Venue Operations Director

Our client is a local sports council responsible for delivering large-scale, world-class tournaments, bringing together multiple stakeholders to create seamless and memorable fan experiences. They are seeking a Venue Operations Lead to be based in Saudi Arabia, supporting tournament delivery across Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam.

This role is critical in overseeing end-to-end venue and city operations, ensuring safe, efficient, and high-quality execution across all sites. Success will be defined by delivering flawless matchday operations, integrating complex workstreams, and maintaining consistency across all venues and host cities.

This is a senior, operational leadership role with full accountability for venue and spectator operations across the tournament lifecycle. The role will drive planning, readiness, and execution across multiple host cities, managing cross-functional coordination with security, transport, and municipal stakeholders. The successful candidate will play a central role in ensuring operational excellence, from venue readiness through to live event delivery, while maintaining global standards expected of a premier international sporting event.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end planning and execution of venue, fan, and city operations across all tournament locations
• Ensure safe, efficient, and seamless spectator experiences across all venues on matchdays
• Oversee integrated operations including crowd management, wayfinding, queueing, and spectator services
• Manage accreditation, access control, and venue management protocols across all sites
• Align venue operations with security, transport, and key stakeholder activities
• Drive venue readiness planning including venue familiarization, operational testing, and coordination
• Lead the setup and operation of Venue Operations Centres (VOCs), ensuring effective reporting and issue resolution
• Coordinate host city operations including municipal services, transport planning, and emergency response readiness
• Oversee fan engagement initiatives, city branding, and presentation standards across host cities
• Ensure consistent, high-quality delivery across all venues, maintaining operational excellence throughout the tournament

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Event Management, Operations, Sports Management, or a related field
• 10+ years of experience in large-scale football operations, preferably within international sports tournaments or major global events
• Proven expertise in venue operations, crowd management, and spectator experience delivery
• Strong experience managing multi-site operations and coordinating cross-functional stakeholders
• Demonstrated leadership capability in high-pressure, fast-paced environments
• Excellent planning, organizational, and problem-solving skills with a detail-oriented approach
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills across government and private entities
• Experience in the GCC region is preferred; Arabic language skills are an advantage