Operations Manager

Job Title: Operations Manager (Freelance Contract)

Location: Saudi Arabia - Riyadh

Contract Duration: July September 2026

Employment Type: Freelance / Fixed-Term Contract

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced Operations Manager to support the delivery of a major international event taking place in Saudi Arabia. The Operations Manager will be responsible for planning, coordinating, and overseeing all operational aspects of the event, ensuring seamless execution across venues, suppliers, stakeholders, and functional teams. This role requires a highly organised, proactive professional with extensive experience delivering large-scale conferences, government forums, international summits, or major business events. The successful candidate will work closely with internal teams, service providers, venue management, and government stakeholders to ensure operational readiness, efficient event delivery, and an exceptional delegate experience.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the operational planning and execution of the event from pre-event planning through live delivery and event close-out.
• Develop and manage detailed operational plans, timelines, and delivery schedules.
• Coordinate daily operations across all functional areas, including venue operations, logistics, production, registration, hospitality, transportation, security, protocol, and delegate services.
• Ensure all operational requirements are delivered on time, within budget, and to the highest quality standards.
• Liaise with venues, suppliers, contractors, and service providers to ensure seamless event delivery.
• Coordinate operational readiness meetings and monitor progress across all workstreams.
• Identify operational risks and develop mitigation and contingency plans.
• Support venue setup, rehearsals, live operations, and breakdown activities.
• Work closely with production, AV, conference, protocol, and stakeholder teams to ensure smooth event execution.
• Manage operational issues and last-minute changes in a fast-paced live event environment.
• Maintain strong relationships with government entities, partners, sponsors, and key stakeholders.
• Ensure compliance with health, safety, security, and event regulations.
• Produce operational reports, event documentation, and post-event evaluations.

Requirements

• 8 12+ years of experience delivering large-scale international conferences, summits, exhibitions, government events, or major live events.
• Proven experience managing event operations from planning through onsite execution.
• Strong understanding of venue operations, logistics, supplier management, and operational planning.
• Experience coordinating multiple operational workstreams simultaneously.
• Excellent project management, organisational, and problem-solving skills.
• Strong leadership and stakeholder management abilities.
• Ability to remain calm and make decisions under pressure.
• Experience working on government or major international events within the GCC is highly preferred.
• Bachelor's degree in Event Management, Operations, Business Administration, Hospitality, or a related field is preferred.

Preferred Experience

Candidates with experience delivering events such as:

• International government conferences
• Economic forums
• Global leadership summits
• Trade and investment conferences
• Major sporting event conferences
• World Expos
• COP, G20, FIFA, Olympic, AFC, or similar international events will be highly regarded.

Ideal Candidate

We are looking for candidates who:

• Have proven experience delivering international conferences, summits, forums, or government events.

• Have worked with ministers, VIPs, senior executives, or international delegations.

• Demonstrate excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.

• Perform effectively in fast-paced, high-pressure environments.

• Are fluent in English (spoken and written); Arabic is preferred.

• Are available to join the project as soon as possible.

• 8 12+ years of experience delivering large-scale international conferences, summits, exhibitions, government events, or major live events.

• Proven experience managing event operations from planning through onsite execution.

• Strong understanding of venue operations, logistics, supplier management, and operational planning.

• Experience coordinating multiple operational workstreams simultaneously.

• Excellent project management, organisational, and problem-solving skills.

• Strong leadership and stakeholder management abilities.

• Ability to remain calm and make decisions under pressure.

• Experience working on government or major international events within the GCC is highly preferred.

• Bachelor's degree in Event Management, Operations, Business Administration, Hospitality, or a related field is preferred.

• Candidates with experience delivering events such as: International government conferences, Economic forums, Global leadership summits, Trade and investment conferences, Major sporting event conferences, World Expos, COP, G20, FIFA, Olympic, AFC, or similar international events will be highly regarded.

• Have proven experience delivering international conferences, summits, forums, or government events.

• Have worked with ministers, VIPs, senior executives, or international delegations.

• Demonstrate excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.

• Perform effectively in fast-paced, high-pressure environments.

• Are fluent in English (spoken and written); Arabic is preferred.

• Are available to join the project as soon as possible.