Executive Director, Venue Event Programming and Sales

Join the Team.Kansas City Current is home to the best-in-class training facility and the first stadium built for a women's sport team. Our organization is committed to seeing the fullest potential of our athletes and of our city.

To foster our vision, we prioritize hiring and retaining world-class talent. We're looking for talented individuals with diverse perspectives, skill sets, and backgrounds to provide our guests with an unforgettable experience. As leaders in women's sports, we are excited to offer a variety of positions within our front office, stadium, and event settings. We provide opportunities for professional growth and development and invest in our employees through competitive pay, robust health care and wellness benefits, and employee resources and networking.

Who are we hiring?

The KC Current is seeking a dynamic, results-driven Executive Director, Venue Event Programming & Sales to lead and grow our events business. The successful candidate will have a proven track record in sourcing and negotiating large-scale ticketed events; designing, marketing, and executing proprietary/self-hosted events; and selling and executing private events. This role will focus on managing and cultivating relationships with third-party promoters and entities, modeling various event economic models, and negotiating commercial terms to ensure profitable business strategies for the KC Current. This role will also be responsible for managing a team responsible for the sales of private non-ticketed events at CPKC Stadium in addition to field rentals, tournaments and camps at the University of Kansas Health System Training Center.

What will you do?

Event Strategy & Planning:

• Manage and grow the private events business, including corporate meetings, events, and private field rentals (e.g., tournaments, camps).
• Oversee a proprietary events strategy, focused on self-hosted events at CPKC Stadium or the University of Kansas Health System, ensuring their seamless execution from conception to completion.
• Lead the sales strategy and execution for large-scale ticketed events at CPKC Stadium, including non-regular KC Current regular season sporting events, concerts, festivals, or other events that may arise.
• Collaborate with internal teams (operations, marketing, etc.) to develop comprehensive event plans that drive both customer satisfaction and revenue.

Event Execution & Operational Oversight:

• Collaborate with internal teams to oversee the logistics and execution of events, ensuring a high-quality guest experience.
• Ensure all aspects of venue rental contracts are upheld and executed, including payments, permits, insurance, and vendor coordination.

Third-Party Promoter & Partner Management:

• Cultivate and maintain strong relationships with third-party promoters, event producers, and external partners to secure a wide range of events at CPKC Stadium.
• Negotiate event contracts, rental agreements, and economic models with third-party promoters, ensuring favorable terms for the venue while meeting the partner's needs.

Sales & Revenue Generation:

• Drive the sales strategy for ticketed events, ensuring financial targets are met or exceeded.
• Oversee the venue rental process, including pricing strategies, to maximize profitability.
• Develop and implement innovative pricing structures and economic models for different event types (corporate, sports, concerts, etc.) to enhance revenue generation.

Market Research & Innovation:

• Stay ahead of industry trends in event sales, promoting new opportunities for growth and development within the events business.
• Regularly assess competitor activity, market conditions, and consumer preferences to adjust the event strategy accordingly.
• Evaluate new business opportunities and revenue streams for both CPKC Stadium and its event partners.

• Other duties as assigned

What do you need to succeed?

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Hospitality, Marketing, or a related field.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in event sales, with a strong background in managing large-scale, ticketed events and venue rentals.
• Proven experience negotiating contracts and economic models with third-party promoters, corporate clients, and external event producers.
• Strong understanding of the event lifecycle, including sales, contract negotiation, planning, and execution.
• Exceptional interpersonal, communication, and negotiation skills, with the ability to build and maintain strong relationships with external partners.
• Ability to work under pressure and manage multiple large-scale projects simultaneously.
• Leadership experience, with a track record of motivating and managing teams to success.
• Ability to analyze market trends and adjust sales strategies to stay competitive.

Special requirements of the Job:

• Must be able to work a flexible schedule, inclusive of weekends, nights (event evenings & overnight operation shifts) and holidays.
• Ability to monitor company communications and respond to time sensitive matters with senior executives.
• Must be able to lift up to 40 pounds at time.

We value diversity and seek world-class employees of all backgrounds. The Kansas City Current values diversity and is looking for extraordinary employees of all backgrounds! We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, sexual and reproductive health choices, national origin, citizenship, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran status. In addition to federal law mandates, we comply with all applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in all locations and will consider requests for reasonable accommodations as required.

Job Questions:

Do you have authorization to work in the US?

Can you work nights and weekends as required?

Do you have reliable transportation?

What are your salary expectations?

Do you have previous sports and/or entertainment experience? If so, where did you work and for how long?

Do you have previous experience leading sales strategies and executions for large-scale ticketed events? If so, for how long?