Urban Festival Event Director

Organisation: UKEL Ltd
Salary: £70-75,000
Location: Hybrid/Manchester
Contract type: Fixed Term (Full time)
Closing date: 4 June 2026
Interview date: 11 June 2026
Job Description: The growth of urban sport and culture has been notable in recent years, the interplay of music, art, sport and culture in urban environments creates a rich tapestry of experiences that fosters community cohesion and celebrates diversity. Manchester believes that this seamless integration can serve to not only enhance the vibrancy of the city but also contribute to Manchester’s social and cultural resilience. As such, Manchester, has identified an opportunity to create a unique, inclusive Festival that celebrates urban sports, street culture, music and art in the city. The Festival will be delivered in partnership between Manchester City Council and UKEL.

Our Festival plans:
• An ambitious city-wide takeover
• A showcase for Manchester’s urban spaces and venues
• An event of international scale and reach
• Truly Mancunian
• A fusion between sport, culture, art and music
• A platform for creativity and innovation

Dates: 13 to 15 August 2027
Model: Annual event
Structure: Three core venues in the city centre with activations all over Greater Manchester
Athletes: Circa 400
Artists: Circa 100
Volunteers: 100
Spectators: Est 210,000 (27,550 ticketed)

The Event Director will lead the vision, planning and delivery of the Manchester Urban Festival. We’re looking for someone who combines strategic leadership, commercial acumen, genuine creative vision and the operational experience to bring it all to life. The Event Director will inspire, lead and collaborate with a collective of stakeholders, partners, suppliers, sponsors and local organising committee to establish a landmark event that will become a regular fixture in the respected Manchester event scene.

This is a rare opportunity to build and lead a landmark cultural project from the ground up, and to help establish Manchester as the home of one of Europe's most iconic urban sports and culture events.

Key responsibilities

Strategic Leadership and Programme Management
• Define the strategic roadmap for each edition, ensuring alignment between objectives, resources and delivery
• Lead a high-performing team of contractors and suppliers to deliver the event on time and on budget
• Work with the event's Steering Group and company Board to oversee risk management, governance and compliance with public funding grants.
• Provide reporting as required to Manchester City Council, UK Sport and UKEL

Commercial development and revenue management
• Manage the commercial model of the event working closely with the appointed commercial agency (sponsorship inventory with the right holders, directly manage the sponsorship agency, drive direct sponsorship revenues through stakeholders)
• Maximise commercial performance of the Festival, including sponsorship sales, ticketing revenues, hospitality, F&B and merchandising
• Drive innovation in revenue generation, identifying and developing new commercial opportunities consistent with the Festival's identity
• Build and present the business case for future editions of the event, ensuring funding conditions are met and strong relationships are established for long-term continuity

Content and Creative Direction
• Manage the relationship with the creative agency
• Ensure the programme remains consistent, in line with the strategic objectives and balances sport, music and culture
• Lead the creative regeneration strategy for 2028 and beyond, actively exploring new disciplines, formats and experiences to keep the Festival fresh and forward-looking

Operational oversight
• Oversee the end-to-end programme management, planning and delivery of the Festival, ensuring all venues, disciplines and programming strands are executed to the highest standard
• Build and manage a lean, effective delivery team and/or structure across production, logistics and operations

Marketing and communications
• Oversee the Festival's communications strategy, managing the relationship with communications and PR agencies
• Drive visibility of the event by maximising spectator attendance and engagement through broadcast, digital and social media
• Ensure consistent, compelling messaging that builds the Festival's brand awareness locally, nationally and internationally
• Act as a positive advocate for the Festival with external partners, representing the project with credibility and ambition

Relationship with the local urban scene
• Oversee the Festival's community engagement strategy, ensuring the project is genuinely co-created with and rooted in Manchester's diverse urban communities
• Build lasting relationships with local athletes, artists, collectives and grassroots organisations.

Key skills, experience and qualifications required (Essential)
• 360° expertise across content, creative, commercial strategy and operations, with the ability to operate confidently across all areas
• Significant experience in senior leadership within large-scale events, Festivals or major cultural projects
• Demonstrable a track record of managing complex, multi-stakeholder projects with multiple simultaneous workstreams
• Strong experience working with public sector funders and navigating grant funding, reporting and governance requirements
• Business oriented mind with a strong understanding of risk sharing mechanisms in the event industry
• Proven commercial acumen: experience owning and delivering revenue targets, developing sponsorship programmes and diversifying income streams
• Experience managing external agencies (creative, communications, production) and holding them to high standards
• A genuine passion for and understanding of urban sports and/or urban culture (music, street art, fashion, dance)
• Exceptional communication, negotiation and relationship management skills
• Experience managing and motivating multidisciplinary teams
• Strong financial literacy and budget management experience

Key skills, experience and qualifications required (Desirable : recognising that applicants will not possess experience/expertise in all areas)
• Direct experience working in the urban sports ecosystem (action sports events, international right holders, etc.)
• Understanding of the media rights, broadcast or digital content landscape as it relates to live events
• Knowledge of working with sports National Governing Bodies and International Federations.
• Experience of working with arts bodies and delivering cultural events/experiences.
• Expertise in developing and implementing large scale legacy and social impact

Behavioural competencies and qualities required
• Strategic perspective, vision and ability to work positively within a new, growing environment.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with the ability to build and lead high-performing teams, developing a positive culture where contractors, suppliers and employees feel valued and able to deliver at their best.
• Strong interpersonal communication and negotiation skills and the ability to develop effective, sustainable partnerships.
• Dynamic, enthusiastic, committed, resilient and energetic with an ability to make things happen in a multi-stakeholder environment.
• Ability to act diplomatically, recognising differing opinions and forming reasoned, solution- focused outcomes.
• Ability to absorb complex information and provide Board-level guidance and counsel.
How to apply: Interested candidates can access more information on the event by sending an email to hello@ukel.co.uk. Please submit your CV and a one-page covering letter, highlighting how your skills and experience are relevant to the outlined requirements of the role, by email to: hello@ukel.co.uk The closing date for applications is Thursday 4th June. We anticipate first round interviews taking place on 11th June virtually. Second round interviews will take place on 15th June in person in Manchester, with a presentation task. Please state in your application if you are unavailable for these dates. Guaranteed interview scheme and accessibility UKEL is proud to be an equal opportunities employer and we are committed to creating a diverse, inclusive and equitable workplace culture where different perspectives are embraced and where exceptional talent can flourish. As we strive to ensure our workforce is more reflective of UK society, we particularly welcome applications from people with ethnically diverse backgrounds or with a disability or long-term health condition. All employment decisions are based on skills, qualifications and merit. We will guarantee an interview for anyone declaring a disability in their application who meets the job’s minimum skills and experience requirements. If individuals require any reasonable adjustments to be made to enable you to participate in the interview process, we commit to supporting those needs. This commitment extends to successful candidates for the duration of their employment term. If you require an accessible version of this job description, please contact us at hello@ukel.co.uk.