BBSN Job Opportunity

Why work for BBSN?

Joining the British Boarding Schools’ Network (BBSN) offers a unique opportunity to be part of a passionate, values-driven team at the forefront of international education. Established almost 20 years ago, BBSN brings together 300 UK boarding schools and 400 Approved Agents, fostering vital connections that place thousands of students from more than 50 countries each year.

Being part of the small BBSN team means playing a central part in fostering partnerships that define our network. BBSN is renowned for hosting world-class events; the twice-yearly British Boarding Schools’ Workshops, networking days, and fam trips, delivering invaluable face-to-face relationship-building. Connecting schools and agents is at the heart of what we do, allowing them to build trust, deepen relationships, and form lasting partnerships for success.

With values rooted in honesty, integrity, excellence, and innovation, the team, led by experienced professionals who have themselves worked within boarding schools, offers a collaborative, supportive environment where your impact is immediate and meaningful. If you are passionate about championing UK boarding education and thrive in roles that combine strategy, communications, event delivery, and hands-on implementation, then BBSN could be the perfect place for you to make a significant impact - we warmly invite you to apply.

Role Overview

Are you a marketing professional with experience of working in the UK boarding schools’ sector?

We are seeking a dynamic and experienced Head of Events to lead the strategic planning and delivery of BBSN’s renowned events programme. This position would suit someone who is working/has recently worked in a senior Marketing and Admissions role at an independent boarding school in the UK.

This new role represents an exciting opportunity to shape and grow a core area of our work, building on our strong portfolio of high-quality, well-established networking events and creating new opportunities for our members to connect, collaborate, and thrive.

At the heart of our events calendar is the British Boarding Schools’ Workshop (BBSW), a flagship, world-class networking event that consistently sells out up to a year in advance and is recognised internationally for its quality, professionalism, and impact. As Head of Events, you will be instrumental in ensuring BBSW continues to set the standard, while also expanding and evolving our wider programme to offer fresh, relevant opportunities for engagement across the UK boarding sector.

The Head of Events will be responsible for the end-to-end management of our events calendar, ensuring that every event reflects our strategic priorities, reinforces our reputation for excellence, and delivers real value to our diverse membership of schools, agents, and partners. This role combines strategic oversight with hands-on execution across event logistics, digital communications, stakeholder relationships, team coordination, and budget management.

The successful candidate will be a confident and collaborative leader, capable of creating exceptional experiences that strengthen relationships across the UK boarding sector and contribute meaningfully to our community’s success.

Key Responsibilities

1 Event Leadership

Design and deliver innovative, high-impact events that engage and connect the BBSN community and attract new stakeholders. Current events include the bi-annual BBSW, Networking Days, Familiarisation (Fam) Trips and Webinars.
Lead end-to-end event delivery, from concept and planning to budgeting, logistics, execution, and post-event evaluation.
Ensure events meet BBSN high standards and strategic aims, with attention to detail throughout.
Personally attend and oversee each event to ensure excellence in delegate experience and operational execution.
Lead post-event evaluation by gathering stakeholder feedback, capturing key insights and lessons learned, and applying findings to drive continuous improvement across future events.
Host and lead collaborative planning meetings for fam trips with schools and agents.
Line management of the Events Manager, providing clear direction and support to foster a high-performing and collaborative culture.
Delegate effectively and ensure responsibilities are well-aligned to team strengths and event priorities.
Lead on the communication and collaborate with internal teams and external stakeholders to ensure coordinated and effective event delivery.

2 Event Planning

Develop and implement a comprehensive year-round events plan aligned with BBSN’s strategic aims, ensuring timely, efficient, and high-impact event delivery.
Manage and optimise the use of event booking and CRM systems to ensure a seamless and professional registration experience, accurate data collection, and efficient attendee communication.
Conduct site visits to venues and host schools in advance to assess suitability, coordinate logistics, build relationships with on-site teams, and ensure smooth event delivery.
Curate and deliver the BBSW seminar programme, sourcing high-quality speakers and generating promotional content.
Contribute ideas to the Webinar programme for BBSN members.

3 Marketing: Communications, Promotion & Engagement

Write and manage delegate and stakeholder communications, promotion, engagement and onboarding to ensure a positive experience and enhance satisfaction.
Drive event engagement through strategic communication campaigns and targeted promotion.
Write and distribute all event-related documents and communications via HubSpot CRM, ensuring delegates are informed, prepared, and engaged.
Manage digital content and scheduling across social media and internal platforms, aligned with event milestones.
Produce engaging pre-event content, including briefings, written guides and potentially via other media such as video.
Host webinars and video calls to onboard and prepare delegates and stakeholders, using your marketing expertise to help them get the best out of our events.
Maintain and update event content on the BBSN website and members’ portal, with a focus on accuracy, accessibility, and alignment with messaging.
Set-up event dashboards on the portal and ensure they are updated with relevant content at appropriate times for delegates.

4 Stakeholder Relationships & Collaboration

Build and maintain strong, positive relationships with schools, agents, and partners to facilitate insightful delegate matching and engagement.
Select regional groups of schools for Fam Trips.
Select agents from the list of applicants for each BBSW based on relevance and strategic fit.
Manage all relationships, collaborate and liaise with external venues, partners and suppliers (e.g., Radisson Blu Hotel, host schools, Trinity Events).

5 Financial Management

Lead the development and management of event budgets, ensuring efficient allocation of resources and cost-effective delivery.
Monitor expenditure and implement cost controls to maximise value and return on investment across all events.
Ensure all events are invoiced correctly and at the appropriate times in line with the event plan.
Identify and pursue opportunities for additional revenue streams, which also enhance the events programme.

6 Compliance & Policy

Make sure events are safe and well-managed, reducing any risks for those attending.
Follow all BBSN policies, legal requirements, and data protection rules.
Manage and negotiate event and supplier contracts.
Keep event processes and policies up to date and easy for the team to understand and follow.

Person Profile

Qualifications & Experience

A minimum of 3 years’ experience in an international marketing role within the UK boarding schools’ sector with strong evidence of marketing expertise to deliver results.
A professional or degree-level qualification in Marketing (or in Business, Events or a related field) is highly desirable.
Demonstrated experience in overseeing and coordinating the logistical aspects of events.
Experience of working with international education agents is required, along with an understanding of the international recruitment landscape.
Experience in hospitality or customer-facing roles would be an asset, ensuring a high standard of service delivery.
An understanding of the client journey, ideally through direct experience in a British boarding school or previous attendance at our events would be desirable.

Skills

Strategic planning: Strong strategic planning skills, with the ability to develop and execute comprehensive marketing and events strategies.
Creative and innovative thinking: Brings fresh ideas to event design and delivery, with a flair for producing memorable and engaging experiences.
Presentation and public speaking: Confident presenter with the ability to host webinars and deliver briefings to event delegates, clients, or partners.
Digital and CRM proficiency: Skilled in digital marketing tools and CRM systems (e.g. HubSpot, databases), with a data-driven approach to audience engagement and campaign management.
Technical proficiency: Confident using a range of tools and platforms to support event delivery, communications, and reporting.
Strong project management: Highly organised and able to lead complex events from concept through to execution with confidence and clarity.
Exceptional interpersonal skills: Able to build strong relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, including schools, agents, partners, suppliers, and internal teams.
Communication skills: Excellent written and verbal communication abilities, with a talent for crafting clear, persuasive messaging for a range of audiences with high attention to detail.
Excellent time management: Proven ability to prioritise tasks effectively and meet tight deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
Design: A good eye for design and layout with experience of working with designers.
Problem-solving mindset: Quick to identify issues and implements effective, pragmatic solutions.
Forward-thinking and proactive: Anticipates potential challenges and takes steps to mitigate risks before they arise.
Methodical and organised: Maintains a structured approach to planning and execution, with keen attention to detail.
Team and project management: Demonstrated leadership and management capabilities, with the ability to oversee projects and drive team performance effectively.
Budgeting: Ability to manage event budgets, ensuring cost efficient use of resources.

Character & Competencies

A high-performing, confident and authoritative presence, capable of representing BBSN credibly at a senior level across the sector.
A passion for showcasing excellence within the UK boarding schools’ sector through outstanding events, networking and engagement.
A natural leader with the ability to motivate and inspire high performance.
A collaborative, proactive, positive, can-do attitude and team spirit.
Commitment to upholding high standards and continuous improvement.
Flexible and willing to take on new tasks as business needs evolve.
Resilience, adaptability, and a high level of professionalism under pressure.
Ability to attend and travel to events as and when required.
Ability to meet the practical demands of event delivery, including long days and extended periods of activity during events, travel to and from venues, and involvement in set-up and coordination over multiple days.

[1] The job description outlined here is not an exhaustive list of the role responsibilities and we reserve the right to ask employees to undertake tasks outside of their job role where appropriate and where they are considered capable.

Contract & Working Pattern

Contract Type: Permanent, full-time
Hours: Monday to Friday, 9am – 5pm (40 hours per week)
Flexibility: Evening and weekend work required during event periods
Location: Home-based in the UK, with regular travel across the UK for events (using your own car)
Travel: Full UK driving license and access to a car required
Additional Requirement: Our company policy is no smoking or vaping due to the nature of events and venues

Salary & Benefits

Salary: Competitive, depending on skills and experience
Holiday Entitlement: 20 days per year, plus bank holidays and the office closure period between Christmas and New Year
Pension: Company pension scheme
Professional Development: Ongoing training and development opportunities available

Job Opportunity

Head of Events