Events & Stakeholder Engagements Manager for Africa – DBT HEO at British High Commission

Roles and responsibilities:

The role will combine marketing, communications and events knowledge and experience with strong project management, leadership and people management skills. The role will report into the Head of Marketing and Communications based in Johannesburg.

You will be a key part of the DBT team, and you will work directly with Sector Directors, Private Offices of Ministers and HoMs, DBT Events HQ to ensure DBT Africa’s business priorities are integrated into identified priority events.

The Events division is a very small unit with a large remit and responsibility. The successful candidate will need to be a dynamic leader with good communication skills,  quick thinking, forward looking, flexible and resilient. The role requires travel within Africa and to the UK.

Your primary objectives will be:

• Lead DBT Africa’s Event team:  You will lead and manage our Events Unit consisting of one events supports officer based in Johannesburg in addition to the post holder, overseeing the workflow of the events team and support employees with key external facing events to help deliver best in class events – these range from trade shows, business roundtables, trade missions and DBT Africa’s inputs into specific wider HMG events. 
• You will collaborate closely with HQ teams, including the Ministerial Visits and Trade Envoys teams to compile the forward look, communicate DBT Africa activities to HQ teams and ensure that the network is making the most of VIP level engagement.
• You will work closely with DBT Africa Sector Directors to jointly develop plans to deliver the events element of sector campaigns and achieve desired impact  e.g. participant needs analysis to ensure event relevance and value.
• You will advise and guide teams and the wider network on factors that will impact event outcomes such as quality, effectiveness, budget, risks etc. You will be responsible for maintaining the DBT Africa forward look and using it as a tool to monitor, review and guide events activity across the Network to ensure that only planned events with clear, measurable outcomes take place 
• You will ensure standards and quality of execution as well as ensuring value for money by establishing and leading the evaluation of all events ensuring continuous improvement of the Network’s events and engagement .
• You will negotiate participation packages on behalf of the trade teams, identify opportunities for  event related revenue, sponsorship, partnerships, products, services, etc. to ensure maximum return on spend.

Essential qualifications, skills and experience 

• Postgraduate degree and/or undergraduate degree is essential.
• A minimum of 4yrs of professional experience, with at least 2 years of marketing experience organising diverse events in a B2B, G2B and/or G2G environment.
• Experience of working in organisations with a matrix management structure and/or in a dispersed network.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Strategic thinker with proven track record of problem solving and innovative and creative initiatives.
• Experience negotiating and working directly with 3rd party agencies, suppliers and vendors.
• High level of organizational and project management skills with the ability to manage multiple collaborators, stakeholders and concurrent programs in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.
• Demonstrated success in increasing process efficiencies and optimizing resource.
• Fluent written and spoken English.
• Desirable qualifications, skills and experience 1 
• Ability to lead, facilitate, motivate, and organize across different cultures, religions and geographies.
• A solid understanding of collection, analysis, and interpretation or data.