Festival Operations Manager - Vacuum Technical Manager

Job Description

Company: Live Nation
Department: Festival Operations Infrastructure Supply (FOIS)
Location: Farringdon, London plus onsite at festivals
Reports to: Senior Operations Manager – Festival Operations
Working Hours: Full time plus evening and weekend working during festival season
Job Type: Permanent
Role Description
The Festival Operations Manager is a senior, hands-on role responsible for the end-to-end delivery of vacuum toilet infrastructure across major UK festivals and live events. This position combines operational leadership, technical expertise, and people management, ensuring systems are safely planned, installed, operated, maintained, and removed to the highest standard.
The role acts as the single point of operational responsibility for Live Nation FOIS - owned vacuum toilet systems, working closely with internal teams, freelance staff, suppliers, and clients in fast-paced live event environments.
What we can offer you
Live Nation offers impressive employee benefits including tickets to shows and festivals and unlimited annual leave. The Farmiloe Building in Farringdon, London is a beautiful office to work in. Staff can enjoy use of arcade games in the basement games room, onsite gym equipment plus fitness and meditation classes. In addition to this, the office has a fully stocked complimentary coffee bar with barista to serve you your favourite coffee as you walk into the office and offers heavily subsidised lunch options. We hold regular staff events in our atrium stage space including hosting speakers and open mic nights to showcase Live Nation employee talent.
Who you are

Competencies / Skills / Knowledge / Experience
Essential
• Proven experience in festival, live event, infrastructure, or technical operations management
• Experience with vacuum toilet systems, water, waste, or similar infrastructure
• Proven experience in festival or large-scale event operations
• Strong mechanical aptitude with the ability to diagnose and repair equipment under live conditions
• Experience leading teams in high-pressure, time-critical environments
• Excellent organisational and task management skills
• Confident communicator with strong written and verbal skills
• Full UK driving licence and willingness to travel extensively during festival season
Desirable
• Basic electrical and electronic fault-finding knowledge
• Knowledge of festival site design, capacities, crowd flow, egress, and fire regulations
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint
Behaviours
The following attributes determine how the role will be carried out and are required to be a success
• Deliver work with accuracy, completeness, and attention to detail.
• Demonstrate integrity in day-to-day business and the way you deal with people.
• Communicate effectively with others by organizing and delivering information appropriately and listening actively to others.
• Proactively seek solutions to problems.
• Understanding the statement ''we've always done it this way'' can stifle innovation, efficiency, and growth – we challenge this thinking in everything we do.
• Be enthusiastic and energetic in your approach to your job.
• Commit to putting in extra effort with a positive attitude.
• Be flexible in handling change, able to juggle multiple demands, and adaptable to new situations with fresh ideas or innovative approaches.
• Stay composed, confident, optimistic, and in problem-solving mode when the going gets tough
• Possess the skills needed to perform your job well, paying close attention to detail, accuracy, and completeness.
• In everything we do we aim to add value to the organisation.
What the role includes
Festival Operations
• Act as the primary point of contact for vacuum toilet operations at assigned festivals
• Plan, advance, and deliver vacuum toilet deployments from load-in through show days to load-out
• Draft technical and operational documentation for staff and contractors
• Conduct site visits to assess feasibility, layouts, capacities, and system requirements
• Collaborate with Operations Team to create detailed build, show, and break schedules
• Manage truck unloading, system installation, tie-ins, testing, and commissioning of vacuum systems
• Operate equipment and ensure systems run reliably throughout events
• Troubleshoot, diagnose, and repair mechanical, electrical, and system faults onsite as required
• Manage transfer of equipment between consecutive events
• Report parts usage, shortages, and maintenance requirements to the Parts Lead
• Complete post-event after-action reports detailing successes, challenges, and improvements
People & Labour Management
• Recruit, train, and manage onsite temporary and local labour
• Train and supervise standby technicians during festival operations
• Act as central escalation point for technical and operational issues
• Support onboarding and training of new Live Nation FOIS staff
• Maintain a professional, calm, and solutions-focused presence under pressure
Warehouse & Asset Management
• Support logistics planning and staffing for loading and unloading of trucks
• Oversee annual off-season maintenance of vacuum toilet equipment
• Maintain equipment condition throughout the festival season
• Create, manage, and maintain asset, inventory, and repair logs
• Identify, request, and manage procurement of tools, parts, and materials
• Fabricate or coordinate fabrication of components as required
FOIS Development Duties
• Identify, recommend, and test parts and improvements for Sanitrax and Satellite vacuum systems
• Provide technical field support for Live Nation customer events
• Assist with warranty field repairs and manufacturer liaison
• Lead demonstrations at festivals and events for potential clients and partners
• Deliver customer training and technical education
• Support product testing, research, development, and feedback initiatives
• Contribute to business development through industry relationships and festival networks

General Responsibilities
• Respond promptly to emails and calls
• Maintain regular warehouse/office hours when not on site
• Submit expenses and reimbursements promptly and accurately
• Perform other duties related to vacuum operations as required

The Company

#LI-SL1
Live Nation Entertainment will never request payment or equipment purchases as part of the hiring process. Recruiters will only contact candidates from official Live Nation or affiliated brand email domains.

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-6kn588-216-73-216-23-42 in your application.