The Event Director

Managing an event is like managing a business, and like all businesses there needs to be someone who is the ultimate decision maker. In the case of an event, the final executive authority is usually referred to as the "Event Director". The role is complex and demanding even when events are small-scale. The primary role of the Event Director is to organise and mobilise considerable human resources such as participants, officials, administrators and helpers. They are a focal point for communication, internally and externally, and need to be contactable in and out of office hours, and over an extended period that may be many months.

Managing people can be a burdensome responsibility and it is important that anyone undertaking the role of Event Director has the capability and personality to deal effectively with people in often-difficult circumstances. The ability to remain calm is perhaps a necessary prerequisite for an Event Director!

The role of Event Director goes beyond human resource management. The table below provides a general overview of all responsibilities and tasks:

Major Tasks of the Event Director
Tasks	Notes
Recruit and convene a bid committee.	Developing a bid proposal is not always required.
Recruit and convene an organising committee	Covered by the section "Organising Committee".
Plan and oversee the recruitment and training of all human resources required to organise and conduct the event.	Human resources include volunteers as well as paid staff.
Develop an event management plan.	The event management plan is instrumental in co-ordinating and training people to do organising work.
Represent the event in dealings with outside parties.	This includes dealings with sponsors, government and the media.
Develop policies.	Policies serve to assist in the process of managing the event as the Event Director cannot be in all places at the same time.
Monitor the progress of the planning and organisation of event tasks.	The event manager needs to know about aspects of the event organisation that are NOT going to plan so that corrective action can be taken.