Events Manager

Based at Alderley Park, Medicines Discovery Catapult is a national Life Sciences service dedicated to turning drug discovery into commercial breakthroughs. We accelerate the development of science, and where there are areas of unmet patient need, we stimulate innovation.

By transforming drug discovery, we can improve patient lives, increase the impact of the UK Life Sciences sector, and create a healthier society and economy. Our interventions work. Since we started, we have helped over 300 companies raise over £1bn of R&D investment. We seek passionate individuals who are eager to collaborate, innovate, and make a tangible difference in the field of drug discovery.

Together, we can unlock new therapies, enhance patient outcomes, and ensure that the UK remains at the forefront of life sciences innovation. If you are ready to make an impact, we invite you to be part of our journey.

The values of the Catapult are:

• Excellence – we continually strive to deliver the best solutions for our partners and for each other. In everything we do, we instil confidence.
• Integrity – Our strong commitment to what we do and why we are here drives us to do the right thing for our partners and each other.
• Community – We're a strong team, we work well together, and we respect each other.
• Innovation - We're driven by the need to make a difference. We constantly look for ways to drive change in our sector and how we work.

Role purpose

Reporting to the Marketing Lead, the Events Manager will lead, direct, and manage all events attended, hosted, collaborated on, or delivered by MDC and the other brands managed by the organisation. The Events Manager plays a pivotal role in driving the success of MDC and its other brand events through commercial growth, team engagement, and brand promotion. The role will also act as a crucial member of the wider marketing team.

MDC seeks a passionate events specialist to foster a high-performance, collaborative culture, championing best practices, and effectively manage live events, logistics, production and budgets.

Key areas the role:

ain duties and responsibilities

• Provide event direction, lead on briefings, set clear goals, and foster a high-performance collaborative culture among all colleagues participating in events.
• Provide event leadership and ensure alignment with key stakeholders across departments and their strategic objectives, forging strong working relationships.
• Oversee, lead and manage the development, installation and delivery of all event elements for the organisation's attendance at events/conferences domestically and worldwide.
• Be the point of contact for client requests and react to emerging needs or challenges.
• Design event and promotion strategies to enhance attendee satisfaction, maintaining high standards throughout events.Own, develop and deliver the event internal pre-meeting (including event pack), post-meeting, and feedback surveys.
• Ensure the MDC brand and the other brands it manages are always represented correctly.
• Manage the event exhibit and collateral inventory, and develop an internal checking-out system to ensure the location of items is understood.
• Manage and coordinate new material creation, signage, and branding via the marketing team.
• Manage negotiations with all event vendors, suppliers, and service providers, ensuring a clear understanding of services and expected standards.
• Own and manage relationships with vendors, suppliers and service providers, ensuring smooth logistics execution with venues, catering, and audiovisual (AV).
• Identify and secure suitable venues, negotiating pricing and agreements for owned events.
• Oversee and manage event budgets for MDC and other brands, ensuring value for money, financial adherence, cost effectiveness and maximising ROI where possible.
• Generate insight reports and recommendations for future event optimisation.
• Manage payments, allocating where necessary across staffing budgets.
• Monitor and analyse event metrics (e.g., brand, engagement, leads, commercial, NPS, etc.).
• Provide frequent reporting on event performance, ROI analysis and identifying areas for improvement.
• Develop, maintain, and refine the event internal process with supporting guides to ensure efficiency, consistency, and adherence to best practices across the organisation.
• Forge strong collaborative relationships with key teams within MDC, such as marketing, communications, business development, and discovery, to achieve aligned objectives.
• Maintain accurate records of all event opportunities, generate quarterly reports, and analyse KPIs to drive informed decision-making.
• Act as the brand approver and quality control for all event collateral submitted by colleagues seeking to potentially share externally at events.
• Ensure compliance with all relevant regulations, permits, and licenses for attending events.
• Oversee risk mitigation, proactively address issues, and ensure risk assessments are undertaken and documentation is in place where required.
• Identify and explore potential sponsorship opportunities aligned with the brand's strategic aims, and discuss with the marketing lead on which may be pursued.
• Act as the key point of contact for the organisation's corporate memberships, managing all relationships. Identify events and marketing opportunities that could be explored to maximise the benefit of membership.

Qualifications, experience and knowledge

• A degree or similar (preferably in Event Management or Marketing).
• Event management experience (preferably within the conference and exhibition field).
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to motivate and inspire others to deliver high-level events to achieve strategic objectives.
• A strategic thinker with a creative mindset, a keen eye for process, and a proven ability to develop engaging events that align with business goals.
• An outstanding communicator who can collaborate cross-functionally and confidently instruct vendors, agencies and colleagues.
• Strong experience in procurement, vendor negotiations, and budget management.
• Strong project management and planning skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously.
• Strong analytical skills to track attendee satisfaction, event impact and performance.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Familiarity with HubSpot event and marketing automation tools would be desirable.
• A forward thinker who can identify issues in high-pressure situations when necessary.
• Able to adapt and change priorities according to immediate business needs.
• Flexible and have a solution-driven approach to challenges.
• Highly efficient and have an organised approach to managing events.
• Willingness and ability to travel to some events domestically and globally when required.
• Willing to stay updated on industry advancements and implement innovative approaches to enhance event effectiveness.
• A scientific background, preferably in drug discovery, would be desirable.

Closing date Friday 5th December 2025

Please note the closing date for applications may be brought forward if a high volume of applications are received.