Guest Experience Manager

Role overview

Guest journey and stakeholder coordination

• Lead planning and delivery of the guest journey; manage guest records, invitations, RSVPs, confirmations, reminders, cancellations, and waiting lists.
• Create guest-facing communications and coordinate VIP/VVIP arrangements with protocol and stakeholder teams.
• Oversee arrivals, escorts, holding areas, access permissions, venue movements, registration, and accreditation.
• Coordinate registration and accreditation providers; manage guest categorisation, badge permissions, access requirements, and issue resolution.
• Develop guest journey maps and practical solutions to improve the experience.
• Plan onsite registration, welcome areas, information desks, VIP lounges, wayfinding, and delegate assistance.

Team leadership and reporting

• Determine staffing needs and brief, train, and supervise guest-facing teams.
• Develop operational plans, briefing documents, FAQs, escalation procedures, and service protocols; handle sensitive escalations.
• Coordinate with Protocol, Security, Operations, Production, Marketing, Programming, Transport, and Logistics teams.
• Maintain registration dashboards, invitation trackers, accreditation matrices, VIP journey plans, and operational reports.
• Prepare registration, attendance, and guest experience reports; lead onsite operations and conduct post-event evaluations.

Experience and qualifications

• Minimum 8–10 years of relevant experience in guest experience, delegate management, registration, VIP services, protocol, or event operations.
• Demonstrable delivery experience with large-scale government summits, international conferences, COP-level events, ministerial meetings, or major government-led events.
• Experience managing complex invitation and registration databases and working directly with senior officials, diplomatic representatives, VIPs/VVIPs, and C-suite executives.
• Strong understanding of government protocol, VIP etiquette, confidentiality, and professional communication standards.
• Hands-on experience with registration and accreditation platforms, guest categorisation, access permissions, and large delegate databases.
• Experience leading guest services teams and managing complete guest journeys.
• UAE/GCC government event experience is strongly preferred; major international conference venue experience is an advantage.
• Excellent communication, attention to detail, organisation, multitasking, leadership, stakeholder management, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.

Working approach