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About the Role

The Head of Events will provide strategic leadership and operational excellence in the planning, delivery and evaluation of The Open University’s event portfolio across the four Nations, ensuring that all activity is inclusive, accessible and aligned with the University’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) principles. As an experienced events practitioner, the postholder will shape and implement an integrated events strategy (live and online) that strengthens the University’s brand and reputation, supporting institutional priorities including recruitment, retention, outreach and social impact, with a clear focus on reaching and engaging diverse audiences.

The role will oversee major programmes, including the development of the schools and colleges outreach skills programme, and will support the delivery of the Spring and Autumn ceremonies across the four Nations, ensuring these high-profile events are welcoming, representative and accessible to all participants. The postholder will work collaboratively with key stakeholders to develop and oversee an institution-wide B2C and B2B events calendar as part of the Greater Reach plan, embedding best practice in inclusive event design and delivery and working closely with event specialists across GEA, BDU, Development, Faculties and the Nations.

The role will lead the strategic development of the events channel as part of the paid, owned and earned channel mix, working with accountable stakeholders to ensure it delivers measurable impact in building trust, brand advocacy and community engagement, while championing EDI best practice, accessibility standards and continuous improvement across the events lifecycle.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

• Lead the development and delivery of the University’s events strategy, aligning activities with institutional objectives, brand priorities, and audience needs.
• Provide strategic oversight on wide range of institutional online and live events supporting teams where needed and ensuring highest standard of brand experience and quality.
• Establish and maintain an institution-wide events calendar to coordinate, plan, and optimise activity across the University.
• Advise senior leaders on event strategy and stakeholder engagement, ensuring that events reinforce the University’s reputation, impact and governance.
• Co-ordinate and build relationships with internal and external stakeholders to successfully expand the OU’s B2C/ B2B offering and grow brand awareness within existing and new customer markets.

Programme Leadership

• Schools & Colleges Outreach Skills Programme: Direct the development and delivery of 4 Nation outreach skills programme that strengthens relationships with schools and colleges, delivering our social mission and growth ambition.
• Ceremonies: Oversee the design, planning and delivery of The Open University’s ceremonies as annual campaign moments in Marketing, Communications & Development calendar as part of Greater Reach Plan. The role will bring together cross functional expertise supporting recruitment and retention objectives across nations. Operational delivery and ways of working with Ceremonies team will continue.  
• Head of profession:  Provide overarching counsel and best practice to support key stakeholder's institution wide.

Operational Excellence

• Lead and develop a high-performing events team, promoting a culture of excellence, innovation, and collaboration.
• Establish and maintain robust governance frameworks, toolkits, and guidance for consistent event management practice.
• Own the events risk management approach, including creation and maintenance of event risk registers, scenario planning, contingency and escalation protocols, and post-incident reviews.
• Chair (or deputise for) the Events Governance Group/steering mechanism, ensuring clear decision-making, RACI ownership, and compliance with OU policies and relevant legislation.
• Ensure supplier and venue due diligence (insurance, H&S, safeguarding, accessibility, data protection), with proportionate controls for B2B and B2C contexts.
• Manage budgets and resources effectively, ensuring value for money and compliance with financial, procurement, and sustainability standards.
• Ensure all events meet statutory and institutional requirements including health & safety, accessibility, and data protection.
• Embed evaluation and continuous improvement processes across all event activity

Best Practice and Collaboration

• Build and lead a community of best practice for events across faculties, nations, and units, supporting capability building and professional development.
• Drive continuous improvement in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion within event delivery, using insight, feedback and data to enhance accessibility, representation and participant experience.
• Promote innovation and excellence in event design, brand experience and delivery, leveraging technology and data-driven insights.
• Champion the integration of event channel into the University’s broader marketing and communications strategy (internal and external), ensuring alignment across channels.
• Support the delivery of the annual Virtual Open Day programme of live online events

About You

Essential

• Significant experience in leading large-scale, multi-stakeholder event portfolios in a complex organisation.
• Proven strategic planning, stakeholder management, and partnership-building expertise.
• Demonstrable experience of leading and developing teams to deliver high-quality, impactful events.
• Strong understanding of events as a communications and engagement/thought leadership channel within a wider marketing and communications strategy.
• Experience of developing and implementing evaluation frameworks and using insights to deliver measurable outcomes.
• Excellent leadership, interpersonal, influencing, and communication skills.
• Strong financial management and organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and problem solve. 

Desirable

• Experience working within the higher education, apprenticeships, learning or development sector.
• Understanding of marketing disciplines/areas: brand, digital marketing, CRM and content marketing.
• Experience of Salesforce/Pardot
• Familiarity with both B2B and B2C event delivery contexts.
• Membership of a relevant professional body (e.g. CIM, CIPR, EVCOM, or equivalent).

Support with your application

If you have any questions, or need support or adjustments relating to your application, the recruitment process, or the role, please contact us on 01908 541111 or email careers@open.ac.uk quoting the advert reference number.

What's in it for you?

At The Open University, we offer a range of benefits to recognise and reward great work, alongside policies and flexible working that contribute towards a great work life balance. Get all the details of what benefits we offer by visiting our Staff Benefits page (clicking this link will open a new window).

Flexible working

We are open to discussions about flexible working. Whether it’s a job share, part time, compressed hours or another working arrangement. Please reach out to us to discuss what works best for you.

Work location

This role is contractually aligned to our offices in Milton Keynes. However, we can accomodate hybrid working where the required individual can work from home and the office with the understanding that they will need to be onsite in Milton Keynes at least 2 times per week. Additionally, this is a four nations role where the successful candidate will be required to travel to all OU locations across the United Kingdom to attend events. 

Next steps in the Recruitment process

If shortlisted, we anticipate interviews taking place onsite in Milton Keynes W/C 13th April. 

Early closing date notification

While most roles will remain open until the advertised closing date, applications may be reviewed on an ongoing basis. In some cases, vacancies may close earlier if a sufficient number of suitable applications has been received and equality impacts have been appropriately considered. All roles will remain advertised for a minimum of one week before any early closure is implemented. If you have started an application or were in the process of applying when the advert closed, we encourage you to get in touch. We are committed to understanding individual circumstances and can offer further support where needed, including reasonable adjustments for applicants with protected characteristics.

How to apply

To apply for this role please submit the following document(s):

• CV
• Supporting Statement (Your Supporting Statement should outline how your skills and experience meet the essential and desirable criteria listed above)

You can view your progress and application communications when you are logged into our recruitment system.  Please check your spam/junk folders if you do not receive associated email updates.