Vice President, Venue Management – FIFA World Cup 26™

THE ROLE 

On Location has been appointed as the Official Hospitality Provider of the FIFA World Cup 26™! The Vice President of Venue Management will act as a day-to-day point of contact and project manager for FWC26 venues where On Location will activate. This role will be responsible for leading project management efforts across their specific group of venues, conducting venue related analysis for purposes of allocated tickets/hospitality spaces, supporting senior management and their ongoing discussions with such FIFA Teams and venues, and leading internal & external back-end management across those venue engagements. 
 
The ideal candidate will have strong project management skills and will be detail oriented, with a primary focus on keeping tasks and projects organized and delivered efficiently. Analytical skills and familiarity with dashboards and other reporting mediums will be paramount to success. Adept at managing multiple concurrent projects and coordinating across complex organizations, they will ensure venue-related milestones are met and communication with FIFA Teams and venues is consistent and direct. Relevant experience working within the sports and entertainment industry is desirable but not a requirement. 

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS & RESPONSIBILITIES 

• Lead project management efforts across multiple venue partners, ensuring seamless coordination and communication  

• Establish and nurture relationships with venue owners, operators, and event stakeholders, fostering effective collaboration and partnership  

• Support venue agreement negotiation process with venue partners through agreement reviews, risk and issue identification and management, and solution implementation  

• Create, manage, and maintain venue agreement status trackers, follow up on open matters, collate comments, and route agreements internally for resolution  

• Plan site visits for internal and external stakeholders, coordinate venue-related meetings, prepare materials, collate meeting notes, and identify action items for follow-up  

• Coordinate engagement of internal functional areas within venue partner discussions, scheduling meetings, and routing materials to relevant stakeholders  

• Support coordination, scheduling and materials preparation for cross-functional venue operational planning  

• Manage the receipt, aggregation, and internal distribution of venue-related information from venue partners to support functional area workstreams as needed  

• Monitor key dates, milestones, and deliverables across the venue partner group, ensuring timely progress and adherence to timelines  

• Assist with venue management related budget development, tracking and analysis in line with financial objectives  

• Support the preparation and delivery or internal reporting and status tracking across various venue-related workstreams  

• Develop a strong understanding of the FIFA WC26 operational requirements for venue use agreements and venue delivery  

REQUIREMENTS 

• Minimum 10 years of experience working in related roles in the sports, venue and/or event management industry working on major events, venue operations and/or event production  

• Demonstrated track record of successfully managing and executing events of varying sizes and complexities  

• Experience with FIFA and/or Major Sporting events and/or venue operations a plus  

• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to think critically to resolve issues efficiently  

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to convey complex ideas clearly and concisely  

• Proven leadership skills with the ability to motivate and guide team members to achieve common goals and foster people development  

• Exceptional organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple large-scale tasks and priorities simultaneously  

• Experience working within a complex, cross-functional organization  

• Fluent working with Microsoft Office suite of products, particularly PowerPoint and Excel  

• Working knowledge of Smartsheet preferred  

• Extremely detail-oriented with excellent organizational skills  

• Strong team building and interpersonal skills  

• Ability to implement and manage change effectively  

• A willingness to travel frequently (up to 75%) and work flexible hours 

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