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The Head of Global Events & Travel leads the strategy, governance, and execution of our global events and corporate travel function. Reporting to the UBQ Management, this role oversees three interconnected areas:
Flagship, VIP, High-Complexity & Client/client’s customers-Facing Events (client and client’s customers events, executive dinners, and high-touch VIP gatherings); Internal Meetings & Corporate Travel (global gatherings, executive offsites, collaborators travel program); and Dedicated Financial Control & Commercial Management .
The Head is accountable for the full events and corporate travel portfolio, consolidated budgets, strategic supplier agreements, service standards, and duty-of-care governance. Serving both internal teams and external stakeholders (clients, prospects, and partners), the Head sets priorities, builds team capability, and manages major commercial decisions and C-level/client escalations. Financial oversight is supported by the Event & Travel Finance Lead in alignment with central Corporate FP&A.
A key initial priority is leading the implementation and transition to our enhanced travel operating model. Once established, the Head provides oversight through periodic performance reviews and exception management, delegating routine operations to the team and Travel Management Companies (TMCs).
Responsibilities
Function Leadership: Lead and develop the Team. Recruit open roles, establish team cadence, and build capabilities across the function. Strategic resource planning across agencies, production vendors, and internal talent to execute both internal and client-facing events seamlessly.
Flagship, VIP & Client/client’s customers-Facing Events: Execute on objectives, budgets, and brand standards set by C-Level leadership for 5,000-attendee conference, VIP executive receptions, and regional customer summits. Manage delivery through the internal Team, supported by event specialists and external agencies. Lead venue selection, production, security, contract negotiations, and attendee experience for both internal and external audiences.
Internal Meetings & Offsites: Oversee the internal gathering strategy and delivery. Standardize playbooks for routine company meetings and regional leadership offsites.
Travel Operating Model Transition: Lead the implementation of our approved global travel operating model, including RFPs and contracts for multi-region TMCs, unified policy and expense frameworks, approvals, reconciliation, and dual quoting. Coordinate phased migration corridor-by-corridor, validate vendor acceptance, protect service continuity, and establish an operational handover once stable.
Corporate Travel Oversight: Own global travel strategy, master agreements, and major operational escalations. Oversee daily fulfillment, group flights, hotel blocks, rebooking, and high-touch support for executives, clients, and guest speakers managed by TMCs and the Travel & Logistics Coordinator.
Budget Accountability & Resource Stewardship: Own the consolidated events and travel budget, as well as revenue/cost-recovery models for sponsored or client-facing events. Act as a steward of company resources, prioritizing expenditure against strategic business objectives, maximizing ROI on client events, identifying cost-saving opportunities, and escalating forecast overruns early with mitigation plans.
Financial Governance & Client Billing: Work through the Team to manage annual budgets, rolling forecasts, vendor deposits, event ledgers, cross-charging/client billing, invoice reconciliation, and post-event financial reviews. Maintain strict approval thresholds, separation of duties, purchase orders, payment terms, and international VAT/GST recovery.
Strategic Suppliers & Commercial Partnerships: Lead major RFPs and negotiations with TMCs, airlines, hotel chains, event venues, registration platforms, and production partners. Maintain competitive discipline, set service expectations, and delegate routine vendor management while remaining the key point of contact for material escalations.
Policy, Duty of Care & Risk Management: Own the global events and travel policy. Establish traveler assistance, emergency response, data privacy, and incident escalation frameworks in coordination with People Ops, Legal, IT, and Security, ensuring comprehensive coverage for collaborators, clients, and external VIP guests.
Cross-Functional & Client Partnership: Partner with Marketing, Sales, and Customer Success on client event revenue targets, sponsorships, client experience, and commercial outcomes. Collaborate with C-Level executives on internal event agendas, keynotes, and executive participation. Partner with Finance, Legal, and People Ops to streamline global delivery.
Requirements
Events & Travel Leadership: 8+ years leading corporate events and managed travel programs, including 3+ years leading a global function in a fast-growing, international environment.
Client & Internal Event Expertise: Proven track record running both internal company meetings/offsites and high-impact, client- or customer-facing events (e.g., user conferences, client advisory boards, sponsored summits, roadshows).
Travel Program Transformation: Hands-on experience implementing or re-platforming corporate travel frameworks (TMC selections, booking/expense integrations, phased migrations, and duty-of-care rollouts). Multi-TMC or hybrid experience preferred.
Travel Industry & Commercial Fluency: Strong understanding of airline/hotel distribution economics (GDS, NDC, dynamic pricing, corporate direct programs) and commercial contracting for high-value event venues and suppliers.
Financial & Commercial Acumen: Demonstrated budget ownership, financial forecasting, ROI tracking, vendor negotiations, and client event billing/cost recovery. Experience with virtual-card systems or modern payment settlements is a plus.
Executive & External Presence: Exceptional communication and presentation skills; comfortable engaging directly with C-Suite executives, enterprise clients, sponsors, and key industry partners.
Data Privacy & Duty of Care: Solid understanding of global travel safety protocols, crisis management, GDPR compliance, vendor DPAs, and attendee data privacy standards.
Language & Mobility: Professional fluency in English (Spanish and/or Italian are strong pluses). Willingness to travel internationally up to 40% and operate across European, Middle Eastern, and Americas time zones.
