Operations Lead or Senior Operations Lead

Lost Village is a highly unique 4-day experience that engulfs festival-goers in a surreal world located in the heart of an abandoned forest.

A network of winding woodland pathways leads curious minds amongst a vast array of interconnected, immersive environments, ranging from hidden rooms that only few shall discover and music spaces such as The Junkyard, Airbase and Jupiter Park – through to restaurants and chef’s table experiences headed up by Michelin starred chefs to comedy, talks, workshops and beautiful high quality bars.

The LV team approach every part of the Lost Village experience in the pursuit of perfection and with an obsession for detail. Whilst the super visual and experiential side of Lost Village is always on show, behind the scenes they are equally devoted to the meticulous execution of infrastructural organisation, event planning and customer experience.

The team is small, focused and exacting. There is a genuine obsession with detail and a belief that the audience notices everything. That standard runs through every part of the operation.

The Role

• This is a pivotal role with ownership of operational delivery, end to end. From early planning through to site build, live days, de-rig and debrief.
  You will sit at the centre of the operation, working closely with the founders, senior leadership team and external and internal production partners to bring the event to life.
• You will be responsible for building and helping to deliver the operational plan, ensuring it aligns with the creative vision, commercial objectives, duty of care obligations and most of all, is safe.
• You will manage a seven figure budget, working closely with finance, commercial and strategy teams to track performance, improve efficiency and drive better year on year outcomes.
• You will lead and coordinate key operation teams, building strong, trusted relationships with suppliers and stakeholders across the board.
• You will oversee the operational delivery of the festival, including working with the team on recruitment and management of key event operation roles on site, as well as specs for our external medical, welfare, catering, fire, radios & traffic working alongside the Operations Director across SAG engagement, licensing and critical documentation.
• You will bring structure to planning. Clear timelines, strong tracking, proper advance work and most importantly attention to detail. Reducing last minute pressure by improving visibility and control.
• You will own the debrief process, turning insight into tangible improvements for the next edition rather than repeating the same challenges.
  Success in this role is defined by three things. An operationally slick event. A happy audience and satisfied local authorities. Suppliers who want to return.
• There is clear scope for the role to grow over time into broader strategic and commercial responsibility, including work across other projects within the wider business.

The Candidate

• You have demonstrable experience delivering medium to large outdoor festivals or complex live events, end to end.
• You are comfortable owning budgets, managing suppliers and working across multiple stakeholders including local authorities, emergency services and licensing bodies.
• You bring structure and organisation. You plan properly, track effectively and spot issues early.
• You have exceptional attention to detail. You notice the small things and understand how they affect the overall experience.
• You are commercially aware and understand how operational decisions impact revenue and margin, but your instinct is always to protect the audience experience.
• You are confident and measured in how you deal with people. You can hold suppliers and stakeholders to account without damaging long term relationships.
• You are comfortable with the rhythm of the role. Long planning phases followed by intense, hands on delivery periods on site.
• You have a genuine interest in culture. Music, food, art, ideas. You care about what you are building, not just how it runs.
• You are ambitious but pragmatic. You are happy to earn trust through delivery and grow into a broader role over time.
• Backgrounds that tend not to translate are those rooted purely in large scale, standardised events without nuance, or candidates who lack real interest beyond the operational mechanics.

Lost Village has partnered with Troika Recruitment to lead this search.

Please send a CV and short cover letter FAO Dan Maxwell, who is managing the process.

Every application will be reviewed and all candidates will receive a reply.

Closing date for Applications: 20th May.