How to hire a conference services director

How to hire a conference services director, step by step

Here's a step-by-step conference services director hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a conference services director job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new conference services director
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your conference services director job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a conference services director for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a conference services director to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a conference services director that fits the bill.

   Here's a comparison of conference services director salaries for various roles:

   Type of Conference Services Director	Description	Hourly rate
   Conference Services Director	Meeting, convention, and event planners coordinate all aspects of events and professional meetings. They arrange meeting locations, transportation, and other details.	$17-54
   Meeting Planner	A meeting planner makes professional decisions in all areas of meeting preparation and presentation. They plan meetings, establish meeting objectives, schedule meetings, budget expenses, inspect meeting sites, negotiate with suppliers, and create a speaker lineup... Show more	$19-37
   Event Manager	An event manager is a professional who is in charge of planning an organization's event and coordinating meetings with clients to determine details about the event. Event managers must look and compare different vendors such as food caterers, decorators, or musicians while working within the planned budget... Show more	$15-37

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Culinary
   • Coordinators
   • BEO
   • Site Inspections
   • Audio Visual Equipment
   • Community Organizations
   • Customer Service
   • Delphi
   • Promotional Materials
   • Group Resumes
   • Corporate Events
   • VIP
   • Budget Management
   • Executive Committee

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Lead weekly team meetings to review group resumes and BEOs with key hotel staff.
   • Service all VIP requests for external social and corporate functions request by CEO and executive level managers.
   • Coordinate all events and activities for upcoming groups from room reservations, activities, restaurant reservations and catered/banquet events.
   • Prepare meeting details for SMERF, corporate, and government markets such as set-up, menus and audio-visual needs.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your conference services director job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A conference services director salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, conference services directors' average salary in arkansas is 56% less than in connecticut.
   • Seniority. Entry-level conference services directors earn 67% less than senior-level conference services directors.
   • Certifications. A conference services director with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a conference services director's salary.

   Average conference services director salary

   $65,002yearly

   $31.25 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level conference services director salary

   $37,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

4. Writing a conference services director job description

   A job description for a conference services director role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a conference services director job description:

   Conference services director job description example

   PAY TYPE: $14.49 + gratuity

   We bring people together. We inspire and empower our team to create exceptional experiences for our guests and phenomenal results for our owners.
   

   Minimum Requirements:

   • Minimum of 18 years of age.
   • Show enthusiasm about serving guests.
   • Ability to take direction, follow direction, and perform in a team atmosphere.
   • Experience with tray service or restaurant work is helpful, but not required.
   • Ability to provide quick service and maintain composure under stress.
   • Good listening and written and verbal English communication skills.
   • Self-motivated: can find work to do without prompting or supervision.
   • Good grooming and personal hygiene.
   • A current Food Handler's permit is required within 14 days of hire.
   • A current WSLCB Class 12 Mixologist or Class 13 Server Permit within 30 days of hire.

   Essential Functions:

   Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

   • Arrive to work on time and be ready to work.
   • Uniforms should be neat, clean, and follow the dress code.
   • Set up, service and break down coffee/soda services, and breakfast, lunch, dinner and hors d’oeuvres functions, according to job standards. Be conscious of small details.
   • Act as a team member: show enthusiasm and help other banquet/conferences staff.
   • Assist with training all new team members.
   • Help other departments as needed.
   • Maintain cleanliness of back service areas and equipment, and keep service areas well stocked.
   • Set the audio-visual equipment – participate in regular A/V training, including maintaining proper storage.
   • Smile and be pleasant, courteous and sensitive to guests at all times. Be attentive to the meeting planner and guests’ needs.
   • Be knowledgeable about Campbell’s services and history and Lake Chelan recreational activities to answer guests’ questions.
   • Control dish breakage to reduce the high cost of replacing dishes. Record and report all breakage to your supervisor.
   • Suggest improvements to your managers.

   Physical Requirements:

   • Able to safely lift 50 pounds.

   • Constant walking, standing, pushing, pulling, carrying, lifting, kneeling, bending, stooping, and moving during working hours.

   Position Type and Expected Hours of Work:
   This is a variable-hour position, expected work hours are based on seasonal volume, business demand, and hours of operation. Weekends and holidays are also necessary. Must be flexible and willing to adapt schedule to meet business demands.

   Other Dut ies:
   Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for their job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

   Food & Beverage Department Vision:

   Develop staff that embraces a culture off accountability to the both the business and their peers. Have in place a core group that is result and bottom line driven, while protecting and fostering a competitive and healthy work environment. We have parameters in place that allows for auto corrections to prevent the lapse of successful operations. The expectation for staff and leaders to come to the table with solutions, not problems.

   Food/ Beverage/ Event Center Mission Statement

   The Campbell’s staff at all time is expected to hold themselves and their peers accountable to the job and task assigned. We have a competitive environment that encourages and celebrates staff growth through continual education, desire, dedication, and determination. To have a team that understands their role as well as the role of their peers. We will observe sound business practice. To continuously provide the experience that is expected. All the positions in the F&B department will be held to high standards, their task will be respected, and will be given support.

   Core Values:

   Accountability : an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one's actions

   Integrity : Having integrity means doing the right thing in a reliable way. It's a personality trait that we admire, since it means a person has a moral compass that doesn't waver.

   Reliability : the quality of being trustworthy or of performing consistently well.

   Grit : courage and resolve; strength of character.

   Tenacity : The quality or fact of being very determined

   Honesty : freedom from deceit or fraud.

   Supportive : Provide assistance so other will enjoy success

   Competitive : having a strong desire to compete or to success

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find conference services directors for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any conference services directors they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level conference services directors with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your conference services director job on Zippia to find and recruit conference services director candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with conference services director candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new conference services director

   Once you've found the conference services director candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new conference services director. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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