Event Operations Manager, MENA

Xsolla Inc.; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 260,000 - 360,000; Full time

Job summary

Xsolla Inc. seeks an Event Operations Manager, MENA to lead the Dubai Expo venue delivery, coordinating cross-functional teams and managing relationships with event organizers.

You will own the deal process, contracts, and on-site execution for major global brands, while building a team and ensuring seamless sponsor delivery across multiple events.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional experience in event marketing or event operations.
• Experience in video games, tech or software industries preferred.
• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business Admin, Communications or related field.
• Proven track record managing complex, multi-stakeholder events from concept to delivery.
• Proficiency with Jira, Asana, Monday.com, and Google Workspace.

Responsibilities

• Own the MENA event roadmap and budget, reporting to the VP of Global Experiential Marketing.
• Identify and secure global conference and event brands to host at the Xsolla Dubai Expo venue.
• Lead the deal process for incoming event organizers from relationship-building to contract negotiation.
• Manage sales logistics for organizer accounts, including venue availability, pricing, contracts and onboarding.
• Serve as the primary account manager for Dubai-hosted events, ensuring smooth relationships from signing to delivery.
• Develop the Event Operations Coordinator, Dubai Events Coordinator and Dubai Events Community Manager.
• Own delivery of sponsorship packages and deliverables for the Xsolla events expo and related events.
• Coordinate with organizers on space planning, production and set-up requirements at the Dubai hub.
• Set and manage event budgets, tracking spend by currency and event.
• Oversee hotel and travel logistics for staff, working with venue and sourcing agencies.
• Maintain the event roadmap tracker and ensure visibility of organizer and sponsor info.
• Oversee creative briefs for the in-house team and ensure timely turnaround of assets.
• Lead post-event reporting, budget reconciliation and lessons learned.
• Represent the Dubai hub in cross-functional planning with BD, Product and Marketing.

Skills

Relationship management

Negotiation

Project management

Stakeholder management

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Marketing

Tools

Atlassian Suite

Jira

Asana

Monday.com

Google Workspace

Job description

Job description

ABOUT YOU

We are looking for an Event Operations Manager, MENA who is trustworthy, self-driven, motivated, and accountable to join our Global Experiential Marketing team. The ideal candidate thrives in a fast-paced, highly collaborative, cross-functional and multicultural environment and is passionate about bringing major global conference and event brands to Xsolla's new Dubai events hub and Expo venue.

You will work closely with the Director of Marketing EMEA and the Global Head of Event Sales to manage relationships with the event organizers Xsolla brings to the region, owning the deal process, sales logistics and account management that gets each event successfully set up and delivered in the Xsolla Dubai Expo venue.

The right person for this role will be a strong relationship manager, negotiator, and project owner who can manage multiple organizer accounts at once, build a team from the ground up, and turn commercial agreements into flawless on-site delivery.

This role is in-office/on-site at Xsolla's new Dubai hub and will require regional and international travel of up to 25-30%.

ABOUT US

Xsolla is a global commerce company with robust tools and services to help developers solve the inherent challenges of the video game industry. From indie to AAA, companies partner with Xsolla to help them fund, distribute, market, and monetize their games. Grounded in the belief in the future of video games, Xsolla is resolute in the mission to bring opportunities together, and continually make new resources available to creators. Headquartered and incorporated in Los Angeles, California, Xsolla operates as the merchant of record and has helped over 1,500+ game developers to reach more players and grow their businesses around the world. With more paths to profits and ways to win, developers have all the things needed to enjoy the game.

For more information, visit xsolla.com.

Responsibilities

• Own the MENA event roadmap and budget, reporting progress to the VP of Global Experiential Marketing.
• Work closely with the Director of Marketing EMEA and the Global Head of Event Sales to identify and secure global conference and event brands to host at the Xsolla Dubai Expo venue.
• Lead the deal process for incoming event organizers, from initial relationship-building through contract negotiation and account management.
• Manage sales logistics for organizer accounts, including venue availability, pricing, contracts and onboarding into the Xsolla Expo venue.
• Serve as the primary account manager for event organizers hosted in Dubai, ensuring a smooth relationship from signing through event delivery.
• Manage and develop the Event Operations Coordinator, Dubai Events Coordinator and Dubai Events Community Manager.
• Own delivery of sponsorship packages and deliverables for the DFGC/Xsolla events expo and other organizer-hosted events at the Dubai hub.
• Coordinate with organizers on space planning, production and event set-up requirements within the Xsolla Expo venue.
• Set and manage event budgets, tracking spend by currency and by event.
• Oversee hotel and travel logistics for staff attending events, working with the venue and hotel sourcing agency.
• Maintain the event roadmap tracker and ensure the wider team has visibility of organizer and sponsor information, dates and links.
• Oversee creative briefs (Jira) for the in-house creative team and ensure timely turnaround of event assets.
• Lead post-event reporting, including organizer feedback, budget reconciliation and lessons learned.
• Represent the Dubai hub in cross-functional planning with BD, Product and Marketing teams.

Requirements

• 5+ years of professional experience in event marketing or event operations (agency, brand, technology, or related background).
• Validated experience in the video games, tech or software industry, ideally in a B2B event or partnerships capacity.
• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business Administration, Communications, or related field.
• Proven track record managing complex, multi-stakeholder events from concept through on-site delivery.
• Proficiency in project management tools such as Atlassian Suite, Jira, Asana, Monday.com, and the Google Workspace.

Preferred:

• Track record owning event budgets end-to-end, including sponsorship P&L.
• Proven experience managing and developing a team of events professionals.
• Experience negotiating complex vendor and venue contracts across multiple markets.
• Knowledge of the Dubai/MENA events market; Arabic language skills are beneficial.