Events Manager

Background

The IAB is the not-for-profit trade body for the digital advertising industry with members from some of the biggest companies in the world including Google, Meta, Amazon, News UK, Microsoft and TikTok. Our purpose is to build a better future for digital advertising, for the benefit of everyone. We do this through a range of activities including events, training, research, setting standards, helping the industry to remain self-regulated and more. You can find out more about us and the work we do here.

Careers at the IAB

To understand our culture, the ways we support new joiners, our wellbeing offering, our company benefits and our commitments to environmental sustainability and diversity and inclusion, find out more here.

The role

The Events Manager is responsible for conceiving and running all IAB UK’s events. As an industry body with collaboration at our heart, our events provide unique and highly valued opportunities for our members to come together, be inspired, learn, network and gain exposure to the rest of the industry. Our events consistently receive exceptionally high feedback scores and are called out as one of things our members value most highly, so this role is pivotal in driving member satisfaction and surprising and delighting the digital advertising industry.

Responsibilities include:

• Developing an annual events plan to deliver against organisational strategy and objectives
• Delivering outstanding, memorable and commercially viable events including residential summits, flagship conferences, roundtables, seminars and networking events in the IAB office
• Producing IAB UK’s events, ensuring smoothly run and professionally delivered experiences that are so good members regularly comment on it
• Working with the Director of Marketing, Leadership Team and across the business to put together all-filler no-killer agendas, drawing on the IAB’s vast membership and booking engaging and relevant speakers
• Managing all event budgets, tracking costs and ensuring all events come in on agreed budget 
• Ensuring sponsors and speakers have an exceptional experience at all touchpoints
• Maintaining and increasing existing high feedback scores for IAB’s events
• Continually innovating and bravely reimagining IAB UK’s events to ensure they constantly feel fresh and industry-leading
• Developing compelling sponsorship opportunities and working closely with the Head of Partnerships to hit events income targets
• Identifying new commercial opportunities within our events portfolio
• Line managing and supporting the Marketing Executive to deliver outstanding event marketing

Skills and experience

• Event Management: Proven experience in planning and executing conferences and corporate events, with strong knowledge of logistics, venue selection, contract negotiation, and on-site management.
• Project Management: Expertise in managing multiple projects simultaneously, consistently delivering events on time, within budget, and to a high standard.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Strong communication skills with the ability to build and maintain relationships with diverse stakeholders, including sponsors, suppliers, speakers, and delegates.
• Marketing and Promotion: Knowledgeable in event marketing and promotion, with a keen interest in applying industry trends to our marketing
• Communication: Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, capable of crafting compelling event materials and confidently presenting to senior members of the team.
• Team Leadership: Ability to lead and motivate direct teams, including internal staff and external vendors, ensuring clear direction, effective delegation and problem resolution.
• Innovation and Bravery: Willingness to innovate and take calculated risks that drive successful and unique event experiences.
• Problem-Solving: Strong troubleshooting skills with the ability to anticipate challenges and respond quickly to unexpected changes.
• Curiosity: Eagerness to stay informed about industry trends and adapt to new developments, ensuring events remain relevant and impactful.

Management structure 

This role will report into the Director of Marketing and manage the Marketing Executive, who is responsible for marketing IAB UK’s events

Flexible working

We have a hybrid approach to working, with the whole company working from the office in Covent Garden every Wednesday and we ask team members to come into the office on at least one other day per week.

Equal opportunities

The IAB supports equal opportunities for everyone, and we want to build a digital advertising industry that is for everybody. We value and respect all differences in people (seen and unseen). One of the ways we do this is by actively encouraging staff to work in ways that best suit their needs and our flexible working policy outlines the options available. Please talk to us at the interview about the flexibility and equipment or other support you need. We can’t promise to give you exactly what you want, but we promise not to judge you for asking.

Application process

Applications to be sent to Tom Stevens, [email protected]. Salary is competitive.