Festival Area Coordinator

At EFG (ESL FACEIT Group) we create worlds beyond gameplay where players and fans become community. We pride ourselves in having a corporate social responsibility which is that “IT’S NOT GG, UNTIL IT’S GG FOR ALL”. We are passionate about the culture we foster that ultimately helps to create and shape the world of esports, gaming tournaments, leagues, events and holistic ecosystems staged for our millions of players, fans and heroes.

Everything we do, from global esports tournaments and community-driven leagues to next-generation platforms and live events, is rooted in our passion, craftsmanship, and culture. With millions of players and fans around the world, we aim to shape the future of esports and gaming by building ecosystems that are inclusive, innovative, and enduring. 

Job Title: Festival Area Coordinator

Reporting To: Director, Festival Management & Delivery

Department/Team: Festivals

Location: Remote, Global

Travel Required: Yes

Does this role have line management responsibilities?
No formal direct reports. Responsible for managing area staff, volunteers, contractors, contributors, and temporary event personnel within assigned festival areas during planning and event execution.

Does this role manage a budget?
Yes

Summary

The Festival Area Manager is responsible for the business performance, audience engagement, content strategy, and successful execution of assigned festival areas across DreamHack festivals.

This role acts as the business owner and subject matter expert for a portfolio of festival areas, ensuring they deliver value to attendees, partners, communities, and the business. The Festival Area Manager is accountable for developing compelling content and activities, creating commercial opportunities, driving attendance and engagement, supporting marketing efforts, and overseeing the successful on-site execution of their areas.

Working closely with Festival Production, Programming, Partner Integrations, Marketing, and Operations, the Festival Area Manager ensures their assigned areas remain relevant, commercially attractive, operationally executable, and aligned with DreamHack's strategic objectives.

Success in this role is measured through audience satisfaction, attendance, engagement, commercial contribution, partner value, and overall business performance.

What you will do

Reporting to the Director, Festival Management & Delivery, you will own the performance and growth of assigned festival areas across the DreamHack festival portfolio.

You will work closely with internal teams and external stakeholders to develop engaging content, strengthen communities, create sponsor opportunities, and ensure your areas contribute meaningfully to DreamHack's business objectives.

During festival execution, you will oversee the delivery of content and activities within your assigned areas and lead the staff and contributors responsible for bringing them to life.

Key Responsibilities

Area ownership and business performance

• Own the performance and long-term development of assigned festival areas, including ensuring participation through outreach to communities and external stakeholders (i.e reaching out to Artists in Artis Alley, Indie game developers, TCG vendors, Cosplayers, local tournament organizers etc)
• Develop strategies that increase attendance, engagement, audience satisfaction, and revenue contribution
• Continuously identify opportunities to improve content, community participation, commercial value, and overall area performance
• Monitor industry trends, competitor offerings, and attendee feedback to inform future development

Content and activity development

• Develop compelling content, activities, competitions, programs, and experiences that attract and engage attendees
• Doing market research and working with relevant stakeholders to ensure assigned areas remain fresh, relevant, and aligned with audience expectations
• Contribute ideas and initiatives that strengthen DreamHack's position as a leading gaming and lifestyle festival

Commercial inventory development

• Partner with the Partner Integrations team to develop attractive sponsorship opportunities and commercial inventory within assigned areas
• Identify opportunities for branded integrations, premium placements, audience engagement opportunities, and partner activations
• Support the sales process by providing subject matter expertise and helping shape commercially viable opportunities
• Balance partner objectives with audience value and overall festival goals

Audience engagement and community development

• Build and maintain relationships with relevant communities, organizers, contributors, participants, and industry stakeholders
• Foster community growth and participation within assigned areas
• Ensure assigned areas create meaningful experiences that drive positive attendee sentiment and long-term loyalty
• Act as the primary stakeholder owner for communities associated with assigned areas

Marketing collaboration

• Work closely with Marketing to ensure assigned areas receive appropriate visibility before and during festivals
• Contribute content plans, key messages, promotional opportunities, and audience insights
• Support campaign development by ensuring assigned areas are accurately represented across marketing channels

On-site area leadership

• Lead the execution of assigned festival areas during event build-up and live operations
• Recruit, brief, and onboard area staff, volunteers, contractors, contributors, and day-to-day activities
• Ensure content, activities, partner commitments, and attendee experiences are delivered according to plan
• Act as the primary point of contact for issues and decision-making within assigned areas during the event
• Maintain quality standards and ensure a positive experience for attendees, partners, and contributors

Reporting and continuous improvement

• Measure and report on area performance including attendance, participation, engagement, NPS, revenue contribution, and partner value
• Conduct post-event reviews and identify opportunities for improvement
• Document learnings, recommendations, and best practices to improve future festivals
• Support the development of long-term growth plans for assigned areas

Requirements

Experience

• 5+ years of experience in live events, gaming, esports, entertainment, experiential marketing, community management, audience development, partnerships, or related industries
• Experience owning and growing programs, business units, communities, content portfolios, or customer-facing initiatives
• Experience working cross-functionally with multiple internal and external stakeholders
• Experience managing budgets and evaluating business performance

Skills

• Strong commercial awareness and business acumen
• Excellent stakeholder and relationship management skills
• Experience developing content, communities, programs, or audience-facing initiatives
• Strong communication and presentation abilities
• Data-driven decision making and performance analysis
• Strong organizational and problem-solving skills

Personal Attributes

• Entrepreneurial mindset with strong ownership mentality
• Passionate about creating exceptional attendee experiences
• Community-focused and audience-centric
• Commercially minded and results-driven
• Highly collaborative and relationship-oriented
• Comfortable working in fast-paced, evolving environments

Success in This Role

Success in this role means:

• Assigned festival areas achieve strong attendance and engagement
• Attendees report high satisfaction and positive experiences
• Areas generate meaningful commercial value and sponsor opportunities
• Communities continue to grow and strengthen year-over-year
• Content remains relevant, innovative, and differentiated
• Assigned areas contribute positively to DreamHack's overall business performance

What this role is not

The Festival Area Manager is not a Product Manager, Project Manager, or Production Manager.

Unlike the former Product Manager role, the Festival Area Manager does not own the end-to-end lifecycle, planning, or delivery of festival products.

The Festival Area Coordinator does not:

• Lead project management or production planning processes
• Own operational delivery, readiness, or festival-wide execution
• Manage procurement administration
• Create or manage project plans, sprint boards, or operational workflows
• Coordinate infrastructure requests, logistics, venue requirements, internet, power, or fabrication needs
• Act as the primary liaison between Festival Production and Operations
• Manage festival floorplans, or cross-functional production dependencies
• Own administrative planning tasks such as catering requests, logistics trackers, or procurement workflows
• Own budget for their designated area (the Director, Festival Management & Delivery owns this)

These responsibilities are owned by the Director, Festival Management & Delivery.

Instead, the Festival Area Coordinator focuses on defining what makes their assigned areas successful and ensuring they deliver strong audience value, community engagement, commercial opportunities, and business results.

The ideal candidate for this role is a business-minded content, community, or audience development leader rather than a project manager, producer, or operations specialist.

Firmly rooted in our values, EFG is an affirmative action employer that celebrates being an equal opportunity workplace. Our unwavering commitment to fair employment extends to all individuals, regardless of their race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, disability, citizenship, marital status, gender identity, or Veteran status.