Festival Event Manager (Freelance)
1 day ago
City of London
Reporting to: Head of Operations Assisted by: Event Assistant Salary: £27,000 Type: Freelance – expected workload between 2-5 days a week, variable with monthly deliverables. Plus on site dates. Start Date: January 2026 / ASAP until October 2026 On Site Dates: 24th June – 8th July 2026 20th August – 3rd September 2026 Overview The Event Manager will work with the Operations team to deliver two much-loved weekend festivals, Love Supreme (24,000 capacity) & The Long Road (13,000 capacity). Both events are carefully curated and produced to create distinctive customer experiences, requiring an experienced, passionate, dynamic, and diligent Event Manager to successfully fulfil the post. Duties The Event Manager will be broadly responsible for ensuring all operational plans are in place and for delivering both events safely and to a high standard in line with relevant regulations/legislation, best practice, and company policies and values, and within the overall Production budget target. Duties include, but are not limited to:- • Maintain and manage master Production Budget, ensure procurement, purchase ordering, approval and payments processes are followed, reporting to Senior Operations Manager on budget and planning status., • Manage and coordinate workloads of other members of the Event Operations team who run Production budget tabs throughout the year (Site, Creative, AL, Tech) - ensure they are given clear briefs, deliverables and deadlines to work to, providing regular updates to, and flagging foreseeable issues, with the Head of Operations., • Work collaboratively with the Festival Team (generally consisting of Promotor/Artist Booking, Marketing, Sponsorship, Ticketing, Commercial, Finance departments) to drive balance between budget constraints, safety, creative vision, customer experience and practical considerations, to ensure the shared vision of the festivals is realised on site., • Liaise between Festival team and Event Operations team to facilitate commercial, content and operational partners such as (but not limited to) bars, sponsors, accommodation/glamping, food & retail vendors, brand partners and media teams., • Work with Site Manager, wider festival team & other relevant stakeholders to ensure site plan works for all, communicate revisions to the wider team and ensure changes are implemented appropriately., • Lead on the delivery of licensing, SAG, multi-agency and stakeholder engagement strategies as agreed with Head of Operations. Represent the festival at SAG level., • Develop the Event Management Plan suite of documentation, in consultation with contractors and local authority representatives. Ensure these are compiled, checked and approved for distribution to the local authority and any other relevant stakeholders in line with the Premises Licence and SAG meeting schedule., • Procure and manage freelancers, event service contractors & suppliers such as (but not limited to) Event staff, Security, Medical, Welfare and Traffic. Undertake procurement processes as required., • Liaise with Event Safety Advisor to ensure appropriate Risk Assessments and General Safety Plans are in place and to facilitate site inductions and on-site safety processes., • Lead on development and distribution of residents communication plan, to include scheduling and partaking in stakeholder meetings. Feed into resident enquiries pre-event and complaints post-event., • Input into customer facing information on website, via email, via socials and on-site signage and comms., • Lead on Event Operations team debrief meetings and represent the Operations Team in full event debrief meetings., • Undertake full reconciliation of the Production budget, ensuring all costs are finalised, paid and recorded, and any recharges are recouped. On site • Deliver Event Manager function for duration of events - covering build, show and load out. Run business as usual operations, escalate issues to Senior Event Manager., • Assist Senior Event Manager and Event Director to coordinate incident response as required (as Operational Bronze). Feed into decision making and ensure other HODs are communicated to with relevant information., • Be responsible for overseeing and managing contractors, ensuring they are fulfilling their services (i.e. security, traffic) as planned., • Oversee venue handovers with venue and site., • Facilitate safety processes as directed by Event Director and Senior Event Manager., • Ensure appropriate processes are in place to accredit and brief event staff. Essential • Minimum of 3 years’ experience Event Management experience in a similar setting., • Excellent working knowledge of green field festivals / comparable live events., • Experience of successfully coordinating multi-disciplinary teams., • Experience in stakeholder, SAG liaison and production of EMP documentation., • Excellent interpersonal skills, able to communicate effectively at all levels and via all mediums., • Up to date knowledge of event industry best practice and regulatory requirements., • Competent IT literacy including MS Office (notably XL), Google Drive, file sharing platforms, • Proven ability to manage budgets., • Highly organised, confident, diligent, resourceful and hardworking, • Confident, responsive and pro-active communicator., • Creative and positive problem solver., • Excellent attention to detail., • Quick to pick up and implement processes, willingness to learn and develop., • A flexible approach to working hours., • Ability to travel to London office (number of days to be agreed with successful applicant) Desirable · Driving Licence · Experience in all-age festivals · Relevant event focused Health & Safety Qualification(s) · Crowd Management Qualification(s) · Experience of Site Management · First Aid Qualification(s) · Capable CAD user for 2D site/ floor planning (Vector Works preferably or AutoCad) How to apply Send a CV and short cover letter explaining why you are suitable for this role to . Please also provide a minimum of two referees for us to contact if required. The office will be closed for Christmas between 19th December - 4th January, please do not expect a reply during this time. Applications will be reviewed on return with the aim of holding interviews from w/c 12th January. Equal Opportunities • We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all applicants, and to providing employees with a positive and supportive work environment. We actively encourage applications from those with diverse backgrounds and experiences, and/or from marginalised communities.
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