Senior Event and Production Manager

Department: Facilities & Campus Operations

Classification: Public Relations & Mktg Spec 3

Job Category: Classified Staff

Job Type: Full-Time

Work Schedule: Full-time (1.0 FTE, 40 hrs/wk)

Location: Arlington, VA

Workplace Type: Hybrid Eligible

Sponsorship Eligibility: Not eligible for visa sponsorship

Pay Band: 04

Salary: Salary commensurate with education and experience ($90,000)

Criminal Background Check: Yes

George Mason University Facilities ensures a quality physical environment that supports the university's mission. We will be the technical and business experts of choice, with the trust and confidence of our students, faculty, and staff.

The Senior Event and Production Manager provides strategic leadership and operational oversight for all event production and execution services at George Mason University’s Mason Square campus. This role is responsible for elevating the quality, consistency, and impact of events—ranging from academic conferences to high-profile executive and presidential-level engagements. As a senior member of the campus administration team, the position partners closely with university leadership, sponsors, and external stakeholders to align event experiences with institutional objectives and brand standards.

The Senior Event and Production Manager leads a team of professional and part-time staff, ensuring excellence in event design, audiovisual execution, and logistical coordination. This role serves as the primary production lead for high‑stakes and VIP events, cultivating key relationships across internal departments and external partners to deliver seamless, mission‑aligned outcomes. The role also supports long‑range planning, evaluates emerging technologies, and establishes protocols and performance benchmarks to continuously improve production operations and event delivery.

The Senior Event and Production Manager plays a vital role in positioning Mason Square as a premier destination for academic, governmental, and industry convenings, contributing to institutional goals related to engagement, visibility, and strategic growth.

• Provides leadership and oversight of an expanded production team, ensuring seamless execution of live and hybrid events, including Presidential-level and VIP events with all conferencing and event venues within Mason Square.
• Serves as senior advisor and production lead for executive-level stakeholders, offering end-to-end oversight of the event production strategy, timelines, and execution plans.
• Builds and sustains a collaborative network of university stakeholders and external partners to support shared objectives and ensure cohesive campus-wide execution.
• Responsible for navigating and making complex, multi‑faceted decisions involving numerous stakeholders, competing priorities, and dynamic operational factors.
• Provides leadership and direction to address and resolve client concerns swiftly, identifying pain points and implementing mitigation strategies.
• Develops and documents production and execution standards, communications, processes, and tools to ensure operational consistency and production quality across all event types.
• Establishes key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure success in event production, client satisfaction, and staff performance. Develops a knowledge repository for production best practices to support the team in event production training, onboarding, and scalable service delivery.
• Collaborates with ITS to develop long-term equipment lifecycle plans and establish budget targets that support both current operational needs and anticipated future demands.
• Evaluates emerging technologies and industry trends to enhance event production capabilities, presenting recommendations to the Director and other campus stakeholders.
• Establishes and maintains relationships with preferred vendors for specialized production services and equipment, and oversees contractual compliance for specialized production services and rentals.
• Responsible for ensuring user compliance with all university policies and procedures to ensure all events meet safety,…