Event Planner

**Who are we?**

South Western Railway (SWR) operates over 1,500 services each weekday across the network and employs more than 5,000 people. We provide easy and convenient mobility, connecting people and communities in South West London, southern counties of England, and the Isle of Wight.

**Join our team and help us continue to improve quality of life, by bringing people together to get the most out of life.**

SWR is part of FirstGroup, the largest rail operator in the UK and second largest bus operator in the UK outside London. FirstGroup operates services throughout the UK and Ireland, with over 30,000 employees providing services that make travel smoother and life easier. FirstGroup works hard to reduce its impact on the environment, introducing cleaner and more environmentally responsible methods of transport.

**Main Purpose**

We are actively seeking an Event Planner that will be responsible for coordinating our internal recognition events.

**Your main responsibilities will be**:
As an Event Planner you will be responsible for the following;
- Responsible for the administration of the Celebration of Service Recognition and support in the arranging of the Celebrartion of Service Presentation Dinners and attend some of these events
- Responsible for the administration of the You're a Star Recognition events and support in the arranging of the You're a Star Presentation Dinners and attend some of these events. Responsible for collating of the nominations ready for the panel to judge each month.
- Responsible for the administration of the Colleagues Activity Groups, ensure nominations are put to the panel each momth and action any outcomes
- Responsible for the administration of the annual Excellence Awards and all the work needed each year to make these a success
- Responsible for the collating of the Thank You Cards recognition scheme and arranging the monthly draw and notifying winners.
- Support with the Investors in People Accreditation
- Support with the annual Your Voice survey
- Support with the promotion all of the South Western Railway Recognition Schemes and help with the administration of the Recognition Website

**You'll need**:

- Previous experience working as an Event Planner or within an HR environment would be an advantage
- Previous experience in arranging large recognition events or something similar
- Ability to organise several events simultaneously
- Able to challenge Vendors when required
- Strong timemanagement skills with a proven ability to prioritse work load to Business needs
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills required, along with attention to detail
- Able to work within a team and also individually
- Experience with working with Office 365, Excel and Powerpoint
- Have a flexible approach to ensure customers needs are met and be able to use their own initiative

Applicants who require a visa must have **6 months** remaining at the time of their appointment

**About the location**

Overline House is conveniently situated overlooking Southampton Central Station and is easily accessible by public transport. The station is very local to West Quay, a hub for retailers and restaurants, and provides an excellent link between London, Coastal areas and the Isle of Wight.

**Working pattern**

You will work an average of 37 hours per week, typically Monday - Friday, office hours.

You will be required to work evenings when hosting events.

**The Reward**

In return we offer a competitive salary and a variety of valuable benefits, including:

- Free duty and leisure travel on SWR services for employees
- Free leisure travel for spouse/partner and dependants (criteria dependent)
- 75% discount on many other train operating companies
- Full training and support with development
- Large range of exclusive retail offers
- Excellent pension scheme

We value our differences such as age, gender, LGBTQIA+, ethnicity, religion, and disability. We maintain a zero tolerance towards any form of prejudice towards our colleagues, customers, and future talent.

We celebrate and encourage diversity of thought, progressive ways of working and seeing all our colleagues grow and thrive.

We review all roles and job descriptions to ensure they are accessible and, where possible, we support and provide flexible working options; we recommend that you refer to each vacancy description for further details.