Lead Show Administrator

The William Reed Group; City Of London, Brighton; Hybrid; GBP 35,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A global media group is seeking a Lead Show Administrator to join its Exhibitions team. This role involves managing a team to provide administrative support for the UK Food & Drink Shows while ensuring high standards of customer service and detailed execution of tasks. The position allows for hybrid working and offers a supportive work environment with numerous benefits.

Benefits

25 days annual leave + bank holidays

Cultural celebration day or birthday leave

Volunteer day for charity

Contributory Pension

Enhanced family-friendly leave pay entitlements

Health care cash plan

Cycle to Work Scheme

Qualifications

• Experience in managing or mentoring team members.
• Ability to meet strict deadlines and work under pressure.
• Knowledge of design programs is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Manage project team administrators for timely completion of tasks.
• Deliver customer service, including managing enquiries.
• Maintain accurate sales ledgers and operations logs.

Skills

Proven experience in a busy administrative role

Time management and organisational skills

Leadership and teamwork skills

Communication skills

Problem-solving ability

Knowledge of Microsoft Office

Tools

Microsoft Office (Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint)

Illustrator

Job description

We are a global media group delivering exceptional content through events, digital, data & insight.

From agribusiness, ingredients and food processing, to retail, hospitality & fine dining – we provide the inspiration, insight and connections to power our customers’ success.

We have offices in Gatwick, Brighton and London, UK; Montpellier, France; Singapore and Chicago, US. In line with the Company’s current Agile Working Policy, the successful candidate would be eligible to work part of the week from our Gatwick office and to work remotely for the rest of the week.

Position

Position: Full time – permanent

Location: Gatwick / Hybrid

We have an exciting opportunity for a Lead Show Administrator to join our award-winning Exhibitions team. The Lead Show Administrator plays a crucial role in the lead-up to our UK Food & Drink Shows, leading a team of two Show Administrators to provide administration support to all departments including Sales, Operations, Marketing & Features, and works closely with the Accounts Department to maintain correct sales ledgers and operations logs for accounting purposes.

The Lead Show Administrator’s purpose is to manage, mentor and play a part in the team, promoting consistency, sharing best practices, and helping to maintain high standards to ensure every detail is meticulously executed to deliver a smooth, seamless experience for our customers and internal stakeholders.

What you’ll be doing:

• Managing and overseeing project team administrators to ensure timely and accurate completion of booking forms, ops logs and sales plans
• Maintaining and updating sales plans using Illustrator, in line with the sales team’s requirements
• Delivering a high standard of customer service, including dealing with general enquiries, managing incoming correspondence and handling customer service calls professionally and efficiently
• Following up with exhibitors to collect required forms and manuals
• Conducting contract and floorplan audits to ensure accuracy and consistency
• Providing comprehensive administrative support for shows and events
• Maintaining up-to‑date sales ledgers and operations logs, working collaboratively with the accounts department
• Sending Adobe emails on behalf of the sales team to support communications
• Managing the sales office and providing on‑site support at events, ensuring smooth daily operations (up to 4 nights away at two events in April & May)

Requirements

What you’ll need:

• Proven experience in a busy administrative role
• Demonstrated experience of managing or mentoring team members
• Excellent time management and organisational skills with the ability to keep accurate records, prioritise tasks and maintain a high standard of attention to detail
• Demonstrate the ability to meet strict deadlines and work well under pressure
• Enthusiastic, self‑motivated and proactive with a flexible and resilient approach and strong ability to problem solve
• Fantastic leadership, teamwork and communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to influence and challenge
• Onsite event troubleshooting experience or similar would be desirable, but not essential
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office (Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
• Experience in design and using programs such as Illustrator is desirable, but not essential
• Willingness to travel and support onsite at the events

Other information

Company Benefits and Initiatives Include:

• 25 days annual leave in addition to bank holidays – increasing by one additional day after 6 years, up to a maximum of 30 days.
• An additional day of leave for you to take on a cultural celebration day or on your birthday if you like. A day for you! At William Reed, we call this our “MeDay”.
• A volunteer day to take for supporting a chosen charity and giving back to the community.
• Opportunity for hybrid working
• Contributory Pension
• Life Assurance Scheme
• Group Income Protection
• Enhanced family-friendly leave pay entitlements
• Wellbeing benefits, including: A health care cash plan, Employee assistance programme, Virtual GP service and Access to health & wellbeing resources and tools.
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Electric Car Scheme

Why work for us

We provide a supportive work environment and are committed to maintaining a healthy work/life balance for all of our employees. Working for William Reed means that you will be joining a stable organisation that is committed to developing its employees and brands.

We warmly welcome and encourage applications from talented individuals of all backgrounds and characteristics.

If you need any support in accessing this opportunity, please do not hesitate to discuss this with us.