EVENTS AND HOSPITALITY Manager

JOB Description:

Eight Bells is an urban winery located in the heart of Seattle’s Roosevelt neighborhood. Established in 2009, the winery joined friends Tim Bates, Andy Shepherd, and Frank Michiels, along with their decades of winemaking experience, into a singular effort to produce quality wines that reflect the terroir of select Washington State vineyards.

In 2021, Frank's daughter, Taylor, officially joined the team as the Eight Bells Chief Executive Officer, having worked at the winery since its inception. She, along with her husband Kip, joined the Partnership and established the second generation of Eight Bells, keeping the winery a family and friends operation.

Also in 2021, Pete Zachara, our Assistant Winemaker and Manager, joined the team; he is a talented sommelier with a passion for food and wine. Moving forward, the Eight Bells team is looking to add another full time position to assist in our transformation period. The Eight Bells team is in the middle of a big re-model and is preparing to move its entire establishment to the Meadowbrook neighborhood on Lake City Way!

The Eight Bells Events and Hospitality Manager will be exposed to all the ins and outs of the industry and will participate in all facets of the business, with an emphasis on positioning our new location as a premiere events destination. This position will manage our tasting room, our robust events calendar, and our membership program. The best candidate for this role is someone with significant events experience, a self-starter, team player, and background in hospitality. It is also important that this candidate is a true culture fit, brand ambassador and believer in our story and product. We look forward to meeting you!

What you will do:

  • Help position the new Eight Bells Winery location as a premier event space

  • Strategize, plan, and execute events ranging in size and clientele

  • Promote event space across industries to build an events calendar, in addition to our standard member exclusive events calendar

  • Manage open to the public tasting room hours, manage any part-time tasting room staff, and interaction with winery guests

  • Work with tasting room team on sales and customer service training, one-on-one coaching and ongoing wine education

  • Set and achieve tasting room goals including sales, new club members, conversion rates

  • Manage visitor reservations

  • Respond to customer service emails as needed

  • Conduct a weekly inventory of onsite wine

  • Track and order tasting room supplies

  • Assist with running wine club allotments and packaging wine club shipments

  • Manage and conduct off-site pourings, tastings and events

  • Develop innovative strategies to drive sales and customer satisfaction

  • Network with hospitality/industry peers to further develop referral relationships

  • Assist with special events, such as wine club release parties

  • Meet with the Partnership regularly to check-in, brainstorm new ideas, share reports, etc.

What you will bring:

Desired Qualities:

  • 5+ years of event experience (events within wine/retail/hospitality preferred)

  • Successful management experience (ideally in luxury hospitality or the wine industry)

  • Strong communication, sales and negotiation skills (extensive sales experience preferred)

  • Ability to participate in wine production: crush, bottling, topping, etc.

  • Enthusiastic, passionate and curious about the wine industry

  • Professional and personable, with excellent customer service skills

  • Strong strategic, problem solving, and analytical skills

  • General wine knowledge with familiarity of the Washington wine industry

  • Ability to work individually and in a team environment

  • Ability to prioritize multiple tasks simultaneously

  • Ability to work in a fast-paced, changing environment

  • Proficiency in Point of Sales (POS) systems, specifically OrderPort, and computer skills required

  • Ability to obtain a WSLCB MAST Permit and WA State Food Handler’s Permit

  • Able to drive a company vehicle and maintain a valid driver’s license

  • History of responsible use of alcohol and other appropriate conduct, as well as fitness to be licensed, permitted, and/or certified by state and/or local regulatory bodies

Scheduling Requirements:

  • Must be able to work various days of the week, including weekendS

  • Full-time employment

Physical Requirements:

  • Able to lift and carry up to 50 pounds

  • Stand/walk for extended periods of time

  • Able and willing to work on-premise

cOMPENSATION & bENEFITS:

  • Salaried job and bonus eligible; salary dependent on application’s work experience

  • Full Time: 40 Hours per Week

  • Annual Performance and Compensation Review

  • Medical/Dental/Vision Benefits 

  • 401K eligible

Eight Bells Winery is an equal opportunity employer. We consider qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity, protected veteran status, or other protected class. For more information, see the EEOC's "Equal Employment Opportunity is The Law" poster.

Who we are:

We are a small, family and friends operation. We understand you spend a lot of time at work and in order to make all that time worth the effort, it is important to enjoy your work family. We say this because culture fit is a big component to your individual success and Eight Bell’s overall success. We are looking for someone to join our work family. In return, we will value your contribution, time and effort. Collectively, we will represent the Eight Bells brand!


To apply, click the link below to email Taylor@8bellswinery.com with your cover letter and resume and be sure to tell us a little about yourself and why you’re interested in joining the team!