Conference Operations Manager

This role offers you the opportunity to own the operational standard of every conference we run. You will be responsible for the end-to-end execution of 10 European private equity conferences a year - venues, suppliers, on-site teams, and the experience itself.

Do you want to take part in defining the future of an industry? Do you thrive in a fast-paced environment, where you gain a tremendous amount of responsibility? Do you want to be part of an exceptional entrepreneurial team with young, motivated and extremely driven people? And are you the kind of operator who ships - obsessive about details, calm under hard deadlines, and energised by getting a thousand moving pieces to land in the right place at the right time? If so, you might be the next member of our global operations team.

Why Retail Insights

Retail Insights is Northern Europe’s leading retail forum. We are strengthening the retail ecosystem by building a platform for insights, inspiration, and networking, connecting more than 3,000 leaders yearly from more than 15 countries.

Retail Insights is part of United Media ( which focuses on building large scale industry media and conferences products in sectors such as insurance, HR, private equity, retail, etc. As of today, we have organically launched 8 media companies and acquired one.

What we offer you

You get the unique opportunity to take ownership of one of our key business areas. You’ll be working in-person in your HQ in London where you will constantly be pushed out of your comfort zone. To ensure a never-ending growth curve, we provide you with:

• The opportunity of having a real impact - You’ll be getting operational experience in a start-up where both your work and the results are highly tangible and matter to the business.
• Inspiration and guidance - A chance to work closely with our high performing team as well as with the CEO and founder of our company.
• Unlimited growth potential in our company - we strongly believe in and have a track record of promoting internally.
• Travel opportunity: You would be joining our conferences overseas.
• Invaluable transferable skills - boost your interpersonal, research, organisation, outreach and project management skills through experience and training.

Your Responsibilities

Responsibilities in this job will vary; however, they will be mostly centered around the following:

1. Supplier Research and Management:
• Source, compare, and find the best suppliers for various event needs.
• Conduct thorough research to identify potential suppliers for add-ons, branding materials, and other event requirements.
• Negotiate contracts and terms with suppliers to ensure cost-effectiveness and high-quality services.
• Maintain positive relationships with suppliers, addressing any issues or concerns.
• Budget review and management to ensure all changes are raised ahead of time.
2. Event Planning:
• Planning sponsored VIP events, lunches, dinners, and after-hours activities.
• Coordinating with venue staff to ensure all logistical details are in place.
• Provide on-site support during events, ensuring everything runs smoothly.
3. Internal Team Support:
• Keep track and condense internal team queries.
• Maintain inventory tracking and regularly update event inventory sheets.
• Quality check of design aspects such as banners, signage, brochures, and other promotional materials.
4. On-site Volunteer organisation 
• Hire, train, and manage a 40-person organisation of volunteers.

What the future hold for you with our company

Whether you are with or for 2 or 10+ years we believe this position to lay the foundation for a very successful career. We are strong believers of internal promotions and aim to land all management positions internally.

What we expect from you

Please note that this job does not require any specific previous work experience as training is provided and we are looking to incorporate candidates across different levels of experience. However, we do require you to have a UK work permit. 

Furthermore, we are looking for candidates who:

• Have a relentless drive and desire to be the very best at what they do;
• Possess and unparalleled work ethic with a high sense of urgency;
• Take ownership of everything they do, are proactive and follow through on commitments;
• Are curious about people and love to speak, build and nurture relations;
• Are an excellent communicator (especially) verbally and in writing;
• Are well-organised and display the ability to structure and prioritise their work.

Start date

Flexible. The role is onsite Monday to Friday, based in our office 4 minute walk from London Victoria Station.