Senior Event Manager, FT Live

About Us

The Financial Times is one of the world’s leading news organisations, globally recognised for its authority, integrity and accuracy, with a mission to deliver quality information and services worldwide.

At the FT, curiosity thrives and ambitious thinking is rewarded. Here, you’re given the chance to reach millions, create work that matters and deliver impartial journalism in a polarised world.

In our warm, collaborative culture, you’ll connect with a diverse community of experts who support your growth, career aspirations and wellbeing.

Your future at the FT will be filled with opportunities that challenge and inspire you. With no fixed path, you’ll discover new skills and forge a career that can take you anywhere.

Build a newsworthy career at the FT.

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

We believe in the power of unique perspectives and want all voices in our organisation to be heard, respected and valued. A supportive workplace is one where employees feel they can be themselves and operate to their full potential. We are committed to removing barriers for everyone, with a focus on addressing those faced by underrepresented groups.

The Role

The Data Analyst will work closely with clients on consulting engagements across organisations within media and other sectors to solve sophisticated business problems. 

We are looking for a dedicated and passionate individual to join our FT Strategies team within the Financial Times. You will be joining a fast-paced and dynamic work environment as we scale our consulting business. You will be central to that growth, shaping how it succeeds and will be an early team member of a funded startup within an established institution - a very rare opportunity. 

FT Strategies has deep connections in place with our FT colleagues, often collaborating with and drawing expertise from our in-house Customer Analytics and Research team which is made up of data analysts, architects, engineers and scientists. 

FT Live overview:

Financial Times Live (FT Live) is the conferences and events division of the Financial Times newspaper and its group publications. Our mission is to bring our global executive audiences the very latest in knowledge and opinion, and connect them to one another.

Chaired by senior FT journalists, the 200-plus core events, strategic forums and digital webinars organised by FT Live every year gather pre-eminent public and private sector decision-makers, visionaries and strategists from the world’s most important economies and industries for agenda-setting debates that cover the key issues of our time.

From unique experiences such as the FTWeekend Festival to our senior-level business summits such as the award winning Global Boardroom, FT Live has become one of the FT Group’s most successful and fastest-growing divisions, and is at the forefront of the FT’s accelerated development as a crucial, interactive information source across numerous platforms.

Summary of role:

In this role you will have responsibility for the start to finish logistics for international in-person, digital and hybrid events ranging in size from intimate roundtables to full-day events, including webinars, workshops, custom, awards and multi-sponsored events. 

Job Specification:

We are looking for an organised and professional candidate that is confident when presenting at all levels with senior internal and external partners, to deliver outstanding in-person and digital / hybrid events and ensure all expectations are met and exceeded within budget. 

Key responsibilities include: 

Flawless event execution: delivering quality events in keeping with the FT high standard, consistently optimising the brand experience for delegates, speakers and sponsors. Coordinating the detailed delivery of assigned events from start to finish, including project managing allocated events onsite and/or digitally.

Budgetary control: ensuring budgets are maintained, costs are controlled with suppliers and negotiated without compromising quality. Preparation and maintenance of realistic forecasts and budgets. Checking all event related invoices for processing. Submitting complete and accurate accounts to deadlines.

Speaker and editorial management: offering comprehensive support and management throughout the speaker and editorial team onboarding process, optimizing their experience in the lead-up, during and post-event. 

Sponsor management: ensuring that all contracted deliverables are met to the highest standard, finding ways of contributing to clients. 

Suppliers: reviewing, managing and negotiating contracts with venues and event vendors, serving as single point of contact and using cost-savings.   

Team teamwork: Setting-up and steering the project meetings with other members of the project team to ensure smooth delivery. 

Mentoring and guiding event assistants and managers working on key events / special projects to ensure targets are met. 

Chipping in ideas to the improvement of FT Live’s internal operating processes for in-person, digital and hybrid event delivery.

Candidate Specification:

• Confident, able to work with minimum supervision to deadlines and remain calm under pressure 

• Extremely organised - able to multitask, work on multiple events at the same time, excellent time management and prioritisation while remaining deadline focused 

• Excellent social skills – able to look after people at all levels, good written communication and confident telephone / video call manner. 

• Highly numerate 

• Accurate, confident, diligent to detail, meticulous, and well organized 

• Solutions and results oriented 

• Proactive approach, willingness to show initiative and accept responsibility

• Able to learn new skills quickly, especially around tech and digital software 

• Flexibility to travel nationally and internationally as public health advisories allow

Experience Required:

• Demonstrable experience delivering in-person, virtual and hybrid events, particularly in the B2B space

• Strong project management skills

• Live polling/Q&A, App and other engagement tool

What’s in it for You?

Our benefits vary by location but we are committed to providing best-in-class perks across all our offices. These include generous annual leave, medical cover, inclusive parental leave packages, subsidised gym memberships and opportunities to give back to the community. Full details of our benefits are available here. We’ve embraced a 50% hybrid working model (averaging two to three days onsite) that fosters trust and remote adaptability while encouraging in-person camaraderie and peer learning. Additionally, we are open to accommodating specific flexible working pattern requests for all roles where feasible.

Accessibility

We are a disability confident employer and Valuable 500 signatory. Please let us know if you require any reasonable adjustments/personalisation as part of the application process or to enable you to attend an interview. If you would like to discuss your requirements or have any questions, email talent@ft.com and a member of our team will be happy to help.

Further Information

At the FT, we embrace innovation and the use of technology and appreciate that individuals may leverage AI tools as part of their job application process. Whilst we are happy for you to use AI to assist with your application, it is essential that all information provided is authentic and accurately represents your skills, experience, and qualifications. Candidates should be aware that the use of AI throughout the application process may be monitored to ensure a fair and transparent hiring process for all.

 

#LI-KF1