "event contracts." Whereas a director of catering is skilled in "customer service," "service techniques," "guest rooms," and "site inspections." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Directors of catering tend to make the most money working in the hospitality industry, where they earn an average salary of $60,555. In contrast, catering & event managers make the biggest average salary, $49,473, in the retail industry.The education levels that directors of catering earn slightly differ from catering & event managers. In particular, directors of catering are 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a catering & event manager. Additionally, they're 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Catering & event manager vs. Event coordinator
An event coordinator is responsible for planning and working out on special events based on the client's specifications. Event coordinators' duties include suggesting appropriate venues, providing cost estimates and financial reports, selecting best vendors for the event's needs, and working on the client's approval for any adjustments to be made. An event coordinator must have excellent communication, time-management, organizational, and critical-thinking skills to address any concerns and possible inconsistencies that might affect the event's performance.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real catering & event manager resumes. While catering & event manager responsibilities can utilize skills like "guest satisfaction," "wine," "booking," and "event planning," event coordinators use skills like "customer service," "powerpoint," "plan events," and "twitter."
Event coordinators earn a lower average salary than catering & event managers. But event coordinators earn the highest pay in the education industry, with an average salary of $44,346. Additionally, catering & event managers earn the highest salaries in the retail with average pay of $49,473 annually.In general, event coordinators achieve similar levels of education than catering & event managers. They're 0.8% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Catering & event manager vs. Food manager
A food manager oversees the operations at various dining establishments, ensuring efficient food services and client satisfaction. Their responsibilities typically include managing the staff, setting schedules and guidelines, establishing objectives and budgets, liaising with vendors and suppliers, delegating tasks, and developing strategies to optimize overall operations. There are also instances where they may assist customers, arrange reservations, process payments, prepare and organize documents, hire and train new members of the workforce, and resolve issues and concerns. Moreover, as a food manager, they must lead and encourage the staff to reach goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, catering & event managers are more likely to have skills like "guest satisfaction," "wine," "booking," and "event planning." But a food manager is more likely to have skills like "food handling," "cleanliness," "cash control," and "non."
Food managers earn the highest salary when working in the manufacturing industry, where they receive an average salary of $38,631. Comparatively, catering & event managers have the highest earning potential in the retail industry, with an average salary of $49,473.When it comes to education, food managers tend to earn similar degree levels compared to catering & event managers. In fact, they're 0.8% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Catering & event manager vs. Manager
Managers are responsible for a specific department, function, or employee group. They oversee their assigned departments and all the employees under the department. Managers are responsible that the department they are handling is functioning well. They set the department goals and the steps they must take to achieve the goals. They are also in charge of assessing the performance of their departments and their employees. Additionally, managers are responsible for interviewing prospective candidates for department vacancies and assessing their fit to the needs of the department. Managers also set the general working environment in the department, and they are expected to ensure that their employees remain motivated.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between catering & event managers and managers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a catering & event manager might have more use for skills like "wine," "booking," "event planning," and "event sales." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of managers require skills like "customer service," "payroll," "food safety," and "financial statements. "
Managers enjoy the best pay in the finance industry, with an average salary of $71,781. For comparison, catering & event managers earn the highest salary in the retail industry.The average resume of managers showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to catering & event managers. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 2.3% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.4%.Types of catering & event manager
Updated January 8, 2025
