Senior Events Manager | C40 x GCoM Joint Program

About The Global Covenant of Mayors For Climate & Energy

The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM or Global Covenant), is a global coalition of cities and local governments with a shared long-term vision of promoting and supporting voluntary action to combat climate change and move to a low-carbon, resilient society. The alliance unites and inspires its stakeholders to strengthen global climate coherence, accelerate the energy transition, and generate locally-tailored solutions for a common purpose: creating an inclusive, just, low-emission, and climate-resilient future for all.

Co-chaired by former New York City Mayor and UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Climate Ambition and Solutions, Michael R. Bloomberg, and Executive Vice President for the European Green Deal Maroš Šefčovič, and with the support of global and regional city networks, the Global Covenant of Mayors represents the strongest and clearest signal to national governments that cities are not only acting to stop the effects of climate change, they are leading and leading together. Mayors from across all global regions serve on the Board, and represent city networks, Regional Covenants and bring locally specific perspectives – ensuring that the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy is truly led by mayors.

About the C40 x GCoM Joint Program 

The Joint Program brings together C40 and the Global Covenant of Mayors to work with partners on a shared agenda to:
Increase cities’ access to finance for projects that combat the climate crisis and improve resilience; Ensure nation states upgrade their national climate commitments as a result of working with cities, with particular focus on city climate action being included in nation states’ climate action plans which are due in 2025 (Nationally Determined Contributions or NDCs);Improve the quality and ease of access to climate data so cities can start implementing the most impactful climate actions as quickly as possible. 

Position Description:

An exciting opportunity to join the C40 x GCoM Joint Program and work alongside leading external events experts to deliver world-class convenings that advance urban climate action on a global scale

The C40 x GCoM Joint Program is seeking a skilled and strategic Senior Events Manager to lead the planning, coordination, and delivery of high-impact events that advance climate leadership in cities around the world. Reporting to the Interim Director of Global Events and working closely with program and content leads, the Senior Events Manager will play a critical role in shaping and executing the Joint Program’s event strategy. This includes end-to-end delivery of objective-driven convenings and seamless on-the-ground execution—with a particular focus on the successful planning and delivery of Joint Program activities at COP30 in Belém.

This role requires strong coordination across internal teams and external partners, including senior leadership at C40 and GCoM. The post holder will oversee event production and manage external vendors, including production and event agencies, hospitality suppliers, freelancers, and interpreters.

In addition, the Senior Events Manager will identify and implement strategies to improve the efficiencies of the Joint Program events. The role will also support events led by external partners—such as those taking place at major moments like UNGA and COP—where the Joint Program plays a featured role. This will involve close collaboration with delivery teams, cities, and strategic partners.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the end-to-end planning and execution of Joint Program events, including high-level convenings, partner activations, and milestone moments at UNGA, Climate Week, and COP30.
• Play a central role in COP30 event delivery, overseeing all logistics for up to two Joint Program hosted events in Belém—including venue sourcing, AV, catering, staffing, and security—with travel required to support on-the-ground execution.
• Develop and manage detailed event plans and timelines, ensuring clarity across internal teams and partners, with special focus on run-of-show development, production schedules, and contingency planning.
• Coordinate closely with wider Global Events and Summit teams to ensure alignment, share updates, and maintain consistent communication throughout the planning cycle.
• Oversee vendor and supplier relationships, negotiating contracts and ensuring services are delivered to a high standard and within budget.
• Support communications and branding efforts in partnership with internal teams, ensuring event materials reflect the Joint Program identity and strategic messaging.
• Manage internal coordination around travel and accommodation logistics for staff, partners, and VIPs, with proactive communication and real-time troubleshooting during major events.
• Track and reconcile event budgets, supporting accurate forecasting and expense reporting.
• Contribute to post-event wrap-up activities, including evaluation, vendor follow-up, and documentation of lessons learned.
• Help build internal tools and templates, such as an events toolkit, to support consistency and scalability of event planning across the organization.

Person Specification:

• Extensive event management experience (5–7 years), including end-to-end delivery of large-scale, high-profile events with increasing levels of responsibility. Demonstrated expertise in logistics, production, speaker and VIP coordination, and attendee communications.
• Proven ability to manage external agencies, including procurement, contracting, and oversight of complex on-site production and delivery.
• Creative and solutions-oriented, with a passion for designing innovative and engaging event formats.
• Exceptional organizational and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities, meet tight deadlines, and maintain strong attention to detail.
• Strong strategic thinking and problem-solving abilities, with a results-driven approach.
• Effective team player who also excels when working independently and taking initiative.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to build relationships and collaborate with diverse stakeholders.
• Familiarity with the missions and priorities of C40, GCoM, and the global climate and sustainability space; understanding of US-based philanthropy and international NGOs is a strong asset.
• Experience working in international, cross-cultural environments, including collaboration across time zones and languages.
• Fluency in English (written and verbal) is required; proficiency in additional languages is an asset but not required.

Other Requirements:

Applicants must already have the right to work in the listed locations. Moderate travel will be required as part of the role.

Reporting To: Interim Director of Global Events

Term: Fixed term, until 31 December 2025

Location: London, New York -  Please note that if your right to work in one of the listed locations is not confirmed at the time of applying, C40 will be unable to proceed with your application. 

Salary: (Grade 3) London GBP £63,323, New York USD 104,942 USD (gross per annum)  -  Due to its commitment to maintain equity and fairness, C40 operates on a spot salary model. This means that our employees are paid the same salary according to their grade and location. Therefore, we do not engage in salary negotiations.

Application Process:

Closing date for applications is Wednesday, 18th June 2025 at 5pm BST.. C40 reserves the right to close this job opening before the closing date for applications so please do submit applications early.

To learn more about the work of C40 and our cities, please visit www.c40.org, follow us on Twitter @c40cities and like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/C40Cities.

For any queries about the role, please contact [email protected]. Kindly note that this email address is for recruitment related queries only. We are unable to accept CVs and cover letters sent to this inbox. We can only accept and process applications that are submitted via our website.

C40 is an equal opportunities employer.

Background

C40 is a network of nearly 100 mayors of the world’s leading cities, who are working to deliver the urgent action needed right now to confront the climate crisis, and create a future where everyone, everywhere can thrive. Mayors of C40 cities are committed to using a science-based and people-focused approach to help the world limit global heating to 1.5°C and build healthy, equitable and resilient communities. Through a Global Green New Deal, mayors are working alongside a broad coalition of representatives from labour, business, the youth climate movement and civil society to go further and faster than ever before.

C40’s team of 400+ staff is based in offices in London, in New York, Johannesburg, Singapore, Delhi, Rio de Janeiro, Copenhagen, Beijing and Paris, and individual staff based across 25+ different locations.

The strategic direction of the organisation is determined by an elected Steering Committee of C40 mayors, which is chaired by Mayor Sadiq Khan of London and Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr of Freetown. Three-term Mayor of New York City Michael R. Bloomberg serves as President of the C40 Board of Directors, responsible for operational oversight. A regionally diverse management team, led by Executive Director Mark Watts, leads the day-to-day management of C40. C40’s three core strategic funders are Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation and Realdania.

Our international staff work with the C40 network under the leadership of city governments to deliver this mission. Using a data-driven approach, our team identifies and promotes the exchange of proven programmes and policies developed by cities; provides world-class research, technical expertise and access to key partners to deliver new programmes and policies with cities; and communicates cities’ individual achievements and collective leadership.

Diversity Statement

C40 is committed to supporting and promoting equity and diversity and creating an inclusive working environment for everyone. We believe that when people with different life experiences are involved in decision-making, we deliver better. 

We believe having a diverse workforce ensures we connect better with all the different communities and people affected by the climate crisis. This enables us to make better decisions which lead to better outcomes in the work we do through increased creativity, productivity, greater global impact alongside a broader perspective and approach to our work.

We welcome applicants that are diverse in terms of age, gender identity, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, ethnicity and perspective. Our goal is for C40 to be an environment where everyone, from any background, can flourish and can be themselves whilst contributing to our mission. If you identify as a person with a disability, we work to provide reasonable appropriate measures and any additional support needed to provide an equitable working experience. If you are living with a disability, chronic illness or neurodiversity please inform us, to provide you with the proper assistance in the application process.

C40 promotes a work culture where staff can input to improve equity, diversity and inclusion through staff-led groups and formal forums. We know that creating our ideal working environment is a learning process and we are committed to the ongoing effort.