Siblana Events - Director of Production & Operations

Spyglass Ops, LLC; Niles (IL); On-site; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company‑covered travel to destination 

Ops mentorship program

Job summary

Siblana Events, a luxury event decor and design company near Chicago, seeks a hands-on, results-driven Director of Production & Operations to take over production, staffing, and logistics. You will lead production, warehouse operations, and systematize processes to enable growth from current size toward multi-weekend capacity.

Role is full-time, on-site, 1099, with a rigorous four‑part application process. You will collaborate with the founder, manage multilingual teams, and build pricing,

Qualifications

• 5–8 years in events, rentals, production, or hospitality.
• Experience scheduling hourly and contract crews and recruiting weekend staff and drivers.
• Familiarity with Goodshuffle, Current RMS, Flex, or similar inventory systems.

Responsibilities

• Lead warehouse, production, packing, load‑out, installation, and strike.
• Manage weekly crew schedules and build staffing models by event type.
• Recruit weekend crew and drivers, including through agencies.
• Establish weekend warehouse runner coverage.
• Support designers with event‑day production issues.

Skills

Leadership

Multilingual teams

Inventory systems

Tools

Goodshuffle

Current RMS

Flex

Job description

WHO WE ARE

Siblana Events is a luxury event decor and design company based in the Chicago suburbs. We design and produce florals, draping, lighting, and large-scale structures such as mandaps and arches, with a specialty in South Asian weddings alongside corporate and nonprofit galas and destination events across the country. Our growth has come through referrals and the reputation of our work.

Mission: Siblana Events delivers large-scale, refined production and floral design with intention and precision, grounded in collaboration, flexibility, and care.

Our Core Values are:

• INTEGRITY: We honor our commitments and take responsibility for our actions, earning the trust of our clients and vendors.
• COLLABORATION: We work closely with our clients, team, and vendors to execute every detail flawlessly.
• QUALITY: We source top-tier materials and hold the highest standards to exceed client expectations.
• CREATIVITY: We explore new materials and trends to deliver unique, never-repeated designs for every event.

We’re looking for someone who genuinely connects with our mission and values. This alignment is critical for success in this role.

JOB DESCRIPTION

The Siblana Events team is looking for a hands‑on, results‑driven Director of Production & Operations with a proven track record in events, event rentals, production, or hospitality. Our founder has built the company on design excellence and has personally held production, staffing, and scheduling together as the business has grown. You will take that operational load off her plate, lead production and warehouse operations, and build the systems that let us grow to roughly three times our current size.

The goal of the Director of Production & Operations is to make the company run smoothly on the busiest days of the year. You will lead the floor on event weekends, build the staffing, pricing, and scheduling systems that currently live in one person’s head, and hold every team member to the same standard. The application code word is ANCHOR. The Director of Production & Operations is a calm, steady leader who anticipates problems before event day and builds a team that can carry more weekends without the founder overseeing each one.

This role will lead Siblana Events through a chapter of rapid growth and transition, including an upcoming move to a new warehouse and studio during the off-season. You will work in close collaboration with the founder, who continues to lead the creative vision.

This is a full‑time, on‑site, 1099 position. This is a critical position within the business, and as such, we host a rigorous, 4‑part application process.

WHAT MAKES THIS ROLE UNIQUE

You will be the company’s first operator. Our work peaks on weekends, with up to four events on a peak Saturday, and our ability to say yes to more events depends on what happens in the warehouse and on site. The team is ready to take on more volume, and you are the person who makes that possible.

Your success will be measured by one outcome: the founder steps out of day‑to‑day scheduling, staffing, and logistics, and the company confidently takes on more events per peak day. You’ll start the first week of January, use your first 90 days to learn the business and take over production, and have operations fully running before busy season begins in April.

You will lead a close‑knit, multilingual crew. Our team speaks Spanish, Arabic, Pashto, Ukrainian, and English, and not everyone reads English comfortably. The right person reaches everyone through pictures, translation tools, and bilingual teammates, and protects the people‑first culture we’ve built while raising the standard.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

• 30 Days: Learn departments, build team relationships, and take over weekly production scheduling.
• 60 Days: Establish staffing models, expand the weekend crew pool, and document new facility requirements.
• 90 Days: Own production, implement pricing and job costing, centralize events and inventory in Goodshuffle, and launch weekly operations meetings.
• 6 Months: Founder exits daily operations, event costs are tracked, key roles have scorecards, and peak‑Saturday capacity increases.

RESPONSIBILITIES (TASKS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ROLE)

• Lead warehouse, production, packing, load‑out, installation, and strike
• Manage weekly crew schedules and build staffing models by event type
• Recruit weekend crew and drivers, including through agencies
• Establish weekend warehouse runner coverage
• Support designers with event‑day production issues

Production & Weekend Workforce

• Lead warehouse, production, packing, load‑out, installation, and strike
• Manage weekly crew schedules and build staffing models by event type
• Recruit weekend crew and drivers, including through agencies
• Establish weekend warehouse runner coverage
• Support designers with event‑day production issues

Pricing & Job Costing

• Track event costs across labor, materials, rentals, trucks, and breakage
• Build pricing formulas and SOPs covering labor, delivery, installation, strike, and unit costs
• Set designer discretion for custom work and upsells; review proposals

Finance & Budget

• Own the operating budget and approve spending within agreed limits
• Coordinate accurate books and monthly P&L with the outside accountant
• Identify unprofitable events and drive corrective action

Facility Move

• Lead the warehouse and studio move, including layout, requirements, and timeline
• Plan storage, truck access, loading, floral workspace, and luxury showroom needs
• Label storage zones and record inventory locations in Goodshuffle

People & Structure

• Create job scorecards and annual reviews for key roles
• Lead weekly cross‑functional operations meetings and post‑weekend reviews
• Manage conduct, conflicts, and performance consistently
• Coordinate employment structure with HR and legal advisors

Systems & Handoffs

• Map inquiry‑to‑inventory‑return workflows, with firm deadlines for work orders, packing lists, and client changes
• Make Goodshuffle the source of truth for events and inventory, including receiving
• Build backup coverage for single‑person roles
• Bring floral into operations once production is stable

REQUIREMENTS (EXPECTED PROFICIENCIES)

Experience Requirements (Non‑Negotiable)

• 5–8 years in events, rentals, production, or hospitality, ideally luxury or high‑ticket
• Experience scheduling hourly and contract crews and recruiting weekend staff and drivers
• Experience managing warehouse operations from prep through returns
• Experience leading multilingual teams
• Familiarity with Goodshuffle, Current RMS, Flex, or similar inventory systems
• Experience with pricing and job costing across labor, materials, fees, and margins
• Proven ability to build schedules, checklists, SOPs, and operating routines
• Facility relocation or buildout experience is a plus

Core Competencies

• Labor and job‑cost awareness, with the ability to build a budget, read a P&L, and price an event from real costs
• Crew scheduling and staffing at volume, including last‑minute replacements on event weekends
• Systems building that turns knowledge held by one or two people into checklists, picture‑based instructions, and SOPs
• Database thinking, with comfort living in inventory software and keeping counts accurate
• Enough HR fluency to run scorecards, reviews, and conduct conversations alongside outside experts

This role calls for both sides: someone who can run a load‑out and also build the spreadsheet behind it.

Critical Soft Skills (Deal‑Breakers)

• Fair and consistent leader who holds everyone to the same standard, including long‑tenured team members
• Manages up with kindness and conviction, giving the founder room to focus on design and pushing back when needed
• Calm and steady on event day and every day, keeping a level voice under pressure
• Manages down by sharing the plan, assigning clear ownership, and developing crew members into event leads
• Hires people who can grow, including people who may one day outgrow you
• Inclusive leader who protects a people‑first culture while raising the standard
• Respects creative work and builds structure that leaves room for design to keep evolving

Technical Requirements

• Exceptional attention to detail, time management, and organizational skills
• Clear communicator across languages and literacy levels who uses pictures and translation tools by default
• Data‑driven decision maker who uses job costs and event data to guide choices
• Candid and direct communicator with strong verbal and written English
• On‑site in the Chicago suburbs, with weekends and event days as a regular part of the role
• Able to travel for 5 to 7 destination events a year

Mindset & Cultural Fit

• You hold yourself to the highest standard and stay resilient when event day throws a curveball
• You’re energized by work that peaks on weekends and you’re ready to lead through the full busy season
• You care about the people on your crew and see their growth as part of your job
• You’re excited to be the first operator in a founder‑led company and to build what comes next

BENEFITS

• Salary range of $120,000 to $150,000, plus performance‑based bonuses
• Employment classification: 1099 (independent contractor)
• Company‑covered travel to destination events
• Professional Development: This role will be supported by an external Ops program that includes Ops mentorship, community, and live coaching.