Venue Services Senior Planning Manager

Excel London hosts 400+ events and welcomes 4 million visitors each year and we’re looking for a Senior Planning Manager Venue Services to lead the strategic planning, governance and coordination of our venue operations. This is a pivotal role, ensuring our venue spaces, service partners and operational teams are aligned to deliver exceptional event experiences across our iconic estate.

What You'll Do:

• Lead the strategic planning and coordination of Venue Services activity across a complex events calendar, ensuring venue spaces are fully prepared and operationally ready
• Oversee governance, performance and compliance across service partners and contractors, ensuring contractual obligations, SLAs and operational standards are achieved
• Collaborate with Technical Services, Sales Planning, Building Services and wider operational teams to manage priorities, resolve conflicts and optimise venue readiness
• Use operational, financial and performance data to drive decision-making, improve efficiencies and support continuous improvement initiatives
• Manage key supplier and contractor relationships, including internal logistics, porterage and venue service providers, ensuring high-quality delivery and value
• Maintain governance and quality standards across venue planning activities, including space configurations, floor plans and mark-out processes
• Take ownership of budgets, forecasting, cost control and financial governance across non-technical venue services
• Act as a senior operational stakeholder, providing leadership, influencing decision-making and ensuring successful delivery across multiple business functions

What You'll Bring:

• Strong ability to analyse performance, utilisation and financial data to inform planning, prioritisation and decision-making.
• Proven capability to identify trends, inefficiencies and cost drivers, and drive governance or improvement actions.
• Experience monitoring and challenging supplier and partner performance against agreed standards and SLAs.
• Sound judgement and confidence to challenge ineffective practices and resolve complex operational or commercial issues.
• Able to operate effectively across a complex, fast-paced operational environment with competing priorities.
• Strong communication and influencing skills, with the ability to work credibly across senior stakeholders and partners.
• Demonstrable team leadership, setting clear priorities, driving accountability and supporting high performance in a complex operational environment.
• Confident user of Microsoft 365 tools, particularly for analysis, reporting and presentation.

Join a world-class venue and play a key role in shaping how one of London's most iconic event destinations plans, coordinates and delivers exceptional experiences for millions of visitors each year.