Professional Development & Events Team Manager

The Chartered Association of Business Schools (Chartered ABS) is the voice of the UK’s business and management education sector. We represent and support business schools across the UK, championing their role in driving economic growth, productivity, innovation and leadership development. Through professional development, events, research and policy engagement, we help our members maintain world-class standards of teaching and research while creating opportunities for collaboration with business, government and higher education leaders.

We are now seeking an experienced and commercially minded Professional Development & Events Team Manager to lead the delivery and growth of our award-winning events and professional development portfolio.

This is a key leadership role within the organisation, reporting to the Director of Professional and Programme Development. You will lead our Events Team, overseeing the planning, production and delivery of a diverse portfolio of conferences, professional development programmes and member engagement activities. Combining strategic thinking with operational excellence, you will ensure our events continue to deliver outstanding experiences for participants while supporting the sustainable growth of the organisation. You will play a central role in shaping new programmes, strengthening relationships with members, speakers, sponsors and partners, and using data, technology and automation to improve the participant journey and enhance business performance. As a team manager, you will lead and develop colleagues, fostering a collaborative, high-performing culture focused on continuous improvement and exceptional customer service.

• Lead the planning, production and delivery of the Chartered ABS events and professional development portfolio, ensuring programmes are engaging, high quality and commercially successful.
• Research emerging sector trends and member priorities to develop relevant conferences, workshops and professional development programmes.
• Recruit, manage and support speakers, facilitators and external contributors.
• Oversee the participant journey from initial enquiry through to post-event engagement, ensuring an outstanding customer experience.
• Develop personalised participant communications and improve operational efficiency through the effective use of technology and automation.
• Drive participant recruitment by building strong relationships with members, business schools and prospective delegates.
• Support sponsorship and commercial partnership activity to maximise engagement and long-term value.
• Use CRM data, dashboards and performance insights to inform decision-making and improve commercial performance.
• Work closely with marketing colleagues to develop targeted campaigns that maximise registrations.
• Lead, develop and support the Events Team, promoting collaboration, continuous improvement and operational excellence.

You will be an experienced events or professional development manager with excellent organisational, leadership and relationship management skills. You will bring:

• Experience managing conferences, events, training courses or professional development programmes.
• Experience delivering excellent participant, customer or member engagement within a membership organisation, higher education institution or similarly customer-focused environment.
• A successful track record of recruiting participants through relationship management, marketing activity and data-led decision making.
• Experience leading, developing and motivating teams.
• Strong project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deliver high-quality outcomes.
• Experience writing engaging and marketable event programmes and working closely with marketing teams.
• Strong commercial awareness with the ability to balance member value with organisational objectives.
• Experience improving operational processes through technology, automation and digital innovation, together with experience in business development, sponsorship or account management, would be advantageous.

Above all, you will be collaborative, customer-focused and motivated to deliver exceptional professional development opportunities that make a lasting impact for our members.

We offer a collaborative and supportive working environment guided by our core values of Community Building, Agile Expertise, Authentic Accountability and Purposeful Impact. Our benefits include:

• Hybrid working (minimum two days per week in our central London office)
• Generous annual leave plus bank holidays
• Attractive employer non-contributory pension
• Life assurance and wellbeing support
• Season ticket loans, cycle-to-work scheme and eyecare support
• Flexible working arrangements

The Chartered Association of Business Schools is an equal opportunities employer committed to creating an inclusive workplace. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and abilities and will provide reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process where required. We are committed to fair and consistent pay. Salary will be positioned within the advertised range based on relevant experience, alignment with the role and internal equity.