VIP and Strategic Relationships Lead, Founders Forum Group

Founders Forum Group (FFG) is hiring a high-agency, relationship-obsessed operator to join as a pivotal team member. Working as a trusted extension of the events team, you'll be embedded within the Founders Forum ecosystem - operating closely with Brent Hoberman (our Executive Chairman & Co-Founder) and collaborating hand-in-glove with our Community and Event Production teams.

As the VIP & Strategic Relationships Lead, you’ll drive speaker strategy for our flagship events and engage in high-profile relationship-building. This role is uniquely positioned at the heart of the group’s operations, ensuring a gold standard for keynotes, world-class speakers, and VIP engagement - from global tech founders and Fortune 100 CEOs to cultural icons and heads of state.

We’ve hosted many of the world’s most influential leaders at our events - founders like Elon Musk, Daniel Ek, Sir Demis Hassabis, Sir Richard Branson, Dylan Field and Evan Spiegel; global CEOs and investors including Eric Schmidt, Jamie Dimon, Sheryl Sandberg, Sir Michael Moritz, Rene Haas, and Ben Horowitz; and leaders / cultural icons such as President Emmanuel Macron, HRH The Prince of Wales, Queen Rania of Jordan, Sir David Attenborough, Sir Jony Ive, Emma Watson, Sacha Baron Cohen, James Corden, Lando Norris, and Sir Mo Farah - earning us nicknames like “Glastonbury for Founders” and “Digital Davos.”

This is a highly entrepreneurial role for someone with a love of tech, exceptional hustle, and a track record of building senior relationships. You’ll combine creative outreach planning and dealmaking with white-glove stewardship, acting as a trusted extension of Brent’s office and a force-multiplier across the Founders Forum ecosystem.

What You’ll Do

• Pipeline Ownership: Lead the global pipeline of top-tier speakers & VIPs across FFG’s priority events, mapping power networks and unlocking paths to “yes” through FFG’s ecosystem and Brent’s personal networks.
• Creative dealmaking: Tailor a compelling outreach strategy, value propositions, and bespoke outreach for world-class prospects, working directly with Brent where his unique insight is needed.
• Multi-channel outreach: Leverage warm intros from across FFG and Brent’s advisory circle, the partnership team, LPs, founders, elite agents, and more - delivering senior, outcome-focused, and high-conversion communication.
• VIP experience: Deliver white-glove, end-to-end handling of principals and their teams, marshalling tight security, logistics, briefings, and on-site management - anticipating needs and acting as a problem-solver for our most important guests.
• Content & agenda alignment: Partner closely with the Content & Program Teams to align speakers to meaningful themes, developing innovative formats - crafting moments with high impact, resonance, and editorial integrity.
• Partnerships and Ecosystem Leverage: Activate relationships with tech leaders, funds, corporates, governments, and cultural institutions to unlock speaker access.
• Research and Intelligence: Maintain a dynamic map of relevant networks - including EAs, comms teams, policy staff, and key gatekeepers, spotting timely opportunities, tracking moves, and building lasting rapport.

Requirements:
Required

• 3–5 years in a relationship-driven role with senior stakeholder exposure, e.g., event/conference production, journalist, VIP relations, chief of staff, executive engagement, investor relations, strategic partnerships, head of comms or government relations.
• Demonstrable success securing senior speakers, talent, or strategic meetings; strong references for judgment, discretion, and delivery under pressure.
• A genuine love of tech and startups; you track the ecosystem and can speak credibly to frontier themes (e.g. AI, climate tech, biotech, fintech, defence tech, policy).
• Elite relationship-building skills and personal network: you earn trust quickly with principals and gatekeepers; you’re respectful, persistent, and outcome-oriented.
• Creative dealmaking instinct: inventive hooks, tailored pitches, and smart sequencing of intros to unlock hard-to-reach people.
• Operational excellence: meticulous logistics, clear comms, accurate reporting, fast follow-through, and on-site calm when the stakes are highest.
• Outcome-driven and comfortable working to ambitious KPIs.
• Excellent written communication - concise, senior, and on-brand.
• Low-ego: you bring a “no task is too small or big” mindset.

Preferred

• Experience working with high-profile principals, founders, VCs, family offices, agents, or government leaders.
• Familiarity with the global tech and investor landscape, especially in the UK, US, and Europe.
• Comfortable using CRM tools and light research tooling; strong reporting discipline and pipeline hygiene.

FF DNA We Value

• Community first
• Entrepreneurial to our core
• Founding the future
• Excellence without ego

Benefits:
• 25 days annual leave plus enhanced discretionary leave (including birthday and Christmas - New Year)
• Option to work remotely anywhere in the world for 3 weeks/year (1 at Easter, 2 in July/August)
• AXA Health insurance (option to add dependents), Life Insurance, AIG Smart Health
• Employee Assistance Program
• Competitive pension
• Perkbox membership
• Learning and development allowance
• Cycle to work scheme
• Weekly team lunch, office snacks, regular team drinks
• Quarterly team activities and annual team trip/day out
• Access to the Founders Forum Group network and wider tech ecosystem
• This role is open to those based in London, UK (Hybrid: Mon-Thurs in office, Fridays WFH) or US (Remote)