Team: Festival
Activity: Full-time
Role grade: Director (8)
Direct reports: 4
Indirect reports: 0
Reporting to: Chief Product Officer
Role location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Job Purpose: As the Director Festival, you will lead the planning, execution, and management of the festival accompanying tournaments. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in large-scale event management and a creative mindset to bring our festival vision to life. This role requires a strategic thinker who can create new content and seamlessly integrate various elements of the festival, ensuring a memorable and engaging experience for all attendees.
Duties and Responsibilities
Lead end-to-end festival planning, execution, and onsite operations, including concerts, venues, interactive zones, and ceremonies.
Manage master festival planning and timelines across multiple functions, including operations, creative, production, and partner coordination.
Oversee partnerships with international and local IPs, driving integration of owned and third-party properties into the overall festival experience.
Oversee all government relations regarding event approvals, permits, and ongoing stakeholder alignment.
Develop and manage a strategy for integrated influencer activations that align with the festival’s creative vision.
Curate cutting-edge tech and gaming experiences, ensuring interactivity, accessibility, and wow-factor.
Facilitate amateur esports tournaments to encourage community participation. Ensure smooth operation and high standards of these community-focused activities
Lead creation of key zones, including fan zones, sponsor activations, and VIP lounges with immersive programming.
Create a welcoming and vibrant atmosphere to enhance the fan experience
Develop new content formats and festival concepts that reinforce EWC’s position as a global entertainment and gaming leader.
Oversee budget, governance, operational tracking, and reporting to senior leadership.
Manage the festival team and collaborate across departments and external vendors to deliver execution at scale.
Revise and evolve the festival blueprint annually, including benchmarking and innovation research from global festivals.
Define and monitor strategic key performance indicators to measure the success and impact of the festival to drive decision-making and continuous improvement
Education and Experience
Bachelor’s degree in Event Management, Marketing, Business, or related field.
10+ years of experience leading creative direction and production of large-scale festivals or entertainment experiences.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
Proven track record of owning and driving the development of IP-based events, brand activations, and entertainment formats.
Demonstrated experience with multiple entertainment formats (concerts, immersive tech, fan zones, etc.)
Demonstrated experience delivering large-scale B2C festivals or public events attracting thousands of attendees.
Strong creative leadership with the ability to conceptualize original experiences and translate them into executable plans.
Creative thinking and problem-solving abilities to innovate and enhance the festival experience
Experience managing complex, multi-million dollar budgets and large vendor ecosystems.
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to effectively engage with stakeholders, sponsors, and team members
Demonstrated ability to thrive in a dynamic and high-pressure event environment
Deep understanding of youth entertainment trends and global festival benchmarks.
Experience managing teams, including hiring and performance management
Very good written and verbal communication skills in English
Bonus / Nice to Have:
Good understanding of the gaming and esports industry
Our Perks:
Relocation support
Transportation allowance
Competitive compensation
Housing allowance
VIP medical insurance
Opportunity to work on a new exciting project with a group of passionate professionals. You will get the freedom to excel and make a real impact
Diversity disclaimer
Our mission is to build a diverse organization where our members, regardless of background or identity, have a sense of belonging. We genuinely believe that thanks to creating a collaborative environment where different perspectives are valued, we can achieve more. Together, we want to reshape the boundaries of what is achievable in the esports domain.
