Senior Operations Manager, Exhibitions

London, England, United Kingdom

5/13/2025

Who We Are:

IMG is a leading global sports marketing agency, specializing in media rights management and sales, multi-channel content production and distribution, brand partnerships, strategic consulting, digital services, and events management. It powers growth of revenues, fanbases and IP for more than 200 federations, associations, events, and teams, including the National Football League, English Premier League, International Olympic Committee, National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, ATP and WTA Tours, the AELTC (Wimbledon), Euroleague Basketball, CONMEBOL, DP World Tour, and The R&A, as well as UFC, WWE, and PBR. IMG is a subsidiary of TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TKO), a premium sports and entertainment company.

Senior Operations Manager, Exhibitions

Exhibitions sits within the Arts & Entertainment division of IMG and aims to create, produce, identify and deliver a wide range of high-quality accessible arts, artefacts, design, fashion, film, music, sports and trends exhibitions that define both contemporary and historic culture, working in partnership with world-leading IP holders, museums, galleries as well as more unconventional spaces to tour these shows worldwide.

The Senior Operations Manager, Exhibitions (SOME) will work in close liaison with VP & Director of Exhibitions, Senior Project Manager, Exhibitions and IP, rights and senior client stakeholders in order to take principal responsibility for all aspects of exhibition operational management: supporting the IP holders’ creative vision and production values, and overseeing the smooth operational delivery of the exhibition for a premium client and visitor experience; all while taking overall responsibility for the day-to-day running of exhibitions visitor services and any attendant events to an agreed budget plan.

The SOME will be required to be a strong exhibitions and events manager and ideally have experience of managing and supporting the and delivery of large-scale and complex B2C and B2B events, exhibitions, launches and hospitality in the arts, fashion, luxury and cultural sectors.

The SOME will be responsible for the overall operational delivery of the Dolce & Gabbana (DG) exhibition tour as well as other diverse pipeline exhibitions in close liaison with the Senior Project Manager, Exhibitions and & VP & Director of Exhibitions.

For DG the SOME will be responsible for executing the exhibition operations to fully support the experiential and environmental requirements, values and operational requirements set by the IMG Exhibitions and DG team whilst supporting the exhibition’s infrastructure to drive ticket sales and ensure that revenue and attendance targets are met or exceeded.

The SOME will need to demonstrate strong management skills, an ability to move in a fast-paced environment and deal effectively with multiple stakeholders at both senior client, internal and contractor levels.

The SOME will need to be a calm and dynamic, multi-tasking individual with good inter-personal skills, excellent organisation skills and communication ability.

Key Responsibilities And Accountabilities

Client liaison

• Work together with the Senior Project Manager, Exhibitions and VP & Director of Exhibitions to build and maintain key stakeholder relationships and levels of confidence
• Support VP liaison with and management of key stakeholders including DG and pipeline project senior management and staff, venue management and local authorities as/when necessary. Facilitate and lead regular team meetings with client’s and IMG senior management and project coordinators to help set objectives and monitor progress for the exhibition.
• Advise on and resolve issues/concerns raised about the exhibition from external and internal stakeholders and members of the visiting public
• Work alongside the IP owner and VP & Director of Exhibitions, Senior Project Manager, Exhibitions, IMG marketing team, contractors and their Project Managers and Coordinators to ensure that event deliverables are successfully implemented
  
  

Site Management

• Work with DG and IP holders for other pipeline exhibitions, IMG Exhibitions Senior Management, Merchandise Management and local operations partner to oversee on site venue management and staff training for front of house, security, invigilation, queue management and wayfinding staff, cleaning (general and specialised), ticket desk and retail / giftshop management and retail staff and cloakroom staff to provide the best possible visitor experience and that the ‘look and feel’ of both staffing and display/environment is on brand, high quality and fit for purpose throughout venues on the exhibition’s tour. Manage local teams to arrange and deliver high quality and IP/brand sensitive ancillary events and hospitality such as sponsor events, catered tours, breakfasts and receptions, VIP access and press conferences.
  
  

Financial & Commercial

• Provide oversight and control of exhibition/ event budgets in accordance with the targets set by the Arts & Entertainment senior management team. Help shape creative financial solutions to any amendments required to the budget to ensure that exhibitions deliver on their financial targets and are delivered within budget
• Report on key milestones and metrics of the project such as timelines and budget reconciliation and comprehensive debriefs with key stakeholders, evaluations and reports
• Working as part of a team to achieve or exceed forecast exhibition EBITDA
• Proactively identifying opportunities for cost savings throughout exhibition planning period and once open open to the public
• Contributing ideas and identifying opportunities to generate more revenue or run the exhibition in a more efficient manner
• Financial reporting
• Setting up of vendor supplier agreements with contractors and IMG Finance and/or legal
  
  

Operations

• Responsible for coordinating day-to-day planning, management and execution of the DG Exhibition tour, working with IMG VP & Director of Exhibitions, Senior Project Manager, Exhibitions, appointed local exhibition operations partner and other local companies and suppliers.
• For future exhibitions, working closely with the chosen venue, their museum teams and senior management teams onsite during both planning and operational phases.
• The SOME will be the holder of the project schedule covering every workstream of the exhibition cycle from end to end, taking the lead in reporting on milestones and challeges regularly to the Exhibitions business unit and agreeing key elements of the schedule with Exhibitions and Events team as required.
• Coordinate all internal departments to ensure the successful delivery and ongoing day to day operations and smooth running of the exhibition.
• Oversee the successful management and delivery of hospitality events held during the exhibitions with appointed FOH/ticketing/events and catering teams.
• During the exhibitions, work closely with the wider team to identify and resolve operational issues to provide a streamline a best-in-class visitor experience
• Oversee the development, planning and delivery of the exhibition open services with IMG’s senior management team, venue staff and IP holders
• The SOME will also take the lead in negotiating with and contracting suitable local partners and suppliers, controlling operations partner companies’ scopes of work, KPI’s and costs to value engineer to deliver to the project plan and visitor services to budget
• Oversight of the tender and contracting process for suppliers and local HR.
• Working in support of the VP & Director of Exhibitions to select suitable contractors for the next stages of the exhibition with a particular focus on the team structure, defining roles and responsibilities.
• Recruiting, managing and directing project coordinators, contractors and fixed term employees as required to deliver and produce a high quality, smooth, efficient and safe visitor experiences
• Responsible for gaining local operational permissions in liaison with local operations partner
• Management of health and safety protocols in liaison with venue management
• Work collaboratively with the client and IMG project management team to ensure smooth delivery of all aspects of exhibition operations (including, security, exhibition guides, cleaning, wayfinding, queue management, box office / FOH, gift shop, cloakroom, operational site management and event alignment in liaison with local operations and production Companies and other contractors/suppliers)
• Work in liaison with local production company to oversee snagging and technical troubleshooting for the exhibition during its public run.
  
  

Merchandise Production

• Work with the Merchandise Manager, IP holder and local merchandise partner / companies to produce and order high quality, market specific exhibition merchandise in keeping with the IP holders and IMG’s production values, brand identity and quality controls
• Assist the Merchandise Manager and/or Project Co-ordinators to oversee cost of sales, set retail price point, manage order quantities and stock control
  
  

Business Development

• To actively play a role in the business development by contributing ideas and proposals for future pipeline projects
  
  

Unusual Challenges or Circumstances e.g. shift(s)/ unsocial hours/ travel etc

• Occasional weekend work and extended hours in the lead up to and during some stages of exhibition production and operation
• There may be a requirement to travel abroad for meetings as part of the role for both client production meetings, during set up on site of management teams and staff in advance of exhibition launch and during the early stages of exhibition operations
• Requirement for sensitivity to IP holder business culture and compliance with local laws and customs
• International calls, sometimes out of standard hours, due to the global nature of the business
  
  

Key Results Areas

• To produce high quality, well attended and successful exhibitions on schedule
• To work as a key member of the team to hit or exceed budget projections for the DG exhibition and other pipeline projects
• To receive positive feedback from key stakeholders, visitors to the events, senior managers, team members and peers
• Strong leadership, management, organization and communication with external and internal stakeholders
• To demonstrate innovative thinking in exhibition and event planning and implementation – to effectively plan and organize work efficiently to meet deadlines and revenue projections while maintaining appropriate service levels and cost budgets
• Clear and cogent management of contractors and suppliers
• To contribute to and lead the project team with new ideas and approaches
• To positively represent the company’s culture of supportive global collaboration and teamwork ethic across business units and regional offices
  
  

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Knowledge and Experience

• Demonstrable/established experience in managing high-quality, large-scale exhibitions and events. An understanding of exhibitions and/or working with luxury brands, fashion designers and artists/creatives. Experience of working with cultural institutions, galleries or museums would be desirable
• Account management of key stakeholder relationships including IP holders, brands, talent, UHNWIs, VIPs, sponsors and media partners
• Working knowledge of MS Office software, including Word, Excel, outlook and Powerpoint
  
  

Skills & Abilities (Personal And Professional)

• Confident dealing with clients of all levels
• An effective leader with strong people management skills and ability to excel in a fast-paced environment
• Ability to lead, manage and galvanise teams from different divisions and backgrounds as well as manage up, sideways and lead reports
• Superb organization, planning, prioritising and monitoring as related to event and exhibitions activities and efficiencies
• Excellent time management skills, ability to work calmly under pressure, and meet deadlines
• Well versed in industry knowledge and trends across culture and the arts, particularly with a finger on the pulse in fashion, visual arts and luxury markets
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to build and manage relationships as well as influence internal and external parties
• Ability to work well with colleagues who are both close-by as well as remote
• Ability to self-direct and self-motivate and a quick learner with excellent time and priority management
• Strong communicator – exceptional verbal and written communication skills
• Financially focused & results driven – highly proficient in budget management and reporting and delivering against KPIs
• Calm under pressure – ability to maintain a professional, calm nature and instill a sense of order with colleagues in times of pressure whilst meeting deadlines
• Consummate professional – as a member of the senior leadership team you will be adept at communicating the right thing at the right time, externally and internally, while maintaining clear lines of confidentiality as is required and appropriate
  
  

Qualifications And Training

• Educated to degree level or equivalent
  
  

Your Career at IMG

IMG is highly invested in the career development of its employees. It is important to note that there is significant opportunity for cross-promotion across the different divisions of the company. This is possible because of the scope of our company and will be strongly encouraged.

As a valued employee you would have access to development tools including the Events Leadership Academy and the Events Mentoring scheme to support your career and personal development with IMG.