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Join our webinar on 6 November at 12pm to meet Joel Connolly (Creative Director) and ask him all your questions about this role. Registrations are required here: https://blackbird-vc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_7g8iiv3KRpuMTBj2tM4ZKQ

About the Role

Blackbird is hiring an Events Producer responsible for the delivery and success of Sunrise Aotearoa and Sunrise Australia each year. You will lead both events from end to end and be intimately involved in all aspects of the projects.

Sunrise is our love letter to founders. It is a gift to the startup ecosystem from Blackbird. Our objective is to create energy and momentum for Australia and New Zealand’s startup ecosystem by celebrating what it means to be a founder and to leave a small dent in the world. If we are successful, millions of people from across our countries will choose to join our startup community, and technology and innovation will become critical drivers of cultural change in Australia and New Zealand.

Sunrise has been our flagship event since 2014. We’ve hosted it on islands, piers and disused train yards. Our ambition for Sunrise is massive, and we’re looking for someone who can lead the project and drive a critical strategy in Blackbird’s ecosystem development program.

Here is a brief overview of the role and your responsibilities:

• You will lead all aspects of Sunrise, including project management, sponsorship, event management, sponsorship, sales and marketing.
• You will work with Blackbird’s Creative Director to execute the events' creative direction and curatorial program.
• You will manage key stakeholder relationships, including Blackbird’s Event Production Company, The Tides.
• You will lead the sponsorship program.
• You will play a key role in marketing and sales.
• You will build and own the Sunrise project plan.
• Build and manage the Sunrise Budget and be responsible for the overall financial success of Sunrise.
• Lead the project team and direct internal and external resources to ensure the Sunrise team remains on target and works according to the project plan.
• Ticketing strategy, planning and execution. Onsite registration management.
• Be obsessed with the attendee experience and collaborate with our event producers and Creative Director to ensure Sunrise is a meaningful experience for our audience.
• Responsible for communication and reporting to Blackbird internal stakeholders, including the Exec and Partnership group and the broader Sunrise team.
• Responsible for post-event evaluation and reporting.
• Staffing and volunteer (onsite) resource management
• Provide support regarding speakers/talent, content and creative in collaboration with BB's CD and The Tides.
• Manage Sunrise's event and networking app, Brella.

We run two Sunrise events annually - one in New Zealand (currently in September) and one in Australia (scheduled for May 2024).

To sum it all up, Sunrise belongs to you. Resourcing will change every year, and it’s up to you to direct your resources, adapt when things change, and, above all, do everything in your power to ensure Sunrise achieves its objectives.

Position Requirements

Your background is less important than the key skills, which include:

• Event management project management: Experience in leading end-to-end event planning, including design, objectives, and budgeting. Develop comprehensive project plans and timelines to ensure successful execution of events.
• Sponsorship: Develop and implement strong sponsorship models to establish lasting support and mutually beneficial partnerships. Utilise exceptional negotiation skills to initiate and maintain meaningful relationships with sponsors.
• Marketing: Experience in marketing events, including marketing strategy, content production, measurement, and execution.
• Leadership: A track record of orchestrating and guiding internal and external collaborators to fulfil objectives.
• Communication: Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Strong interpersonal skills and an ability to develop solid relationships and to work independently or collaboratively.
• Precision: Excellent organisational and time management skills, including the ability to prioritise workloads, work well under pressure, and meet deadlines by organising your work. High attention to detail.
• A degree with some relevant experience, extensive experience and specialist expertise in events, or an equivalent combination of both. You need to have run a variety of different events, end to end.

We’re looking for someone who is as passionate as us about building an iconic investment business. You must have a high ownership mentality and the ability to take responsibility for goals and outcomes.

This role is full-time, in person or remote. We have offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland, with the flexibility to work from home. If working remotely, you will need to travel from time to time.

Working at Blackbird

We believe that building a diverse and inclusive team is critical to Blackbird’s success. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, national origin, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, marital, veteran, or disability status. We use Applied to ensure every applicant gets an equal chance of success.

We offer:

• Flexible working: Whether working from home or leaving early to pick up the kids from daycare or school.
• Generous parental leave: We know family comes first, and we are proud to offer 20 weeks of parental leave for all parents (an additional four weeks for the birth parent), with no minimum tenure. In addition, we offer IVF, adoption, and surrogacy leave. We also continue to pay superannuation and vest carried interest for up to 12 months of parental leave. We also offer a supportive return-to-work policy to help with the ramp-back.
• Learning & Development Budget: Our team is hungry to learn continuously, and you’ll receive a budget to spend on books, conferences, training, coaching and courses relating to your profession.
• Wellbeing: We think in decades, not days. To support our Blackbirds over the long haul, we offer a range of holistic well-being benefits, including a monthly healthy living allowance, 24/7 access to wellbeing support, a home office allowance, personal kit-kat days, and more!
• Unplugged weekends: We work hard without letting work get in the way of life. We’ve implemented no Slack or emails on weekends, so you can switch off and enjoy yourself.
• Connection: While being big fans of a fully distributed workforce, we value our vibe and time to connect online and IRL through team and company offsites, monthly social activities, weekly lunches and our many social clubs (#fun-manis, #fun-fantasybookclub, #bb-craft just to name a few!).
• A share of Blackbird’s success: We think sharing successes with the whole team is essential. All Blackbird employees receive carry in funds raised and ownership in management companies formed while they are at the firm.

Blackbird is a Pledge 1% member — we pledge 1% of our time, equity and profits to help not-for-profit causes in our community. Through Pledge 1%, we established the Blackbird Foundation to supercharge the creative capabilities of young people.

We are also very proud to have won the 2023 AFR Best Place to Work award in three categories, including Overall winner. In 2022, we became certified as one of Australia’s Great Places to Work.

About Blackbird

Blackbird is Australia's biggest venture capital fund whose mission is to supercharge Australia and New Zealand’s most ambitious founders. We do this by raising venture capital funds, investing into the best startup companies and helping them succeed. We have a portfolio valued at over $7B, including some of the most successful Australian and Kiwi startups such as Canva, Safety Culture and Culture Amp.

We are inspired by investment firms such as Berkshire Hathaway and Bridgewater Associates. Like the companies we back, we want to build a business that lasts for decades and produces excellent returns for our investors. Most of all, we want to support our region’s most talented founders build category-defining technology companies.

We’ve written a lot about what we love at Blackbird, so check out our blog if you want some more information about us. In particular, you should read about our mission and values, our Blackbird’s Operating Principles (BOPs) and what we look for in founders.