Guest Experience Director ARC Riyadh 2026

Application Deadline: 15 September 2025

Department: Guest Experience

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: KSA

Reporting To: Hasan Samman

Description

ABOUT 54GROUP:54 is a sports and entertainment agency operating across five regions and eight offices: United Kingdom (London), Europe (Sotogrande, Spain), MENA (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia & Dubai, United Arab Emirates), APAC (Singapore & Adelaide, Australia) and USA (West Palm Beach, Florida & New York). It works with rights holders, governing bodies, household brands and major investors who share its belief in the power of sport. 54 comprises three service areas each consisting of two divisions: 1. Strategic Advisory (Consultancy and Data & Insights), 2. Asset Optimisation (Operations and Commercial), 3. Activation & Engagement (Events and Marketing). At its core, the company has an unwavering belief in embracing the opportunities offered by pushing at the edges of conventional wisdom to turn the improbable into the unignorable.    ROLE OVERVIEW:
Reporting to the Event Director, Asian Racing Conference, the Guest Experience Director is responsible for leading the successful delivery of all Guest Experience areas for the Asian Racing Conference, taking place in Riyadh, 9-14th February 2026. 

KEY ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

·       Management and oversight of all Guest Experience deliverables for the project·       Management and oversight of the Guest Experience project team and suppliers·       Management and oversight of the Guest Experience budget for the project·       All event F&B including conference catering and special hospitality/ dining experiences·       Production of all offsite ancillary events (cultural evenings, dinners, desert experience, embassy excursions)·       Front of house staffing and guest journeys (guest arrival, flow, ushering, signage etc)·       Event transportation including premium buses and courtesy cars for guest movement between airport, venue and key locations·       Interface with wider event team in experiential production of the event and overall Run Of Show·       Lead on guest management i.e. guest registration, accreditation and communications).

CONTRACT DURATION, WORKING HOURS AND LOCATION The role is expected to commence as soon as possible and run until the last full week of February – allowing for post event administrative work to be completed; a period of approximately 6 months. The work is anticipated on a full-time basis, anchored around regular KSA office hours, but with a degree of flexibility to allow for occasional alignment with UK office hours or client calls with Asia.  The working location is 54’s Riyadh office unless otherwise agreed, or onsite based at Riyadh Digital City during the event live phase (first two weeks of February). Longer hours and weekend working are anticipated in the approach to and during the live phase of the event, with occasional site visits and client or supplier meetings also required. 

SPECIAL SKILLS/EXPERIENCE/APTITUDES NEEDED:

The successful candidate must have strong expertise at a senior level with 5-10 years’ experience in the production of large-scale international events in the Middle East and globally, with a background that includes some major conference production. They should be a fluent Arabic and English speaker, ideally a Saudi national or Riyadh resident. The successful candidate must also demonstrate:·       Deep expertise in key Guest Experience areas including catering, premium hospitality, front of house staffing, transportation, VVIP guest & delegate management and guest communications·       Strong personal organization and motivation·       Experience in leading a team of Guest Experience professionals·       Experience in setting and overseeing project timelines and progress, running RFPs to procure and contract with suppliers, and managing a significant budget for Guest Experience deliverables·       Superior attention to detail in all event experiential and guest-facing areas·       Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, and a positive and collaborative attitude. 

SALARY AND BENEFITS:

• Competitive Salary
• Annual Discretionary Company Bonus – up to 8% - 3% Company & 5% Individual
• 33 days annual leave (+ public holidays), pro-rated
• Working hours will be from 09.00 to 17.30 Sunday to Thursday with an hour taken for lunch between 12.00 and 14.00