Who are we?
We are Shack Events, a leading bar and confectionery operator working across some of the UK’s biggest stadia and sporting venues. From our own kegged cocktails and spirit mixers to draught beer and confectionery concepts including pick & mix, doughnuts, popcorn and ice-cream we deliver high-volume operations with personality, energy and quality at the centre.
But we didn’t start here. Just over a decade ago, two brothers were selling bottled apple juice at farmers’ markets. Through grit, resilience and relentless ambition, we’ve grown into a nationwide operator working across some of the UK’s most iconic venues.
We’re hands-on, entrepreneurial and constantly evolving. We care deeply about our people, our clients and the standards we set. We never stand still, and we’re looking for people who want to help drive the business forward.
What’s the role?
The Deputy Venue Director is a senior operational leadership role responsible for overseeing the planning, performance and delivery of multiple major venue operations across the business, including Wembley Stadium, Emirates Stadium, Lord’s and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The role will require a heavy presence on-site, especially for year one, whilst you absorb and learn what makes Shack so special.
You will lead and develop our Venue Management teams, ensuring our operations are commercially strong, operationally excellent and constantly evolving. This role requires a confident operator who understands large-scale bar operations inside-out; from event planning and staffing structures through to product mix, customer flow, efficiencies and profitability.
You’ll be responsible for driving operational performance, leading client relationships, developing proposals and concepts, improving margins, and ensuring we continue to push our standards forward across all areas of delivery.
This is not a desk-based management role. We’re looking for someone highly organised, commercially sharp and operationally credible. Someone who can lead teams, challenge thinking, build strong client relationships and drive meaningful change across the business.
What are we looking for?
We’re looking for a strong operator and leader with significant experience managing large-scale event and bar operations across multiple venues simultaneously.
You’ll need to be commercially minded, operationally detailed and highly people-focused. You must be capable of leading senior venue teams, influencing stakeholders, driving accountability and making smart decisions quickly in fast-paced environments.
You should thrive under pressure, communicate clearly and confidently, and bring energy and positivity into the business. We want someone who can spot opportunities, identify operational gaps and push standards higher every day.
Most importantly, we want someone who genuinely cares about building teams, improving operations and helping shape the future of Shack Events.
Key Responsibilities
1. Venue Leadership & Team Development
- Lead, manage and develop our Venue Management teams across major venue accounts.
- Create a high-performance culture focused on accountability, progression, resilience and operational excellence.
- Coach and mentor younger talent, helping develop future leaders within the business.
- Ensure teams are organised, prepared and communicating effectively across all areas of event planning and delivery.
- Monitor team performance, identify areas for improvement and drive positive behavioural and operational change.
- Lead from the front with a hands-on approach and strong visible presence across venues.
2. Client Management & Relationship Building
- Lead key client relationships across your venues, ensuring trust, communication and long-term partnership growth.
- Work closely with venue stakeholders to continuously improve operations, customer experience and financial performance.
- Deliver high-quality proposals and operational plans for future event periods.
- Lead client debriefs following events, ensuring feedback is acted upon and operational learnings are implemented.
- Represent Shack Events professionally and confidently across all stakeholder interactions.
3. Commercial Performance & Financial Management
- Oversee venue P&L performance across your portfolio of venues.
- Create revenue forecasts and strategies to increase revenue across all venues.
- Support and challenge Venue Managers on their own venue P&Ls, forecasts and payroll budgets.
- Analyse product mix, labour performance and operational efficiencies to improve profitability without compromising quality.
- Monitor event performance closely and proactively react to trends, challenges and opportunities.
- Set KPI’s for your teams and ensure accountability around performance delivery.
- Drive smarter commercial decision-making through detailed financial and operational analysis.
4. Event Planning & Operational Delivery
- Oversee the planning and execution of multiple large-scale events simultaneously.
- Support your teams in delivering high-quality operations across bars, staffing, logistics and customer experience.
- Personally lead and deliver ad-hoc or additional events during peak operational periods.
- Maintain strong operational understanding of large-scale bar operations, including build and break procedures, dispense systems, compliance and operational efficiencies.
- Ensure staffing structures and operational plans are suitable for each event profile and customer demographic.
- Adapt operational and product plans depending on the audience, event type and expected spend behaviour.
5. Innovation, Projects & Development
- Lead concept development across your venues, helping introduce new products, services and operational ideas.
- Drive innovation and improvements in both customer experience and operational efficiency.
- Identify opportunities for venue growth, operational enhancements and increased revenue generation.
- Work closely with the Project Director and wider senior leadership team on venue development initiatives.
- Ensure Shack continues evolving its offer and operational standards across all locations.
6. Performance Analysis & Continuous Improvement
- Analyse previous and upcoming event performance to identify operational and financial improvements.
- Ensure learnings from events are captured, communicated and implemented across the business.
- Drive operational consistency, stronger planning and smarter execution across all venue teams.
- Challenge inefficiencies and ensure issues are addressed properly rather than repeatedly resurfacing.
- Be a driver of positive change across the department and wider business.
Pay: From £65,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Company events
- Company pension
- Enhanced maternity leave
- Enhanced paternity leave
- Free or subsidised travel
- Health & wellbeing programme
- Private dental insurance
- Work from home
Application question(s):
- Have you been responsible for the management of a multi-venue bar operation before?
Experience:
- Events management: 4 years (required)
Work Location: Hybrid remote in London EC4A 2AF
