Event Planner

About the Role and Company

The Protocol & Events Planner is entrusted with orchestrating, managing, and executing official events, VIP visits, and protocol-related engagements while strictly adhering to stipulated protocol standards and achieving organizational goals. This role encompasses comprehensive event management from conceptualization through delivery, collaborating extensively with internal teams and external partners to ensure success of significant governmental and executive occasions.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, organize, and oversee official ceremonies, conferences, summits, and executive events.
• Create detailed event plans including schedules, operational workflows, and milestone tracking.
• Develop event programming elements such as concepts, seating plans, flow of guests, and operational needs.
• Conduct thorough venue assessments and pre-event inspections to guarantee readiness.
• Manage rehearsals, testing procedures, and preparatory activities prior to event execution.
• Ensure events progress according to timelines and predefined goals.
• Formulate protocol plans for official visits, VIP groups, and government events.
• Manage logistics of arrival, departure, transportation, hospitality, accommodation, and movement protocols.
• Prepare comprehensive protocol documentation including order of precedence, seating arrangements, speaking sequences, flag placements, and ceremony specifics.
• Comply rigorously with national and international protocol regulations.
• Engage and coordinate with various internal departments and external entities such as government bodies, security teams, airports, hotels, venues, and service providers.
• Serve as liaison for seamless communication among all event stakeholders.
• Participate in planning meetings providing continuous protocol advice throughout event phases.
• Construct detailed operational frameworks that address logistics, transportation, hospitality, security, accreditation, and guest management.
• Identify and mitigate operational risks with contingency planning.
• Organize resource deployment and workforce scheduling efficiently for each event.
• Oversee vendor and venue relations ensuring service standards and procurement alignment.
• Keep thorough documentation including event briefs, operational guidelines, protocol instructions, and planning records.
• Produce post-event evaluations highlighting lessons learned and improvement opportunities.
• Drive ongoing enhancements in protocol methods and event processes through development of templates, SOPs, checklists, and benchmarking against leading practices.

Educational & Professional Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Event Management, Hospitality Management, Business Administration, International Relations, Public Administration, or related disciplines.
• Preferred certifications: Project Management Professional (PMP), Event Management, or Protocol Management qualifications.

Skills Required

• Expertise in event planning and organization
• Strong proficiency in protocol management
• Project management capabilities
• Stakeholder engagement and coordination skills
• Operational and logistics planning acumen
• Risk assessment and mitigation strategies
• Vendor and budget supervision
• Advanced use of Microsoft Office and project management tools (e.g., Microsoft Project, Planner)

Preferred Competencies

• Excellent organizational and time management skills
• Effective communication and interpersonal abilities
• Meticulous attention to detail
• Capacity to multi-task under pressure
• Strong analytical and decision-making skills
• Professionalism and confidentiality when handling VIP and sensitive situations
• Collaborative team player
• Willingness to work flexible hours during events