REPORTING TO: GLOBAL DIRECTOR OF EVENTS
OFFICE LOCATION: UK with travel requirements necessary
Reed & Mackay leads the global travel and event management arena with extraordinary service and proprietary, client-led technology. Ranked first in the Sunday Times International Fast Track 2020, we are a business that is always looking forwards, while ensuring that we’re everything that our clients need today. In May 2021, we became part of Navan (formerly TripActions), and together we are setting the agenda for the future of business travel.
Role Summary:
The Head of Events will be responsible for improving operational efficiency. This includes hiring staff, meeting targets, operating budgets and maximising profitability. You will also provide support to the Global Director of Events and Global Head of Event Experience on the rollout of operational processes in new markets, as necessary. Ultimately, you’ll play a key role in ensuring that Reed & Mackay Events grow and thrive, ensuring a high degree of focus and team spirit. This role will initially support our UK, Germany and Australian Offices, but you will be required to support the growth into other markets as we develop our Events business in other countries.
Key Responsibilities
- Support the Global Director and CEO with the operational rollout of Events across R&M and Navan locations, in current and new markets you will be responsible for
- Provides leadership in conjunction with Team Leaders, on day-to-day operations for the Events Team in your allocated markets, taking action and supporting Senior Management to ensure the availability and development of talent needed to meet current and future business needs
- Assists with setting OKRs for the Events Team which are aligned with the Global Reed & Mackay Business, and working with Team Leaders (as appropriate) to agree individual OKRs for members of the team to ensure constant development, training and improvement
- Drives operational excellence and highest levels of client service, fostering a client-centric environment where client perspective and service is central to the activity and thinking of the team
- Ensures adherence to operational standards and processes, SLAs (general and client specific)
- Implements necessary training and staff development based on client service standards – working with the client and lead stakeholders to optimise training opportunities
- Supporting Team Leaders with delivering innovative ideas, solutions and opportunities to achieve business objectives and optimisation of client events
- Creates a culture of passion around delivering the ultimate customer experience through engagement and empowerment in work with colleagues and team
- Communicates with the team at all levels to ensure knowledge of process and gaps in performance January 2024
- Maintains communication with Senior Leadership Team to ensure they are aware of any customer successes or problems, changes, gaps in performance and providing solutions for improvement to address any issues
- Collaborates with Global Event Experience team, Team Leaders and other Heads to share best practices/standard procedures, opportunities for improvement and work together collaboratively to best serve Reed & Mackay Event clients.
Communication
- Engage and communicate across diverse internal and external audiences
- Gain the credibility and confidence of multiple audiences through creative solutions
Clients:
- Engage and communicate across diverse internal and external audiences
- To work in collaboration with the Client Success Team to build and maintain client relationships
- Desire to provide 150% service to clients and your team
- To identify and escalate client feedback for the entire team
- Attend face to face client meetings as required
Team Management
Act as a positive, enthusiastic role model to create an agile, change-adept Events Team
- Systematically approach issues, opportunities and recommendations with a spirit of curiousity and openmindedness – ability to think outside the box!
- Develop and maintain respectful, collaborative relationships and effective teams within your own Teams and across the global R&M business
- Create a culture that fosters and rewards energy, passion and challenging the status quo and ensuring a no blame team culture
- Proven people management skills, including management of remote workers
- Oversee the recruitment and training of new employees and lead the way on ensuring that R&M Events is a great place to work and we continue to deliver our service excellence.
- Attend Manager and Departmental Meetings as required
- Work with Team Leaders to identify capacity within the team
- Review, develop and support working efficiencies, reporting to the Global Event Experience Team where operational processes need reviewed
Process Change Management
To work with the Global Events Excellence Team to review and improve any processes or policies to enhance the running of your teams. All procedures and policies must be aligned with all R&M regions.
- Support and manage change at all levels of your teams in a positive and productive manner ensuring proactive engagement and “buy-in”
- Encourage innovation and continuous improvement by inspiring yourself and your teams to stretch beyond what can be done
- Comfortable working independently and well organised in an busy, rapidly changing environment
- Process oriented
- Regular monitor and identify client processes and procedures which will impact productivity within your teams
Finance:
- Understand the Financial processes required to run effective event management teams and ensure you are able to converse and translate between Finance and Events Teams where appropriate
- Review commercial income within your teams, identify where improvements can be made and arrange necessary training/upskilling as appropriate
- Ensure invoicing and financial hygiene is up to date and meeting the deadlines set by Finance
- Reviewing profitability and conversion rates within your teams, identifying where training and upskilling may be necessary January 2024
General
- Support the Global Director, Global Head of Event Experience and CEO and play an influential, co-ordinating role in the effective implementation of the operational planning and transformation of the business including maintaining budgets within the markets you are responsible for.
- Continually evaluate, challenge and improve operations and financial performance
- Encourage compliance of company policies and procedures
- Assist and support the Global Events Experience Team with internal and external audits and quality service reviews
- Fully support critical business continuity plan at all times
- Assist Senior Leadership Team to raise profile of the department to other areas of the business
- Excellent knowledge of Microsoft 365 and specific industry tools (ie Cvent)
- To be proficient in all R&M Event technology and to ensure knowledge is shared and maintained amongst the team
What we are looking for:
- Experience and ability to adapt and thrive in a hyper-growth environment
- Extensive Operational Knowledge in the Events Industry having experience in booking events from conception to completion including financial reconciliation for multi component events
- Ability to remain focussed and deliver under pressure
- Ability to manage event teams operationally for multiple clients including the management of different workflows and process
- Ability to manage multiple demands and priorities
- Strong influential, organisational and planning skills
- Ability to act independently with a strong level of assertiveness
- Clear and decisive thinker both at strategic and operational level who makes rational, logical and reasoned judgments
- Excellent stakeholder and relationship management skills
- Clear, concise communicator with the ability to summarise and “translate” where appropriate
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills across all levels
- Strong business and operational sense
- Confidence, opinions, good judgment, and an inclination to action
- Ability to motivate individuals and teams
- Solutions driven leader who will take ownership and lead from the front
