Creative Hospitality Development Jobs in Illinois

The Role and WhatYou'llDo:

160over90 is seeking a Sourcing Manager, Hospitality & Events (Experiential) to join the Hospitality team. This role sits at the intersection of hospitality sourcing, commercial negotiation, and experiential program execution, supporting live events, brand activations, employee and client engagement programs, and executive hospitality.

The Sourcing Manager serves as a strategic partner to Hospitality, Experiential, Client Services, Creative, and Production teams, owning sourcing strategy and vendor negotiations while ensuring that contracts and commercial decisions translate into seamless, operationally sound program delivery.

In this role, the Sourcing Manager balances strategic leadership with hands-on execution - leading complex, high-volume sourcing initiatives while also independently managing smaller, fast-turn hospitality and operational needs without requiring full program infrastructure.

Responsibilities

Sourcing Strategy & Commercial Negotiation

• Serve as the lead for sourcing strategy, commercial negotiations, and contract execution across hospitality and experiential programs, ensuring every agreement delivers financial efficiency and operational success.

• Lead complex negotiations across hotels, venues, transportation providers, destination management companies, and related vendors - securingoptimalpricing, concessions, and favorable contract terms while protecting margin and minimizing risk.

• Evaluate vendor proposals, build comparative analyses, and lead contract review and negotiation with a focus on both commercial advantage and operational practicality.

• Leverage and expand a strong network of industry vendors, including hotels, DMCs, transportation providers, venues, gifting partners, and temporary staff, to accelerate sourcing timelines and unlock competitive advantages.

Operational Fluency & Risk Management

• Anticipate and evaluate how sourcing and contracting decisions impact downstream program operations, including attrition, cancellation, service delivery,logistics, on-site execution, and guest experience.

• Proactivelyidentifyand mitigate contractual and operational risks to ensure seamless program delivery.

• Supportaccurateprogram forecasting andmaintaincurrent financials within the business management system until turnover to operations.

Cross-Functional Partnership & Execution

• Qualify incoming requests and develop clearsourcingbriefs aligned to program goals and timelines.

• Act as both a strategic partner and hands-on operator, navigating high-volume sourcing needs while independently executing smaller-scale, fast-turn program components.

• Work closely with Client Services, Creative, Hospitality, and Production teams to manage multiple concurrent initiatives in a fast-paced environment with evolving priorities.

• Maintain proactive, clear communication with client and account teams to ensuresharedunderstanding of deliverables, timelines, and responsibilities.

RFP Support & Program Development

• Contribute to and lead sourcing input for RFPs, RFIs, new business opportunities, presentation deliverables, and special projects,clearly articulating vendor strategy, negotiation approach, and value creation.

• Utilize technology tools, including Cvent Sourcing, to manage sourcing activity and track contracted volume.

• Assist Client Services with site inspectionlogisticsandparticipatein destination and programming ideation sessions as needed.

Process, Turnover & Documentation

• Prepare and conduct formal turnover meetingstoassigned Client Services teams.

• Maintain complete andaccurateelectronic filesin accordance withcompany standard operating procedures.

• Identifyopportunities to improve workflows and strengthen collaboration across departments.

• Demonstratea high levelof accuracy, diligence, and ownership throughout all phases of work.

You Will Have These:

• Knowledge of the MICE and Experiential landscape.

• 5-8+ years of experience in hospitality sourcing, event production, destination management, or experiential marketing, with a proventrack recordof negotiating and executing complex vendor agreements.

• Strong experience in contract negotiations, including hospitality-specific nuances and legal considerations, securing best rates, concessions, and favorable terms.

• Strong knowledge of hotels and destinations globally, with the ability to build andmaintainsupplier relationships.

• Strongproficiencyin Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.

• Strong knowledge of Cvent Sourcing.

• Initiative-taking, motivated, resourceful, andan effectivecommunicator.

We'dLove If You Also Have These

• Agency or experiential marketing experience.

• Experience supporting fast-paced, high-volume hospitality or experiential programs.

• Comfort balancing strategic sourcing responsibilities with hands-on, tactical execution.

• CMP or similar industry certifications.

How we work:

160over90is at the center of sports, media, entertainment, and fashion and is alargely relationship-basedbusiness. To foster an environment of collaboration, develop our future talent, andbuild onrelationships across leadership, peers, and teams, we work from the office 4 days per week. We see immeasurable value internally and throughout the core of the businesses we support.

Don'tmeet every single requirement? We are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, authentic workplace, so ifyou'reexcited about thisrolebut yourpast experiencedoesn'talign perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

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