Project Director – World Gymnastics Championships 2022, UK

This is a fantastic role for an experienced Project Director to lead on the planning and delivery of the 2022 Championships which will be taking place at the M&S Bank Arena in October and November 2022. This position offers the opportunity to shape and deliver a unique and prestigious, world-class major international sport event.

Liverpool is a place with a belief in the ability of major events to effect long lasting transformational change. It is also one of the great sporting cities and is fast becoming the destination of choice for many sports governing bodies. The role will sit within the Sport Liverpool Team as part of Marketing Liverpool and Culture Liverpool, Liverpool City Council’s events, tourism and visitor destination offer.

The World Artistic Gymnastics Championships is the International Gymnastics Federation’s (FIG) premier, non-Multi-Sport event property. The FIG has recently undertaken a modernisation of the Olympic qualification process and the 2022 World Championships will be the first opportunity to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games.

Liverpool 2022 will use innovation to deliver the best ever World Championships by creating an excellent fan/spectator experience for visitors to the event and the city. The M&S Bank Arena Liverpool has considerable experience of staging Gymnastics events, having been the home of the British Championships since 2011. Whilst the strategic partnership between British Gymnastics and Liverpool City Council to grow participation will continue to grow aligned to this event.

We’re looking for someone who knows how to stage an event from the inside out. You’ll have first-hand experience of delivering a high profile sports event and will have up to date technical experience and knowledge to comply with all H&S legislation. You’ll also be able to advocate and champion the event, ensuring the City, British Gymnastics and UK Sport get the maximum benefit and legacy from hosting. The role involves working closely within the City Council sports governance framework and will work closely with the Chair of the Event Delivery Board. The successful candidate will manage the governance and administrative framework, the delivery plan and project timelines and the event budget.

The ideal candidate with be passionate and committed to staging the greatest ever World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool in 2022.

Main areas of responsibility

• To lead the delivery of WGC22 working directly to the Strategic Lead for Major Sports Events, leading on event governance including reporting on the event to the Event Board and Chair, Sub Boards and Chairing the Local Organising Committee.
• Responsible for creating the organisational structure and working with Liverpool City Council (LCC) and British Gymnastics (BG) to recruit staff and volunteers in addition to those provided by LCC as required for the event.
• To provide operational leadership for the delivery of WGC22 including ownership of the Championships Operational Plan.
• To manage, plan and coordinate across all functional areas in the Liverpool WGC22 Championships Team into performing their responsibilities.
• To provide line management responsibility for Functional Leads.
• To work closely with the Strategic Lead for Major Sports Events to plan and coordinate across the sports event portfolio to ensure cohesive delivery across all aspects of the Championships and to highlight opportunities for resource efficiencies across the wider portfolio.
• To oversee the event budget and audit and to make key operational and financial decisions in line with agreed budget tolerances; where necessary consulting with the Strategic Lead for Major Sports Events and escalating to the Event Board.
• To ensure that the commercial income for the event is achieved by overseeing ticketing, sponsorship (both cash and in kind) and additional income sources such as broadcast & TV production are achieved and effectively integrated into the planning and delivery of the Championships.
• To oversee the identification, mitigation and management of risk and take ownership of the overall event risk register.
• To set and manage key project milestones and deliverables and report on these at Board and the Strategic Projects Lead at the earliest possible opportunity.
• Work closely with UK Sport to ensure the event is delivered in line with UK Sports key deliverables and in line with the conditions of their grant award towards the event.
• To ensure that the WGC2022 event delivery is aligned to LCC’s priorities to target groups and communities within the Liverpool City Region relative to levels of participation in physical activity and sport by adults/young people and children in order to drive legacy benefits of hosting.
• To ensure the Championships deliver to the quality standards set by the FIG.
• To liaise with the British Gymnastics Competition Director to ensure that all FIG rules including all relevant technical rules, event operation manuals and branding guidelines are being respected and followed.
• To attend health and safety meetings including Safety Advisory Group (SAG) and Joint Agency Group (JAG) of the City Council as and when requested
• Maintain relationships with key stakeholder including but not limited to the venue, the M&S Bank Arena
• Provide readiness and contingency planning
• Provide research, evaluation and post event reporting
• To exhibit the highest standards of professional behaviour
• To support other colleagues within the team on initiatives that are of a multi-activity nature for other high profile sports events being hosted in the City
• To attend the Sport Liverpool Board as requested.
• Develop the City Council’s commitment to equal opportunities and to promote non-discriminatory practices in all aspects of works undertaken.