Director, Event Production – FIFA World Cup 26™

Who We Are:

On Location is a global leader in premium experiential hospitality, offering ticketing, curated guest experiences, live event production and travel management across sports, entertainment, fashion and culture. On Location provides unrivaled access for corporate clients and fans looking for official, immersive experiences at marquee events, including the Olympic and Paralympic Games, FIFA World Cup 2026, Super Bowl, NCAA Final Four, and more. An official partner and/or service provider to over 150 iconic rights holders, such as the IOC (the Milano Cortina 2026 and Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games), FIFA, NFL, NCAA, UFC, WWE, and PGA of America, the company also owns and operates a number of its own unique experiences. On Location is a subsidiary of TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TKO), a premium sports and entertainment company.

Role Summary:

The Director, Event Production  for the FIFA World Cup 26™ serves as the central operational hub and program manager across the Infrastructure, Overlay, and Production teams. This role oversees coordination, workflow, and communication among senior leaders including the Vice President of Production, Senior Directors of Infrastructure & Overlay, Infrastructure Directors, Fabrication Managers/Producers, and Production Managers.

Acting as the primary integrator and traffic controller across multiple workstreams, this role ensures all elements of planning, production, and delivery are strategically aligned, on schedule, and on budget. The Director, Event Production maintains cross-functional visibility into infrastructure, overlay, fabrication, and village operations to anticipate dependencies, resolve conflicts, and drive accountability across all delivery phases.

This position requires exceptional organizational, leadership, and communication skills to manage a highly complex, multi-city event program, ensuring seamless execution across multiple internal and external stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities:

Program Management & Cross-Functional Coordination

• Serve as the central point of integration across all Infrastructure, Overlay, Fabrication, and Production teams to ensure strategic alignment and operational readiness.
• Lead cross-functional planning sessions, ensuring milestones, dependencies, and deliverables are clearly defined and tracked.
• Oversee and maintain the program-wide master work back schedule, integrating timelines from Infrastructure, Overlay, Fabrication, Procurement, and Operations teams.
• Support the Vice President of Production in translating executive direction into actionable project plans.
• Identify interdependencies across workstreams and proactively mitigate conflicts or overlaps in resource allocation, scheduling, and deliverables.

Production Oversight & Delivery

• Manage the workflow of key operational roles, including Managers and Coordinators, ensuring consistent communication, progress tracking, and deliverable management.
• Oversee production readiness across multiple stadiums, villages, and supporting sites to ensure all plans meet FIFA and On Location standards.
• Facilitate alignment between architecture, technical, and operational teams to translate design intent into executable production plans.
• Support documentation, readiness checklists, and event playbooks for infrastructure and production teams.

Budgeting & Resource Management

• Collaborate with the VP of Production and Functional Area (FA) teams to manage production budgets and forecasts.
• Track progress against budget and scope, ensuring timely identification and escalation of potential overruns or scope changes.
• Coordinate allocation of personnel, vendors, and technical resources to support evolving project needs.

Vendor & Stakeholder Integration

• Serve as the coordination point for vendor management support across multiple production disciplines.
• Ensure all vendors adhere to timelines, scope, and quality standards; escalate performance issues as needed.
• Maintain clear, ongoing communication between FA’s, FIFA, On Location leadership, and external delivery partners.
• Support procurement and contracting processes by providing operational context and oversight for deliverables.

Scheduling, Documentation & Reporting

• Develop and maintain Smartsheet-based task tracking tools for production and infrastructure workstreams.
• Ensure all meeting minutes, action logs, and deliverable trackers are updated and distributed across the leadership team.
• Consolidate reporting across Infrastructure, Overlay, and Production for weekly updates to VP-level leadership.
• Lead regular program reviews to ensure accountability and progress against critical path items.

On-Site Coordination & Event Execution

• Serve as a primary point of coordination for on-site operations across multiple venues and villages at varied timelines.
• Oversee daily production team workflows, addressing issues related to vendor coordination, logistics, and timeline management.
• Support real-time decision-making and communication flow between production disciplines during load-in, event operations, and strike.
• Participate in readiness walkthroughs, site visits, and test events to ensure compliance with design, safety, and operational standards.

Leadership & Team Development

• Manage, mentor, and support the Event Production Manager and Coordinator roles.
• Facilitate interdepartmental collaboration to ensure a high-performing, solution-oriented production culture.
• Provide leadership in decision-making, issue resolution, and escalation management.

Experience / Qualifications Needed:

• Minimum 8–10 years of experience in large-scale event production, overlay, or infrastructure management — preferably for international sporting events, festivals, or multi-venue productions.
• Proven ability to manage multiple workstreams and teams simultaneously under tight deadlines.
• Strong knowledge of large-scale temporary structures, overlay systems, technical production, and vendor coordination.
• Demonstrated success in program management, budget oversight, and multi-disciplinary production environments.
• Excellent organizational, problem-solving, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Experience managing and motivating diverse teams, including staff, vendors, and contractors.
• Ability to work collaboratively within a matrixed organizational structure involving multiple stakeholders.
• Proficiency with Smartsheet, Microsoft 365, SharePoint, and other project management tools.
• Knowledge of union labor environments and health & safety protocols.
• Flexibility to work extended hours, weekends, and travel up to 40% as required.
• Must be fluent in English (written and verbal).
• Legally eligible to work in the assigned country without sponsorship.

Working Conditions:

• Ability to remain in a standing position for extended periods, except where reasonable accommodation is provided.
• Ability to work outdoors for extended periods across varying weather conditions.
• Must occasionally lift and/or move up to 20 lbs. with or without reasonable accommodation.

Per local requirements and in the interest of transparency, the hourly rate shown below reflects the prevalent current hiring range for this position. Hiring pay rates are based on a number of factors, including location and may vary depending on job-related qualifications, knowledge, skills and experience. The company strives to provide locally competitive rewards packages, which include base rate along with, as applicable, short- and long-term incentives, growth and developmental opportunities, and robust benefits, such as health care, retirement, vacation and other paid time off, and additional offerings.

Hiring Rate Minimum:

$97,500 annually (minimum will not fall below the applicable state/local minimum salary thresholds)

Hiring Rate Maximum:

$130,000 annually