Head of Stadium Hospitality & Events

Sodexo; Lancashire; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 50,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Unlimited mental health & wellbeing平台

Employee Assistance Programme

Free health & wellbeing app access

Sodexo Discounts Scheme

Salary Insights & financial benefits

Sodexo Retirement Plan

Death-in-Service benefit

Learning & development tools

Cycle to Work Scheme

Volunteering opportunities

Flexible and dynamic work environment

Job summary

Sodexo Live! is seeking a General Manager to lead operations at Ewood Park, Blackburn. You will drive hospitality, retail and events on matchdays and beyond, delivering exceptional guest experiences and commercial performance.

Lead a diverse team across departments, cultivate senior-level partnerships, and ensure safety, compliance and operational excellence at one of football’s historic venues.

Qualifications

• Proven leadership experience within stadium, arena, or large-scale hospitality venues.
• Strong commercial mindset with experience managing P&L and delivering financial performance.
• Experience managing large, diverse operational teams across multiple departments.
• Strong client relationship management skills with the ability to influence at senior level.
• Demonstrated success in hospitality, retail, and events operations.
• Excellent communication, leadership and stakeholder engagement skills.
• A passion for delivering exceptional guest experiences and leading teams to achieve excellence.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for all Sodexo Live! operations at Ewood Park, ensuring exceptional service across matchdays, hospitality, retail and events.
• Act as the senior point of contact for the venue partner, building trusted relationships and delivering on shared ambitions for the venue.
• Lead and inspire a high-performing multidisciplinary team, creating a culture of collaboration, engagement and continuous improvement.
• Drive commercial performance and profitability, managing P&L accountability while identifying new revenue opportunities and growth initiatives.
• Oversee premium hospitality, public retail, conferences and events, ensuring service delivery consistently exceeds guest expectations.
• Champion a culture of safety, compliance, and operational excellence, including food safety, licensing, and health and safety standards.
• Develop and implement the venue business plan, aligning operational strategy with both Sodexo Live! and partner objectives.
• Identify opportunities for innovation, new concepts and enhanced fan experiences, keeping the venue at the forefront of stadium hospitality.

Skills

Leadership experience

Commercial mindset

P&L management

Large team leadership

Client relationship management

Communication and stakeholder skills

Guest experience focus

Job description

Sodexo Live! is seeking a General Manager to lead operations at Ewood Park, Blackburn. You will drive hospitality, retail and events on matchdays and beyond, delivering exceptional guest experiences and commercial performance.

Lead a diverse team across departments, cultivate senior-level partnerships, and ensure safety, compliance and operational excellence at one of football’s historic venues.