VP, Events - Commercial Aerospace

The VP of Events is accountable for managing the MRO and AeroEngine event brands success and growth. This individual will bring a robust understanding of the Aviation industry, events space, and in partnership with the SVP of Events, will ensure thoughtful proposals are put forth to inform decisions made leading to the financial and experiential growth of the events. They will be skilled at facilitating strong partnerships with internal and external stakeholders, be customer focused, be willing to take calculated risks, have strong analytical skills, and can lead in a cross-functional, matrix environment. To be successful in the role, this leader will need a high level of maturity, agility, and the ability to work and collaborate with colleagues and clients throughout the organization across all departments, up to the most senior levels.

Success will be measured against the financial, operational and customer performance and outlook of the MRO and AeroEngine brands. Sustaining and growing our commercially successful and financially viable brands & products for the customer, growing our market presence, engaged in the community and at the helm of outstanding customer experience for all brands.

As a key member of the Informa Markets Aviation Week Network team this leader is responsible for steering the business to capitalize on industry trends, changing market conditions and customer needs.

Role Accountability and Duties:

STRATEGY AND GROWTH

• Leadership of assigned events, their strategy and ultimately their growth.
• Set strategy, manage milestones and deliver on the events - this includes rolling three-year strategy, annual budget planning, the objectives contained within both team and support teams, with support and input from SVP.
• Support the identification of growth opportunities for the events, size market opportunity, assess future growth opportunities, M&A activity and launch opportunities.
• Manage P/L responsibilities associated with assigned portfolio of events and liaising with SVP, Events
• Deliver financial, operational and customer oriented- event objectives (e.g.  profitability, new business and customer retention, as well as customer satisfaction)
• Understand market nuances to manage the events, laying out its vision and competitive position (e.g. where it plays within the market, at present and in the future, and why)
• Support the development of events with SVP, pricing strategies, based on strategic layout of event space, product bundling options, value-based pricing and commercial drivers.  Partner with Marketing to set Attendee goals. 
• Lead the development of key strategic partnerships and management of associated relationships.  Partner with marketing to ensure budget is managed appropriately.
• As part of the event planning process, partner with Marketing and Sales to determine product offering(s) needed to deliver the event and collaboratively decide on vendor selection(s).

OPERATIONAL LEADERSHIP

• Manage collaboration across the business functions of Sales, Marketing, Operations, Finance, IT and Registration
• Line management of team through regular 1:1’s, coaching and mentoring, and professional development.
• Monitor team and individual performance against targets and KPIs.
• Support on the recruitment and assessment of new hires to the team.

EVENT INNOVATION

• Work with the SVP/team on the delivery of outstanding customer experience, to create innovative and interactive experiences at events.
• Develop creative ideas to engage customers in new innovative forms.
• Assist with the interpretation of customer insight, based on industry conversations and data, supported by Marketing and customer data, in order to evolve event relevance and value.

BUILDING COMMUNITY AND DISTINCTION

• Build relationships with the event’s key existing and prospective customers.
• Develop relationships with the broader customer community, understanding market trends and sentiments in order to inform other business teams about strategy.
• Ensure collaboration with the conference producers and the editorial/data team, focus on content development to ensure community interests are aligned
• Represent the events by being an industry figure via attending the events.