Portfolio Director - Exhibitions

Hybrid: Herne Hill, 3 days in the office
Reporting to: Managing Director, MA Exhibitions
Direct reports: 5
Contract: Permanent, full-time

At Mark Allen, we create specialist content, events, data and insight for professional communities across sectors that matter.

As Portfolio Director, you will be responsible for accelerating commercial growth and performance across an established seven-event portfolio generating £7m turnover. This is a senior leadership role with clear accountability for portfolio strategy, revenue, new product development and commercial performance.

The role has been created to give the division dedicated senior leadership and the commercial focus needed for its next stage of growth. A central priority is identifying, developing and successfully launching new exhibitions and products, alongside growing and strengthening the existing portfolio.

You will lead senior commercial people, work closely with marketing and operations, and make clear, evidence-based decisions on where to invest, where to evolve and where to stop.

This role requires a leader who can combine strategic portfolio ownership with strong commercial execution, creating sustainable growth from established exhibitions while building the next generation of products.

Commercial Growth and Portfolio Strategy

Own the division's strategy and commercial performance, with accountability for revenue and gross profit growth.
Develop long-term growth plans across existing exhibitions, new launches, brands and people.
Create the annual business plan and budget using robust market, customer and competitor analysis.
Make clear decisions on where to invest, evolve, accelerate or stop, based on evidence and commercial return.
Identify opportunities to grow organically through existing products and new propositions.

New Exhibition and Product Development

Lead the identification and development of new exhibition opportunities within relevant markets.
Build robust commercial cases for new launches, including audience need, competitor position, revenue potential, cost and route to market.
Take new exhibitions from concept to launch, setting clear milestones, ownership and commercial targets.
Test propositions with customers and market stakeholders, adapting quickly where evidence requires it.
Establish post-launch growth plans and hold teams accountable for delivering against them.

Sales Leadership and Performance

Lead 5 senior commercial direct reports and create a high-performance, accountable sales culture.
Set ambitious sales goals and work with leaders to deliver monthly, event and rebooking targets.
Use pipelines, KPIs, and trading data to assess performance, improve sales effectiveness, and intervene early when results are off track.
Coach senior commercial leaders, raise standards and address underperformance clearly and constructively.

Market and Customer Leadership

Act as a senior figurehead for MA Exhibitions within the markets served by the division.
Build strong relationships with customers, associations, partners and key stakeholders.
Ensure each exhibition has clear market positioning, a strong customer proposition and a plan to improve customer satisfaction.

Must-haves

10+ years' experience in the exhibition industry, including senior leadership responsibility.
Proven responsibility for multiple exhibitions or brands and significant commercial or P&L outcomes.
A demonstrable track record of personally launching new exhibitions and taking them from concept to commercial delivery.
Evidence of delivering revenue and gross profit growth across an established portfolio.
Strong experience leading senior sales and commercial people, raising performance and addressing underperformance.
Strong business planning, budgeting, forecasting and KPI management capability.
The gravitas to build and influence senior industry and stakeholder relationships.
A commercial growth leader with deep exhibition industry experience.
A proven record of taking new exhibitions from concept through to successful launch.
Comfortable owning a significant multi-event portfolio and making clear investment decisions.
A strong sales leader who can raise performance and address underperformance directly.
Strategic enough to shape the portfolio, but practical and close enough to the market to deliver.

Our values translated in this role

Mark Allen Group is a values-led business. We are looking for a Portfolio Director who delivers ambitious commercial growth in a way that reflects our values:

Passionate – Brings pace, ownership and commercial ambition to driving portfolio growth

Creative – Spots market opportunities, challenges established approaches and turns strong ideas into viable new exhibitions and products.

Nurturing – Develops commercial leaders, raises standards and builds capability, confidence and accountability across the team.

Fair – Makes balanced, transparent decisions, sets clear expectations and addresses performance consistently and constructively.

What this looks like in practice

Own the growth plan for a significant established portfolio and stay personally accountable for results.
Use market and customer insight to identify opportunities and make clear investment decisions.
Turn credible ideas into new exhibition launches with disciplined commercial cases, milestones and targets.
Set clear expectations across senior sales leaders, use data to manage performance and address underperformance early.
Develop commercial leaders by giving direction, honest feedback and meaningful ownership.
Balance pace and ambition with transparent decisions, customer value and long-term portfolio health.

Why join Mark Allen Group?

Take ownership of an established portfolio generating £7m turnover, with a clear mandate to accelerate growth.
Shape and launch the next generation of exhibitions and products, with real autonomy and accountability.
Lead experienced commercial people and influence the future direction of a significant part of MA Exhibitions.
Be part of a specialist media and events business with strong, trusted brands and long-term ambition.

For over 40 years, Mark Allen Group has built and grown specialist media brands that inform, connect and support professional communities. We operate across healthcare, education, agriculture, business, finance, travel retail, exhibitions and critical communications, combining trusted content, data, events and insight.

We are a commercial media owner with a long-term mindset, balancing strong legacy brands with innovation and evolution. Our people play a central role in shaping how our audiences engage with us today and how we grow for the future.

We offer:

Hybrid working.
Real ownership in your role.
Development through hands-on learning, mentoring and internal progression.
Company benefits.
Exposure to specialist markets and loyal professional audiences.
A culture shaped by our values

How to apply

Apply through our careers site with your CV, including a cover letter sharing what attracted you to the role and what you would bring to it.

A video introduction is completely optional and will not disadvantage your application.

Right to work: Applicants must have the legal right to live and work in the UK. Unfortunately, we are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role.

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