Head of Events

The Head of Events is responsible for designing and delivering an annual portfolio of thought leadership recruitment partner and alumni events that build brand visibility deepen stakeholder relationships and generate qualified leads for HEC Paris Doha. The Head of Events owns strategy governance execution quality and post-event impact across the portfolio.

Strategy and governance

Lead the annual event strategy aligned to program partnership and brand objectives. Translate goals into a balanced portfolio with clear audience purpose and success metrics.

Own the intake process for event requests. Prioritize scope and approve or decline based on capacity impact and alignment.

Maintain the master calendar and ensure visibility across leadership marketing sales and academic teams.

Create and maintain playbooks run of show templates checklists briefing packs and a shared repository of assets and debriefs.

Champion the approved tech stack including Salesforce and registration platforms and ensure data governance and consent practices.

Proactively propose new events throughout the year to maintain high engagement and align with institutional objectives.

Portfolio planning and delivery

Oversee concepting design and delivery of on-campus off-site hybrid and virtual events including C-level roundtables open houses graduations partner activations and VIP visits.

Manage end-to-end logistics including permits venue staging AV translation accessibility livestream photography and videography transport accommodation catering and protocol.

Lead risk assessment and contingency planning including HSE crowd management fire safety incident response and VIP security coordination.

Apply sustainable event practices including waste reduction responsible sourcing and reuse of assets.

Stakeholders protocol and partnerships

Serve as the focal point for VIP and government engagement with sensitivity to local protocol culture and security requirements.

Coordinate with the Deans Office faculty partners alumni and sponsors. Provide high-quality briefings seating plans scripts and escorting.

Manage speaker sourcing agreements travel and hospitality.

Budget commercial and vendors

Own the events budget. Build business cases forecasts and reconciliations. Track purchase orders and invoices with Finance and Procurement.

Build and manage preferred supplier panels and framework agreements. Negotiate rates scope and service levels.

Develop sponsorship assets for selected flagship events and manage sponsor fulfillment.

Source brief and manage venues and suppliers. Monitor delivery against service levels and run structured post-event reviews.

Oversee asset inventory including booths backdrops and signage with planned storage maintenance and refresh cycles.

Marketing integration and performance

Partner with Marketing and Sales on audience definition value proposition and messaging for each event.

Build promotional plans and timelines across email social website partners and PR ensuring brand standards at every touchpoint.

Ensure consistent data capture at registration and onsite. Integrate with Salesforce campaigns and journeys.

Define and report on KPIs including registrations attendance rate cost per attendee satisfaction score net promoter score leads captured and pipeline value. Share insights and improvement actions after each event and quarterly.

Team leadership

Lead and develop a team of event professionals. Clarify roles and goals run regular one-to-ones and stand-ups and provide coaching and feedback.

Plan capacity and allocate resources across concurrent projects. Engage trusted freelancers when needed within budget.

Set working norms for calm excellence safety and continuous improvement.

Education and experience

Bachelors degree required. Masters degree in business marketing communications hospitality or related field preferred.

Ten or more years of progressive experience in events or experiential marketing with at least three years leading a team.

Proven track record delivering high-stakes events with VIPs in Qatar or the GCC.

Certifications

One or more of the following are advantages : PMP Managing Safely Crisis Management or equivalent.

Skills and competencies

Expert project management and prioritization across multiple concurrent events.

Protocol awareness for ministerial and diplomatic engagements.

Budgeting forecasting and commercial negotiation.

Proficiency with Salesforce and standard registration and webinar platforms.

Proficiency in Canva Salesforce CRM Trello and other digital tools is essential for effective event management.

Strong stakeholder management and executive presence.

Excellent written and spoken English. Arabic is strongly preferred. French is a plus.

Ways of working

Core hours aligned to business needs with flexibility for evenings and weekends during peak periods.

Travel within Qatar and the GCC as required.

Adheres to institutional policies for procurement finance brand data protection and HSE.

This description outlines the core purpose outcomes and responsibilities of the role. Specific targets and portfolio volumes will be set annually and reviewed quarterly.

This job description is only a summary of the typical functions of the job not an exhaustive or comprehensive list of all possible job responsibilities tasks and duties. The responsibilities tasks and duties of the jobholder might differ from those outlined in this job description and other duties as assigned may be part of the job.

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