The Home Improvers Community Event Manager is responsible for driving Home Improvers community growth, engagement and brand loyalty through the strategic development and flawless execution of events. This role serves as a central point of contact, managing the entire event lifecycle from conceptualisation and detailed briefing to post-event analysis. The manager is the key liaison with all external suppliers, ensuring strong partnerships and seamless coordination, while also collaborating closely with internal teams to manage schedules and finalise event readiness. Ultimately, this position is crucial for maximising local community attendance at events, bringing event concepts to life, maintaining brand standards, and evaluating their success to continuously improve the home improvers community experience.

What you’ll be doing:

Develop event strategy: Generate new and engaging event concepts that align with the goals of the "Home Improvers Community."

Manage event development with suppliers: Building a supplier contact plan with our commercial teams, source, negotiate with, and onboard suppliers and partners to bring event concepts to life.

Serve as the primary liaison for all external suppliers, managing ongoing communication, negotiating contracts, and fostering strong, long-term partnerships to secure the best resources and outcomes for each event

Coordinate event execution: Oversee all logistical aspects of events, ensuring all parties—from suppliers to internal teams—are aligned and ready.

Strategise for Content Generation: Develop and embed specific event features and campaigns that actively encourage and maximise the creation of user-generated content (UGC), aligning it with our key strategic focuses.

Maximise Content Value: Oversee the strategic repurposing and distribution of high-quality UGC across digital platforms, social media, and marketing materials to extend the value and reach of each event far beyond its physical run.

Conduct post-event evaluations with key suppliers to review performance, gather feedback, and identify opportunities for continuous improvement.

Evaluate overarching event performance: Review and report on the success of each event concept to inform  future strategy.

What we’re looking for:

We’re looking for experience that demonstrates you’re not only an excellent event planner but also a strategic thinker who can use events to achieve broader business and Home Improver Community goals. You should have a proven background in event management with a focus on community engagement and digital content strategy. You’ll also have hands-on experience in planning and executing a variety of events, from small-scale workshops to larger community gatherings. As well as this you’ll have:

Proven track record of managing supplier and partner relationships.

Experience in project management, overseeing multiple moving parts and ensuring timely execution.

Demonstrated the ability to analyse event performance using key metrics to inform future strategies.

Experience working with cross-functional teams, such as marketing, design, and retail operations

Strategic & Conceptual Skills

Strategic Thinking: The ability to develop event concepts that align with broader business and community goals.

Creativity & Innovation: Generating fresh and engaging ideas for events and UGC campaigns.

Data Analysis: Interpreting event performance data and UGC metrics to inform future strategy and prove ROI.

Management & Execution Skills

Project Management: Meticulous planning, organisation, and coordination to oversee the entire event lifecycle from start to finish.

Supplier Management: Sourcing, negotiating, and building strong, long-term relationships with external suppliers and partners.

Cross-functional Collaboration: The ability to work effectively with multiple internal teams (e.g., store support, marketing, design).

Budget Management: Managing resources and budgets effectively to deliver events within financial constraints.

Communication & Interpersonal Skills

Excellent Communication: Clear, concise, and persuasive communication, both written and verbal, for briefing stakeholders and managing supplier and internal relationships.

Relationship Building: Fostering strong, collaborative relationships with both internal and external stakeholders.

Event Management Fundamentals

Event Planning & Logistics: Good knowledge of the end-to-end event planning process, including budgeting, scheduling, and supplier management.

Risk Management: Understanding how to identify potential risks and develop contingency plans.

Community & Marketing

Community Building: A solid understanding of how to build, engage, and grow a local community around a brand or interest group (e.g. Trade).

Digital Marketing & Social Media: Knowledge of how different social media platforms work, how content goes viral, and best practices for leveraging UGC.

Brand & Content Strategy: Understanding how to create content and events that are "on-brand" and support overarching marketing and business objectives.

Business & Performance

Performance Metrics (KPIs): Knowledge of relevant metrics for measuring event success (e.g., attendance, local community sign up and UGC yield and impact).

Budgeting: Familiarity with creating, managing, and tracking event budgets.

Industry Trends: Staying up-to-date with the latest trends in events, community engagement, and digital content creation, particularly within the home improvement sector

What can we offer you?

You’ll be supported with fantastic learning and development and have the opportunity to grow and develop your career with us. We also have an early careers network to support you if you’re in your first few years of your career. 

We’ll also equip you with a benefits package that includes: 

Competitive bonus

Save-as-you-earn scheme

Private Medical and Life Assurance

Enhanced contributory pension scheme 

Colleague discount 

Discount platform including savings and cash back at numerous retailers, savings on gym membership, cycle to work scheme

Our widely recognised wellbeing strategy is something we’re proud of at Wickes. As part of this, we offer a range of health and wellbeing benefits and support, including an Employee Assistance Programme, financial education & loans, and access to parental, menopause and fertility support. 

You’ll work from our Support Centre in Watford, where our Marketing team are based, along with our other support functions.  We recognise the value of bringing our teams together to collaborate, support each other and build on our amazing culture.  We are also encouraging our teams to work flexibly, with a blend of remote / office working. 

About Us: 

Wickes is a multi-channel retailer operating in the home improvement market.  With 50 years in industry, Wickes now generates revenue in excess of £1.6bn across 230 stores delivered by 8,000+ colleagues.  

But it is the Wickes’ culture that is considered its best kept secret; it’s a collaborative, down to earth, fun and inclusive environment where people feel part of a winning team. All our colleagues come from different backgrounds, but what we all have in common is a determination to succeed and a passion for being the best we can be. If that sounds like you, we’ll make you feel right at home.