Senior Production Manager (Frieze)

Job Description

About MARI Group

MARI is a global events and experiences company powering world-defining live experiences.

Our portfolio of premium live properties spans sports, art, and entertainment — including the Madrid and Miami Open tennis tournaments, Frieze (a leading voice in contemporary art), and Barrett-Jackson (the premium U.

S. collector car auction company).

MARI also includes Today Tix Group, the global e-commerce leader for cultural experiences, connecting millions of customers with the best in live entertainment.

MARI is reshaping the live events landscape — building a growing portfolio of category-defining events and brands that set the standard for what's next, across sports, entertainment, art, and lifestyle.

At MARI, you'll work alongside people who are passionate, curious, and driven — people who believe that live experiences have the power to shape culture, and who care about the work, the mission, and each other.

We welcome outstanding applicants of all backgrounds and encourage everyone to apply.

Business

Unit: Frieze is the leading global organization for art and culture, producing internationally acclaimed fairs in London, New York, Los Angeles, Seoul and Abu Dhabi, alongside Frieze Masters, The Armory Show and EXPO Chicago, as well as a year-round programme of editorial, events and partnerships.

About the Role

The Senior Production Manager leads on Frieze London and provides high level support for both the Operations Director and Executive Director of Production on strategic projects across the department and wider business.

This is a full‑time role, and qualified candidates must be able to commute to Central London and be comfortable with some international travel throughout the year.

This may also require longer hours and working weekends when working on specific events.

You’ll be part of a hybrid team that values both connection and flexibility. We’ll cover the details of our hybrid schedule during the interview process.

• What Success Looks Like
• Successfully delivers Frieze London on time, within budget, and to the highest production and operational standards, ensuring an exceptional experience for exhibitors, visitors, partners and stakeholders
• Demonstrated ability to anticipate risks, resolve complex issues proactively while maintaining calm, effective decision‑making throughout planning and live event delivery
• Serve as a trusted 2IC to the Operations Director providing strategic support, driving key departmental initiatives and contributing to long‑term operational improvements across the business
• Builds strong, collaborative relationships across internal teams, suppliers, venues and external partners, ensuring projects are delivered through clear communication, accountability and shared objectives
• Drives continuous improvement by identifying opportunities to streamline production processes, improve efficiencies and implement best practices across events
• Demonstrates flexibility and resilience by successfully managing the demands of Frieze London while contributing to other production projects across the business as needed
• What You'll Own
• Operational delivery of Frieze London
• Act as a "2IC" for the Fair Operations Director
• Ensuring shows are built to correct plans and specifications
• Ensure Frieze maintains a strong relationship with the venue and local suppliers
• Manage respective designers and / or architects to determine the overall ‘look & feel’ of the show
• Day‑to‑day liaison with the production company for Frieze London
• Management of the implementation of all non-gallery areas and F&B (“Features Areas”) at Frieze London
• Working with the contractors, production teams and internal stakeholders to ensure shows comply with Health & Safety regulations and venue regulations
• Work with Contracts and Security Manager to ensure insurance, legal and contract requirements are met for Frieze London vendors
• Support Operations Director / Executive Director of Production on multi‑show and multi‑year agreements across all Frieze Fairs for relevant areas
• Day‑to‑day management of the show production budget for Frieze London to ensure accurate forecasting, as well as raising of Purchase Orders and processing invoices
• Support the ongoing integration and development of FRAME across all shows
• Support Executive Director of Production and Operations Director on future planning and budget forecasting for all future fairs as needed.
• Ensure sustainability policies are implemented across all Frieze Fairs and find new ways to improve existing practices.
• Work with the Sustainability and Accessibility groups to report and make recommendations for future fairs.
• Work with Operations Director in management of sustainability auditors and development of policies and practices across Frieze Fairs.
• Ongoing development and implementation of FOH operational guides for fairs, in conjunction with Senior Project Manager, Operations Director and Executive Director of Production.
• Support Operations Director with the training and development of the Production Managers and Production Co‑Ordinators.
• Ensure Health & Safety reporting procedures are followed across all fairs throughout year.
• Liaise with MARI on H&S matters as required.
• Working on other projects and / or fairs in future, as needed.
• Supporting other production team members, as and when required, on other events during the year.
• Attending relevant and appropriate training on health, safety and environmental issues.
• Methodical filing and record keeping, arranging meetings, keeping minutes and follow‑up correspondence.
• Post show evaluation and development reports.

What You Bring

• At least 5 years’ experience working on large publicly attended events at a Production Manager level or above
• Stakeholder liaison (internal and external)
• Experience in working with a number of contractors
• Experience in working in a team, as well as autonomously
• Experience in working to strict deadlines
• Excellent working knowledge of UK H&S regulations
• Working with large budgets
• Experience in managing direct and indirect reports
• Strong communication skills
• Highly organized
• Excellent problem solver and multi‑tasker
• Ability to calmly work under pressure
• Adaptable with excellent attention to detail
• Able to deal with a broad range of people at every level
• Self‑motivated and able to take responsibility
• Strong people management skills
• Competent in the use of Microsoft Office, in particular Excel

Desirable

• Experience working on art fairs
• Local H&S regulations in other countries
• Experience working in companies of 100+ employees dealing with high volume of communications across multiple departments
• CAD skills (e. g. Vectorworks, Auto CAD, Sketchup, Omnigraffle)
• First Aid and Health & Safety qualifications (e. g. IOSH)

Benefits

• Hybrid work environment (blend of in‑office and at‑home days)
• Pension match and access to a bespoke pension scheme
• Paid Parental Leave
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Enhanced gyms, wellness and financial wellbeing apps access via Wellhub
• Flexible Paid Time Off

MARI believes in the power of live experiences to unite people — and we know that can only be achieved when we reflect the full diversity of the world around us.

As a global company that shapes culture across sports, art, and entertainment, we are committed to fostering an inclusive workplace and to practicing anti‑discrimination across race, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, and beyond.

We recognise that systemic inequality and discrimination remain challenges across the events and entertainment industry, and we are dedicated to driving meaningful progress — both within our own organisation and across the wider industry we are proud to be part of.

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