Operations Director, Winter Wonderland

Who We Are: IMG is a global leader in sports, fashion, events and media. The company manages some of the world’s greatest athletes and fashion icons; owns and operates hundreds of live events annually; and is a leading independent producer and distributor of sports and entertainment media. IMG also specializes in licensing, sports training and league development. IMG is a subsidiary of Endeavor, a global sports and entertainment company.

What You'll Do: This role requires a balance of strong, supportive leadership as well as extensive experience of delivering a major event or attraction at the strategic level. It will require focus on Hyde Park Winter Wonderland’s operational delivery, focusing on security, stewarding, event control, crowd behaviour and event profitability. The ideal candidate will have experience as a strategic delivery lead (Gold Command) on major events or visitor attractions, leading on operational strategy, emergency planning and incident management. The role is also one of stewardship for the Operations team – who are comprised of both permanent team members and freelancers during the event – ensuring that they are supported, encouraged and mentored at all times. We welcome applications from those with experience in large capacity public venues and/or stadiums.

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities:

• Acting as overall operational planning lead for Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, managing the co-ordinated delivery of a safe and secure event in accordance with the premise licence.
• Responsible for the operational strategy and tactical delivery of the event as part of the senior management team, working collaboratively and cohesively with the event’s head of departments to successfully deliver the commercial and operational objectives of the event.
• Reviewing updates to relevant legislation and guidance and working with the team to ensure excellence and compliance.
• Acting as Event Gold and/or Silver Command during the live event, as required.
• Line managing and nurturing the operations team including the Senior Safety Operations Manager, Senior Operations Co-ordinator, Accreditation and Gates Manager and Deployable Operation Managers.
• Responsible for the design, hiring, management and budget of the temporary event operations team, including all command-and-control arrangements.
• Being the key contact for major operational suppliers (including security and stewarding).
• Oversee and conduct the procurement, deployment and operational management of security and stewarding contractors to meet the licence requirements of the event.
• Oversee and conduct the briefing and training of security, stewarding and all operational staff.
• Responsible for a total budget overview of all operational suppliers.
• Work closely with the Event Director and Senior Safety Operations Manager to review, update and publish the EMP suite, including emergency plans.
• Overseeing and signing-off the Crowd Management Plan and all associated documentation produced by the Senior Safety Operations Manager.
• Work with the Senior Safety Operations Manager and Production Director to ensure coherent site design and crowd safety processes are in place, particularly around Ingress, Egress and Queues.
• Design, implement and manage the Event Control Centre, ensuring staff have the appropriate training and qualifications and access to the appropriate provision of resources.
• Regularly monitoring the demands on the operational and staffing budgets to ensure all essential activity is delivered utilising the resources available, within budget, negotiating with suppliers where necessary.
• Produce a risk register for the event to ensure contingency plans, training and briefings are consistent with the event and any risks it may face, including financial, reputational and public/staff safety.
• Plan and deliver the annual Tabletop and Readiness Exercises.
• Operational lead at multi-agency meetings and for the event’s major stakeholders including The Royal Parks, working collaboratively to ensure aims and objectives are delivered.
• Managing the invoicing and post-event reconciliation of suppliers.
• Responsible for scoping event requirements, tendering, negotiating supplier contracts and brokering multi-year deals.
• Nurturing relationships with contractors, sponsors, clients etc.
• Conducting post event debriefs of the above staffing departments, collating feedback and actions for the next year’s event.
• Assisting with business modelling and research for new proposed A&E events, including other Winter Wonderland events in other territories.
• Some pre-production/on-site assistance with other A&E events within the portfolio including international Winter Wonderland projects.

Unusual Challenges or Circumstances: Regular weekend and long hours over the festive season during Hyde Park Winter Wonderland’s build, open and de-rig period (Nov – Jan). You may be required to travel to other events in line with the Arts & Entertainment portfolio, including Hampton Court Palace Festival and The Big Feastival. Outside of event travel, there will be a requirement to travel for meetings as part of the role.

Key Results Areas:

• To produce a successful event safely, on schedule and on budget.
• To receive positive feedback from key stakeholders, visitors to the event, senior managers, team members and peers.
• To effectively plan ahead and organize work efficiently, and to be able to meet deadlines and revenue projections while maintaining appropriate service levels and cost budgets.
• To continually contribute to the team with new ideas or new approaches.
• To positively represent company culture and participate in morale-boosting activities.

You Have These:

• Experience in producing and project managing large-scale outdoor events or permanent visitor attractions.
• Experience in managing major contractors and senior staff.
• Experience working with Safety Advisory Group members including the emergency services.
• Experience in detailed budget management.
• Experience in growing and championing teams, identifying their skills and enabling them to grow.

Skills & Abilities (Personal and Professional):

• A strong, positive leader with the ability to persuade and influence.
• Ability to handle pressure, stay calm and show leadership in dynamic circumstances at Gold and Silver levels.
• Ability to manage and prioritise tasks to meet tight deadlines.
• Enthusiastic, self-motivated and proactive.
• A good-humoured, personable, and professional manager that can motivate a team under difficult conditions.
• A clear and professional writing style. Strong literacy skills for proof-reading.
• Numerate, and able to comprehend and digest complex budget sheets.
• Strong budget decision making skills, ability to make commercial decisions with clear rationale.
• Working knowledge of MS Office software, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint etc.
• Experience or understanding of Computer Aided Design (CAD) and sketch-up of Visio for site map design is desirable.

Qualifications and Training:

• Essential: An understanding of both UK and EU Health and Safety Legislation and Regulations, including CDM 2015 and the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
• Desirable: NVQS Crowd Safety Management, NVQS Spectator Safety Management, IOSH/NEBOSH qualification as a minimum (others may be acceptable), First aid at work qualification, Full, clean UK driving license.

Working Conditions: Perm, London Chiswick Park. Start Date: September 2025. Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm.