Global IT Events Director
hace 1 día
Chiswick
Who We Are About MARI MARI is a global events and experiences company with a portfolio of world-class live properties spanning sport, art, lifestyle, and entertainment. These include major international tennis tournaments, among them the Mutua Madrid Open and Miami Open presented by Itaú, Frieze, a leading voice in contemporary art, Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, TodayTix Group, a leading digital ticketing and technology company for theatre and live performance, and Barrett-Jackson, the foremost U.S. collector car auction company. MARI delivers live experiences that bring people together, inspire audiences, and shape culture worldwide. The Role The Global IT Events Director is a senior operational leader responsible for designing, delivering, and continually improving the end-to-end IT operations for all MARI live events worldwide. This is a hands-on, globally distributed role that blends technical leadership, resource orchestration, and on-site live event management. You will oversee all technical elements of event delivery — from planning, site inspections, network builds, POS deployments, Wi-Fi design, broadcast/streaming requirements, accreditation systems, and endpoint provisioning to on-site support teams, overnight builds, and rapid issue resolution during live operations. MARI’s event calendar includes high intensity overlaps across regions (Americas, APAC, EMEA), multi-month installations, and peak concurrent periods that require careful planning, vendor management, and operational precision. You will own the global event IT operating model, manage internal and third-party resources, maintain standards and runbooks, and ensure MARI delivers faultless technical execution at every event. Key Responsibilities And Accountabilities Global Event Technology Leadership • Own the full lifecycle of IT delivery for all global MARI events — planning, design, setup, live operations, de-rig, and post-event reviews., • Develop and enforce a global Event Technology Standards Framework (networks, WiFi, POS, ticketing, printers, devices, connectivity, resilience, documentation)., • Conduct technical site visits and lead pre-production planning sessions with Production, Operations, Commercial, and external partners. Event Calendar & Resource Orchestration • Manage the global event calendar to prevent resourcing conflicts during overlapping periods (e.g., February Americas overlap, August–September APAC triple overlap, October–January EMEA peaks)., • Build detailed resource allocation plans, identifying when internal teams, temporary staff, or third-party vendors are required., • Coordinate scheduling around 4–8-week planning windows, ensuring global workloads are sustainable and predictable. On-Site Technical Delivery • Serve as senior technical lead at major events worldwide., • Oversee all on-site infrastructure as well as potential disaster recovery scenarios, • Network and Wi-Fi deployment, • Cabling and infrastructure setup, • POS and payment device rollout, • Ticketing and access control systems, • Artist/athlete/media areas, • Press rooms, broadcast/streaming support, • Back-office IT and endpoint provisioning, • Rapidly diagnose and resolve issues during live operations, ensuring business continuity. Vendor & Third-Party Management • Build and manage a global network of boutique IT event support vendors to supplement internal teams., • Negotiate contracts, scopes of work, SLAs, day rates, and surge capacity terms., • Establish escalation pathways between internal teams, 3rd-party engineers, and event production. Event Runbooks, Documentation & Knowledge Management • Create and maintain event-specific IT runbooks, diagrams, staffing plans, network maps, and pre-flight checklists., • Develop repeatable, scalable templates for art fairs, tennis events, endurance sports, festivals, and long-duration winter attractions., • Ensure post-event debriefs capture lessons learned and feed into continuous improvement. Infrastructure & Technology Readiness • Ensure all event technologies are fully tested, configured, and signed off before deployment., • Manage event equipment inventory and warehousing— laptops, iPads, POS units, printers, switches, APs, cabling., • Oversee temporary internet services, 4G/5G fallback, and redundant connectivity. People Leadership & Team Development • Manage and mentor a distributed global Support and Events technology team., • Coordinate with IT Operations & Support teams to ensure effective follow-the-sun support., • Provide coaching, training, and development to build a world-class event engineering capability. Budget Ownership & Cost Management • Own the event IT budget forecast, including staffing, equipment, vendors, and travel., • Evaluate buy vs. rent vs. outsource decisions for event hardware., • Tracks spend per event and identify opportunities for operational efficiency. Unusual Challenges or Circumstances • Extensive travel to global events (including nights, weekends, holidays)., • Multi-week or multi-month on-site presence for intense installations (e.g., Winter Wonderland, Frieze Seoul)., • High-pressure live environments requiring rapid response and exceptional problem-solving., • Simultaneous events across regions requiring strong remote coordination., • Adaptability to outdoor environments, temporary structures, weather, and last-minute operational changes Key Results Areas • Zero critical outages across all major MARI events., • On-time build readiness and go-live execution., • Accurate staffing models for each region and peak period., • Standardised event runbooks used globally., • High vendor performance and reliable surge capacity., • Strong relationships with Production, Commercial, and Operations teams., • Positive feedback from event directors, partners, and VIP stakeholders. Person Specification Knowledge And Experience • 10+ years in event technology, live events, or field-based technical operations., • Demonstrated leadership in delivering IT for large-scale, multi-day or multi-week events., • Hands-on experience with event networks, temporary connectivity, WiFi design, ticketing systems, POS, and broadcast support., • Experience managing global technical teams and 3rd-party vendors., • Background supporting art fairs, sports, experiential events, or major festivals highly desirable., • Strong understanding of hardware logistics, IT security, BYOD environments, and temporary event infrastructures. Skills And Abilities • Expert at managing complex, multi-site, multi-team event operations., • Exceptional troubleshooting in high-pressure, live environments., • Strong negotiation skills with vendors and contractors., • Ability to produce clear diagrams, runbooks, and operational documentation., • Excellent communication with both technical and non-technical stakeholders., • Strong analytical capabilities for resource modelling and event forecasting., • Able to lead teams across time zones within a follow-the-sun model. Qualifications And Training • Bachelor's degree in IT, Engineering, or equivalent experience., • ITIL, PRINCE2, or project management certifications beneficial., • Vendor-specific networking certifications desirable (e.g., Cisco, Aruba, Meraki)., • Event-specific technical qualifications (broadcast, networking, or AV) advantageous. Aptitudes/Personal Profile Drive and Energy • Strong drive for success and relentless pursuit of achieving results., • Is action oriented and pursues everything with energy and drive. Passionate about success and winning., • Dedicated, committed, enthusiastic, positive, and motivated. Has courage and persistence in convictions no matter how difficult the task is. Adaptability • Is open, flexible, and adaptable to changes in work demands, people, and situations., • Ability to view overall business priorities and redefine own and team’s priorities in line with expectations and objectives., • Ability to plan and communicate the steps needed to deliver a defined outcome., • Ability to ensure the most urgent and important needs of the business are achieved, • Time management for the event team and prioritising escalations Communication • Persuasive and influential. Understands the attitudes, interests, needs, and perspectives of others and can convince others and gain agreement., • Listens intently and ensures other party feels they have been heard and understood., • Maintains confidentiality, remains open to others’ ideas, and exhibits willingness to try new things. Working Conditions • The work location is Chiswick Park, London., • This is a permanent contract., • Working hours are 9-5 pm with occasional work outside of working hours where necessary for the business.
