Head of Events

Founded in 1881, HEC Paris is one of Europe's leading business schools. HEC Paris’s goal is to make a positive impact on business and society via its ‘Think, Teach, Act’ tripartite approach, contributing to a more inclusive, sustainable, and prosperous world. With 160 research professors from across the world generating and imparting unique knowledge to over 4,500 students from 135 countries, the HEC Paris campus is a fully-fledged laboratory devoted to innovation and exchange that is open to the diversity of the world and the challenges it faces.

In 2010, HEC Paris joined Qatar Foundation to bring world-class management education programs and research to Doha and the region. Through its offering of degree, non-degree, and corporate programs, HEC Paris, Doha contributes to corporate competitiveness in the global economy, fully aligned with Qatar National Vision 2030 and supporting the transformation of Qatar into a sustainable, competitive, and knowledge-based economy. In addition to offering degree programs, the school partners with corporate clients in Qatar and the region to design and deliver customized executive programs addressing current business and organizational challenges.

HEC Paris is an exceptional workplace, located in state-of-the-art premises in downtown Msheireb, at the heart of Doha. Joining HEC Paris, Doha is a unique opportunity to be part of a close-knit community of talented individuals united around five core values: Curiosity, Excellence, Diversity, Responsibility and Entrepreneurial Spirit.

https://www.qatar.exed.hec.edu/

The Head of Events is responsible for designing and delivering an annual portfolio of thought leadership, recruitment, partner, and alumni events that build brand visibility, deepen stakeholder relationships, and generate qualified leads for HEC Paris, Doha. The Head of Events owns strategy, governance, execution quality, and post-event impact across the portfolio.

Strategy and governance

• Lead the annual event strategy aligned to program, partnership, and brand objectives. Translate goals into a balanced portfolio with clear audience, purpose, and success metrics.
• Own the intake process for event requests. Prioritize scope, and approve or decline based on capacity, impact, and alignment.
• Maintain the master calendar and ensure visibility across leadership, marketing, sales, and academic teams.
• Create and maintain playbooks, run of show templates, checklists, briefing packs, and a shared repository of assets and debriefs.
• Champion the approved tech stack, including Salesforce and registration platforms, and ensure data governance and consent practices.
• Proactively propose new events throughout the year to maintain high engagement and align with institutional objectives.

Portfolio planning and delivery

• Oversee concepting, design, and delivery of on-campus, off-site, hybrid, and virtual events, including C-level roundtables, open houses, graduations, partner activations, and VIP visits.
• Manage end-to-end logistics, including permits, venue, staging, AV, translation, accessibility, livestream, photography and videography, transport, accommodation, catering, and protocol.
• Lead risk assessment and contingency planning, including HSE, crowd management, fire safety, incident response, and VIP security coordination.
• Apply sustainable event practices, including waste reduction, responsible sourcing, and reuse of assets.

Stakeholders, protocol, and partnerships

• Serve as the focal point for VIP and government engagement with sensitivity to local protocol, culture, and security requirements.
• Coordinate with the Dean’s Office, faculty, partners, alumni, and sponsors. Provide high-quality briefings, seating plans, scripts, and escorting.
• Manage speaker sourcing, agreements, travel, and hospitality.

Budget, commercial, and vendors

• Own the events budget. Build business cases, forecasts, and reconciliations. Track purchase orders and invoices with Finance and Procurement.
• Build and manage preferred supplier panels and framework agreements. Negotiate rates, scope, and service levels.
• Develop sponsorship assets for selected flagship events and manage sponsor fulfillment.
• Source, brief, and manage venues and suppliers. Monitor delivery against service levels and run structured post-event reviews.
• Oversee asset inventory, including booths, backdrops, and signage, with planned storage, maintenance, and refresh cycles.

Marketing integration and performance

• Partner with Marketing and Sales on audience definition, value proposition, and messaging for each event.
• Build promotional plans and timelines across email, social, website, partners, and PR, ensuring brand standards at every touchpoint.
• Ensure consistent data capture at registration and onsite. Integrate with Salesforce campaigns and journeys.
• Define and report on KPIs, including registrations, attendance rate, cost per attendee, satisfaction score, net promoter score, leads captured, and pipeline value. Share insights and improvement actions after each event and quarterly.

Team leadership

• Lead and develop a team of event professionals. Clarify roles and goals, run regular one-to-ones and stand-ups, and provide coaching and feedback.
• Plan capacity and allocate resources across concurrent projects. Engage trusted freelancers when needed within budget.
• Set working norms for calm, excellence, safety, and continuous improvement.

Education and experience

• Bachelor's degree required. Master's degree in business, marketing, communications, hospitality, or related field preferred.
• Ten or more years of progressive experience in events or experiential marketing with at least three years leading a team.
• Proven track record delivering high-stakes events with VIPs in Qatar or the GCC.

Certifications

• One or more of the following are advantages: PMP, Managing Safely, Crisis Management, or equivalent.

Skills and competencies

• Expert project management and prioritization across multiple concurrent events.
• Protocol awareness for ministerial and diplomatic engagements.
• Budgeting, forecasting, and commercial negotiation.
• Proficiency with Salesforce and standard registration and webinar platforms.
• Proficiency in Canva, Salesforce CRM, Trello, and other digital tools is essential for effective event management.
• Strong stakeholder management and executive presence.
• Excellent written and spoken English. Arabic is strongly preferred. French is a plus.

Ways of working

• Core hours aligned to business needs with flexibility for evenings and weekends during peak periods.
• Travel within Qatar and the GCC as required.
• Adheres to institutional policies for procurement, finance, brand, data protection, and HSE.

Notes

This description outlines the core purpose, outcomes, and responsibilities of the role. Specific targets and portfolio volumes will be set annually and reviewed quarterly.

Disclaimer

This job description is only a summary of the typical functions of the job, not an exhaustive or comprehensive list of all possible job responsibilities, tasks, and duties. The responsibilities, tasks, and duties of the jobholder might differ from those outlined in this job description, and other duties, as assigned, may be part of the job.