Conference & Events Manager

Job Location:

Milton Keynes, Remote/Hybrid

Department:
Validation Partnerships

Closing Date: 10 November 2026

Weekly

Working Hours:

18.5

Contract Type:
Fixed Term Contract

Fixed Term

Contract:

End Date: 31 July 2027

Welsh Language:
Not Applicable

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Working within OU Validation Partnerships (OUVP), the Conference and Events Manager will report to the Head of Validation Partnerships and will provide event management support for the planning, organisation and delivery of the 2027 OUVP conference, alongside other OUVP partnership engagement and growth activities.

The purpose of this role is to support the effective planning and coordination of the conference, ensuring that key activities, timelines, communications, resources and stakeholder inputs are managed in a structured and timely way.

You will be expected to communicate and work collaboratively with a broad range of internal and external stakeholders, including OUVP colleagues, partner institutions, faculties, professional services teams and external contributors.

With excellent attention to detail and strong organisational ability, you will support OUVP to deliver high quality engagement activity. You will be confident in managing project plans, monitoring progress, coordinating actions and ensuring that work is delivered to agreed deadlines and standards.

• To develop, maintain and monitor a detailed project plan for the 2027 OUVP conference, ensuring that key milestones, dependencies, risks and actions are clearly identified and managed.
• To coordinate the practical planning and organisation of the conference, including scheduling, logistics, venue arrangements, delegate communications, social media campaigns, accessibility requirements, resources and supporting materials.
• To liaise with OUVP colleagues, partner institutions, faculties and other internal and external stakeholders to support the development and delivery of the conference programme.
• To support the coordination of conference content, including calls for contributions, speaker liaison, programme development, briefing materials, presentation requirements and post‑event outputs.
• To coordinate conference‑related communications, including drafting, coordinating and tracking communications with contributors, delegates, partners and internal stakeholders.
• To manage and maintain accurate records, action logs, risk registers and issues logs for the conference.
• To coordinate budget monitoring, procurement activity and value‑for‑money considerations relating to the conference and associated engagement activity.
• To ensure that conference materials and communications are accurate, accessible, aligned with OU brand requirements and appropriate for the intended audiences.
• To support the evaluation of the conference, including the collection and analysis of feedback, preparation of summary reports and identification of learning to inform future OUVP engagement activity.
• To service conference planning meetings or working groups, including preparing agendas, papers, minutes, action notes and follow‑up communications.
• To support other OUVP partnership engagement activities as required, including webinars, and communities of practice events.
• To undertake such other duties as may from time to time be assigned by the Senior Management Team, within the nature of the role.

• Event or project management…