AV Manager job at Ellison Institute of Technology

Ellison Institute of Technology is hiring: AV Manager. Join us at EIT: At the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT), we’re on a mission to translate…

Company: Ellison Institute of Technology · Work mode: on site · Contract: Full-time

Join us at EIT:
At the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT), we’re on a mission to translate scientific discovery into real world impact. We bring together visionary scientists, technologists, engineers, researchers, educators and innovators to tackle humanity’s greatest challenges in four transformative areas:

• Health, Medical Science & Generative Biology
• Food Security & Sustainable Agriculture
• Climate Change & Managing CO₂
• Artificial Intelligence & Robotics

This is ambitious work - work that demands curiosity, courage, and a relentless drive to make a difference. At EIT, you’ll join a community built on excellence, innovation, tenacity, trust, and collaboration, where bold ideas become real-world breakthroughs. Together, we push boundaries, embrace complexity, and create solutions to scale ideas from lab to society. Explore more at www.eit.org .

Your Role:
We are seeking a Technically astute AV Manager to design and deliver professional-grade events at EIT Oxford, including keynote presentations, scientific showcases, leadership events and hybrid broadcasts. The role leads creative planning and live production, ensuring well-prepared speakers and a polished, engaging audience experience.

Reporting to the Head of IT Services, the role will build and lead a world-class AV and collaboration team. It requires close partnership with internal event owners, leadership, Communications, Facilities and IT, and external organisers, venues and production partners. Strong event delivery, people leadership and practical equipment knowledge are essential; EIT-specific platforms can be learned through training and specialist support.

Your Responsibilities:
• Build, recruit, coach and develop a world-class AV and collaboration team, defining roles, skills, service expectations and career development.
• Co-design event briefs and production plans with internal and external stakeholders, agreeing audience needs, scope, accessibility, budgets, responsibilities and success measures.
• Shape programme flow, pacing and transitions; translate creative requirements into sound, lighting, staging and video setups, assessing equipment suitability and integration with technical specialists.
• Own production schedules, running orders, cue sheets, crew briefs and rehearsals, maintaining shared plans and regular communication with internal teams and external partners.
• Prepare speakers and hosts through briefings, presentation checks and rehearsals; coach stage presence, timing and delivery while respecting their content and voice.
• Lead live production, directing crews, calling cues and managing timing, changes and escalation with calm, decisive judgement.
• Coordinate livestreaming, recording, captions and production quality with Communications and technical specialists, creating a coherent experience for in-person and remote audiences.
• Set production standards, equipment tests, readiness checks and contingency plans; use joint debriefs and feedback to sustain and improve quality.
• Plan staffing, supplier cover and cross-training to balance major events with dependable everyday meeting room and collaboration support across EIT.
• Build collaborative supplier partnerships; manage budgets, shared plans and escalation routes, resolving dependencies and holding partners accountable for delivery quality.
• Lead stakeholder planning and readiness reviews, aligning event owners, Communications, Facilities, IT, speakers, external organisers and venues on logistics, production requirements and decisions.
• Own the AV and collaboration service roadmap; coordinate specialist-led maintenance, technical design, security and upgrades to keep spaces ready for use.

What Success Looks Like
• Polished events with confident speakers, smooth transitions and engaged audiences, delivered to agreed briefs, budgets and schedules
• A capable motivates team with clear development plans and resilient coverage for events and everyday AV and collaboration services.
• Improved stakeholder satisfaction, event readiness and service reliability.
• Internal teams and external partners work to shared plans, clear ownership and agreed standards, using event feedback to improve delivery.

Essential Skills, Qualifications & Experience:
• Proven delivery of professional-grade events and conference setups, with examples demonstrating personal responsibility and successful outcomes.
• Practical experience of show direction, running orders, cueing, rehearsals and speaker preparation, with sound judgement under pressure.
• Creative judgement in staging, storytelling, pacing and visual presentation, translating complex briefs into engaging, accessible experiences.
• Proven team building, recruitment and coaching skills, with experience coordinating staff, freelancers and specialist suppliers.
• Strong internal and external stakeholder collaboration, aligning budgets, responsibilities and competing requirements with senior leaders, speakers and suppliers.
• Practical knowledge of professional mixing consoles, PA systems, wireless microphones, lighting and control desks, cameras, vision mixers, projection and LED displays, presentation playback and streaming systems.
• Ability to assess signal flow, equipment compatibility and production readiness, troubleshoot common faults and coordinate specialist support, with a willingness to learn EIT’s platforms.

Desirable Skills, Qualifications & Experience:
• Experience within scientific, educational, research or corporate environments, with familiarity across enterprise-grade AV, collaboration and broadcast technologies, including Q-SYS, Dante, Shure, Yamaha, Analog Way, Sony PTZ, Blackmagic Design, Epiphan, ETC, Planar/Leyard, Zoom Rooms, Logitech, Utelogy, T1V and Cisco.
• Knowledge of AV-over-IP infrastructure, integrated multi-room AV environments and emerging event production technologies would be advantageous.
• Relevant industry qualifications or certifications, such as AVIXA CTS, Dante, Q-SYS or recognised broadcast and event production qualifications, are desirable.

We offer the following benefits:
• Competitive salary (dependent on experience) + bonus + travel allowance
• Enhanced holiday. Our annual leave allowance is 25 days plus 8 bank holidays and an additional 3 days between Christmas and New Year. You will also have the opportunity to purchase an additional 5 days annual leave in January and July.
• Pension - Employer contribution 7.5%, minimum employee contribution 5%
• Life Assurance.
• Income Protection
• Private Medical Insurance as standard for you, your partner and any dependents. Including hospital Cash Plan
• Employee discounts
• Electric car scheme
• Nursery Salary Sacrifice scheme
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Family Planning
• Neurodiversity support including advise and assessments
• Coaching & Therapy services

Working Together – What It Involves:
• You must have the right to work permanently in the UK with a willingness to travel as necessary. We do not offer sponsorship for this position.
• You will live in, or within easy commuting distance of, Oxford (or be willing to relocate).
• This is a site-based role.
• During peak periods, major events or planned changes, early starts, evenings or longer hours may be required, including occasional working across multiple time zones.