Event Manager - 20th Anniversary Ambassador Event

The rundown:

2022/23 marks the 20th Anniversary of Teach First. Over the last 20 years, Teach First has recruited, placed and trained nearly 14,000 people to teach and lead in schools to support some of the most disadvantaged pupils in the UK. We have amazing Ambassadors leading change at all levels of society. However, there is still so much left to do in the fight against educational inequality and we are determined to reignite the fire within our Ambassador Community and empower them to tackle this challenge for the next 20 years and beyond.

To do this we are hosting a major 20th Anniversary event for over 1,200 Teach First Ambassadors in July 2023. As Event Manager—20th Anniversary Event, you will be responsible for the end to end planning and delivery of this large-scale, outdoor event.

The detail:

day-to-day work

• You will manage full end to end delivery of this event including contract negotiations, procurement, budget and staff management, operational delivery and evaluation.

• Work closely with the Ambassador Advisory Board and colleagues across the organisation, particularly within Events and Network Development to curate content to meet event objectives.

• You will be responsible for managing relationships with external contractors working on this event, including an event management agency and communications agency.

• Work with the Head of Events other Event Managers at Teach First to ensure consistency and efficiency across the delivery of all Teach First programmes and events.

• You will have matrix management responsibility of an Event Officer and Coordinator with time assigned to support the delivery of this event

• You will deploy your team to ensure delivery to agreed budgets, quality targets and deadlines. You will liaise with colleagues in the in other functions and Directorates to ensure all resource requirements are met.

• Support the development of a culture of delivery excellence, continuous improvement and value for money within the Events function. You’ll take ownership for:

• End to End Event Management of the 20th Anniversary Event, including event logistics, procurement of speakers and content curation.

• Engagement and satisfaction of all event stakeholders, including ambassadors, speakers and contractors.

• Creating opportunities to embed the networks approach into the delivery of events, engagement and communications.

• Understanding key relationships with external stakeholders (ambassadors, programme members, schools and agencies), responding to their insights and raising their issues or concerns.

About you

The Essentials:

• You are an experienced Events Manager-you have a proven track record of planning, organising and managing the end to end delivery of large scale events; you can react in a timely manner to unforeseen circumstances to ensure the event’s success while always keeping the attendee experience at the forefront of your mind.

• You have strong project management capabilities– you are able to ensure that all project goals are achieved within the given constraints by collaborating with key stakeholders and supporting colleagues to prioritise tasks; you can proactively report on progress of logistical elements of the event, and keep the wider team abreast of any emerging risks or key developments outside of the initial event brief.

• You are skilled in Contract Relationship Management– you can successfully liaise with external agencies and service providers to ensure service agreement terms are met, using negotiation to overcome hurdles where necessary.

• You can confidently manage an event budget-you use clear processes to implement budget plans; you have experience with financial analysis, forecasting and reporting.

• You have experience working with and managing volunteers in the design and delivery of events • You have strong event content curation skills specifically for large scale events, with a focus on resolving social issues and driving social action

The nice to haves :

• You have experience curating content for Teach First Ambassadors or similar audiences who are committed to social change

• You should have a commitment to and knowledge of advancing diversity and inclusion We succeed when we work together.

Here’s who you’ll be working with regularly:

• Event Management Agency and Creative Agency

• Head of Events, Events Coordinators and wider Events team

• Network Connector team

• Communications and Marketing team

• Fundraising

More info on how the role fits in with the rest of the team and charity:

The role sits in the Ambassador Community team. You will be joint managed between the Head Events and Head of Ambassador Community and be included in key Events Team meetings for support and sharing of expertise.

This position is a level 3 role.

Take a look at our role levels and where you’ll fit in on our Working for us webpages (under Pay and Benefits).

More about working for us

There’s lots of great stuff about working here. For full details pop over to our webpages.

Our culture: We live by our principles. They underpin our culture and identity. And inform everything we do. Find our more about our cultural principles Diversity and inclusion: We want to be a place where everyone can perform, learn and contribute with the confidence to be themselves. We particularly welcome applications from candidates who are disabled; Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic; Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans including non-binary, and related communities; and candidates whose socio-economic background reflects that of the pupils we work with. We’re committed to better representing the communities we serve. Find out more about what we’re doing to improve our diversity and inclusion. This role is suitable for agile and flexible working Our agile way of working gives you flexibility. Need to start late, finish early or fancy a change of scenery? That’s fine, our Agile Working policy focuses on what you achieve, not presenteeism. If you need a set and regular working pattern to support your life have a chat with us about flexible working options. Over 100 of us already have a flexible working agreement, with more than 70 different working patterns in place. We’re ready to hear your request. Find out more via our flexible working policy on our webpages.

Our benefits: Our mission is critical and the work’s important, but so’s your life. We’ve put together a benefits package that means you can live and work well. Find out more on our Working at Teach First webpages.