Confidential National Labor Manager (Events) - Orlando, Florida

The Opportunity

A growing event technology and production business is looking for an experienced workforce leader to build and manage its labor capabilities across North America.

This person will be responsible for ensuring production teams have access to the right technical talent wherever and whenever it is needed. The role will oversee how labor is sourced, scheduled, deployed and measured across multiple markets, supporting both live event production and longer-term technology projects.

This is not simply a scheduling position. It is a senior leadership role for someone who understands the commercial and operational impact of labor and can create a more consistent, scalable and cost-effective workforce model.

The successful candidate will work closely with senior leaders across production, operations, project management, sales, procurement and finance. They will take ownership of the company's labor network, improve visibility around future demand and develop stronger processes for managing employees, freelancers, labor providers and union crews.

What You'll Be Responsible For

Building the National Labor Network

• Develop a reliable network of qualified technicians, crew leads, engineers, stagehands and production specialists across key North American markets.
• Strengthen relationships with freelance professionals, labor companies, local crew providers and union representatives.
• Identify gaps in coverage and proactively build labor capacity in markets where future demand is expected.
• Establish contingency plans for peak periods, major projects and last-minute changes.
• Ensure the business is not overly dependent on individual suppliers or limited labor pools.
• Support the expansion of production capabilities into new cities and regions.

Workforce Planning

• Work with sales, project management and operations to understand upcoming labor requirements.
• Translate project pipelines and revenue forecasts into practical workforce plans.
• Anticipate demand based on seasonality, confirmed events, historical activity and future business opportunities.
• Maintain a clear view of labor availability, skill sets and geographic coverage.
• Identify potential shortages early and implement solutions before they affect delivery.
• Help regional teams prepare for periods of high demand and overlapping productions.

Labor Deployment and Utilization

• Create a consistent approach to assigning internal employees, freelancers, union crews and third-party labor partners.
• Ensure appropriately skilled people are assigned based on the technical, financial and logistical needs of each project.
• Improve the utilization of internal resources while maintaining access to flexible external labor.
• Reduce unnecessary overtime, travel, downtime and avoidable third-party costs.
• Partner with production and project leaders to resolve labor challenges quickly.
• Support large or complex productions that require resources from multiple regions.

Commercial and Operational Performance

• Monitor labor costs against budgets, estimates and project requirements.
• Identify opportunities to improve labor margins without compromising safety, service or production quality.
• Negotiate agreements and rates with labor suppliers and external workforce partners.
• Introduce clearer standards around overtime, travel, per diem, cancellation terms and minimum calls.
• Review labor performance after major projects and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Provide leadership with accurate information on workforce capacity, utilization, cost and risk.

Standards and Consistency

• Develop national procedures for sourcing, approving, onboarding and deploying labor.
• Introduce consistent expectations for technician performance and onsite professionalism.
• Create processes for evaluating freelancers and labor partners following each project.
• Ensure labor practices comply with contractual requirements, local regulations and company policies.
• Work with internal teams to improve onboarding, documentation, safety and worker classification.
• Establish clear escalation procedures for labor shortages, performance concerns and onsite issues.

Leadership and Collaboration

• Act as the main point of leadership for workforce and labor strategy across the organization.
• Build strong relationships with regional operations and production teams.
• Partner with procurement to strengthen supplier performance and commercial agreements.
• Work with finance to improve labor reporting, forecasting and cost visibility.
• Collaborate with sales teams to ensure proposed labor models are practical and profitable.
• Influence senior stakeholders and create alignment across multiple departments.
• Develop and mentor team members involved in scheduling, crewing and labor coordination.

What We're Looking For

• Significant experience managing labor, workforce planning, production resources or technical operations within the audiovisual, live events or event production industry.
• Experience at Manager, Senior Manager, Director or regional leadership level.
• A strong understanding of how technical crews are sourced, scheduled and managed for live productions.
• Established knowledge of freelance technicians, labor providers and regional production markets.
• Experience managing labor across multiple locations or supporting events nationally.
• Understanding of union and non-union labor environments.
• Strong commercial awareness, including labor budgets, overtime, vendor rates, utilization and project profitability.
• Experience working closely with production managers, project managers and operational leadership.
• The ability to use workforce information and project forecasts to make informed staffing decisions.
• Strong negotiation, relationship-management and problem-solving skills.
• The confidence to introduce new processes and gain support from teams across the business.
• The ability to remain calm and decisive when responding to urgent or complex labor requirements.