Senior Events Manager

Job Summary

The Senior Events Manager will lead the growth and delivery of the ICA’s Events & Hires business. With a strong focus on proactive event sales, commercial development and client engagement to encourage repeat sales and the development of longer standing, corporate relationships.

Job Description

The Institute of Contemporary Arts is a leading multi-arts centre located on the prestigious Mall in London, with views to St James's Park. The history of both the ICA and the building is iconic - the ICA is an incubator for artistic talent with artists from Stormzy to Amy Winehouse and Basquiat to Lubaina Himid hosting seminal shows within the walls of the venue.

Alongside this, the building stands proudly as a transformative, progressive space for the creative industries housed in a magnificent, Georgian Grade I listed building with a variety of event spaces for hire including exquisite private rooms, two cinemas, a gallery space, a bar area and a theatre/live music space. Our spaces are often used for magazine and fashion photo shoots, filming, weddings, receptions, dinners and much more.

The Events team plays an important role at the ICA, supporting exciting plans to grow and leverage the event hire business as a key commercial income stream for the ICA.

The Senior Events Manager will lead the growth and delivery of the ICA's Events & Hires business. With a strong focus on proactive event sales, commercial development and client engagement to encourage repeat sales and the development of longer standing, corporate relationships, the post holder will position the ICA as one of Central London's most unique, cool and leading venues for cultural, corporate, and private events.

This role will manage the work of the Events Officer, ensuring operational excellence while driving ambitious revenue growth. The Senior Events Manager will be a target driven individual, responsible for meeting ambitious financial targets and KPIs; developing the sales pipeline and converting enquiries to bookings; building client, agent, and supplier relationships; and ensuring all events are delivered to the highest standards.

Job Requirements

FEI/HEI qualification or equivalent experience

2+ years' experience managing a Venue hire proposition including end-to-end event planning and delivery in a cultural space

Demonstrable experience leading complex events across different spaces including large scale dinners and product launches

Experience in developing event strategy, including leading event package development that deliver strong profit margins

Demonstrable experience in meeting or exceeding targets

Experience managing and developing approved event suppliers

Very strong organisational skills with excellent attention to detail

Excellent customer service and a high level of interpersonal skills with the ability to manage relationships under pressure

Experience working with event and / or CRM databases, preferably Artifax

Knowledge of health and safety and event compliance requirements

Ability to assess and manage risk

Demonstrable experience managing budgets

Job Responsibilities

Lead the delivery and planning for the ICA's Event Hire offer, building the event hire pipeline and client base in order to meet ambitious income targets and drive revenue growth.

Manage the Events Officer, ensuring that enquiries are responded to in a timely manner and that client requests, supplier contacts and additional costs are delivered to a high standard.

Proactively identify and convert new business opportunities with corporate, commercial, media, private and cultural clients across various different event types - product launches, events, photoshoots, fashion shows, private receptions, weddings, dinners and conferences amongst others.

Build and manage a robust pipeline of leads, taking responsibility for
proposals, negotiations and contracts.

Cultivate and maintain strong relationships with clients, agencies, suppliers and partners.

Attend Client events as and where necessary, ensuring that the right level of on the ground support.

Useful Links

ica.art/jobs

Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Events Manager
Salary: £40k-£50k
Hours: Full time
Artform: Combined arts
Role: Catering & Hospitality
Contract: Permanent
Closing date: Wed, 20 May 2026
Location:

London

How to Apply

To apply, please share details of your CV and cover letter to [email protected]

Contact name: Claire Ward
Contact email: [email protected]

About ICA

The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is London’s leading space for contemporary culture. We commission, produce and present new work in film, music, performance and the visual arts by today’s most progressive artists. In our landmark home on The Mall in central London, we invite artists and audiences to interrogate what it means to live in our world today, with a genre-fluid programme that challenges the past, questions the present and confronts the future.

Find out more