Sports Operations Manager Jobs in Florida (NOW HIRING)

Venues Operations Division Manager

Orlando Venues

City of Orlando

Lead the Operations Behind Orlando's Biggest Moments

Are you ready to lead the operations behind some of the most exciting sports, entertainment, cultural, and community events in the country?

Quantum Sports & Entertainment is pleased to partner with the City of Orlando in seeking an exceptional leader to serve as Venues Operations Division Manager-the senior manager responsible for the strategy, performance, and operational excellence of Orlando's premier public assembly venues, including Kia Center, Camping World Stadium, Leu Gardens, and the Mennello Museum of American Art.

This is more than a facilities management role-it's an opportunity to shape the guest experience for millions of visitors each year while leading the teams that make unforgettable events possible. From NBA and NHL games to international soccer matches, sold-out concerts, family shows, festivals, and civic celebrations, you'll oversee the operations that keep these world-class venues performing at the highest level.

As the senior operations leader, you'll provide strategic direction and senior management oversight for building operations, engineering systems, event conversions, maintenance, custodial services, contracted services, and major capital improvement initiatives. You'll lead a talented multidisciplinary team of operations, engineering, maintenance, custodial, and project management professionals dedicated to delivering exceptional performance, reliability, safety, and service every day.

We're looking for a visionary operations manager/leader who thrives in fast-paced, high-profile sports and entertainment environments. Whether you've led operations for an NBA or NHL arena, an NFL or NCAA Division I stadium, or another premier event venue, you understand what it takes to keep complex facilities event ready while delivering outstanding experiences for guests, performers, athletes, promoters, and the community.

If you're energized by leading large teams, solving complex operational challenges, driving continuous improvement, and playing a key role in hosting world-class events, this is your opportunity to make a lasting impact on one of the nation's most vibrant entertainment destinations.

Join the City of Orlando and help create the experiences that millions of fans and guests will remember for a lifetime.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership and operational oversight for maintenance, engineering, changeover, custodial, building systems, and facility operations across all City of Orlando venues.
• Direct the planning, execution, and continuous improvement of preventive maintenance, repairs, and long-term asset management programs.
• Lead and develop multidisciplinary teams, fostering a culture centered on safety, accountability, customer service, operational excellence, and continuous improvement.
• Oversee vendor and contractor performance, negotiate service agreements, and ensure compliance with contractual obligations, regulatory requirements, and industry best practices.
• Develop, administer, and monitor divisional operating and capital budgets while ensuring effective stewardship of public resources.
• Manage capital improvement and facility renewal projects in collaboration with architects, engineers, contractors, and internal stakeholders.
• Ensure facilities are event-ready and capable of supporting professional sporting events, concerts, special events, and public programming at the highest operational standards.
• Establish operation policies, performance metrics, and quality standards to enhance efficiency, reliability, and guest experience.
• Collaborate with executive management, senior leadership, event management teams, public safety agencies, and external partners to deliver exceptional venue operations.
• Promote compliance with all applicable building codes, life safety regulations, OSHA standards, environmental requirements, and risk management practices.

Preferred Qualifications

• Senior leadership experience in venue operations within an NBA, NHL, NFL, MLB or NCAA Division I facility, or comparable multi-purpose arena/stadium environment.
• Demonstrated expertise in integrated facilities management, including CMMS platforms, asset management strategies, and lifecycle planning in a high-utilization venue setting.
• Experience leading 24/7/365 operations in a high-volume, event-driven environment with rapid changeover requirements and compressed event schedules.
• Strong understanding of arena/stadium operations including event conversion (turnover), building systems (HVAC, electrical, plumbing), crowd flow considerations, and guest experience standards.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams including engineering operations, custodial, and project management staff in a union and/or non-union environment.
• Strong background in contract administration, vendor performance management, and service level accountability within a venue management or sports franchise environment.
• Exceptional leadership, communication, financial acumen, and strategic planning skills aligned with professional sports and live entertainment industry expectations.
• Develop, manage, and monitor annual operations budgets and long-range capital improvement plans, ensuring fiscal discipline, cost efficiency, and strategic reinvestment in venue infrastructure.
• Lead capital projects and facility modernization initiatives in partnership with architects, engineers, construction managers, and internal stakeholders, ensuring projects are delivered on time, within scope, and aligned with venue operational needs.
• Ensure all venues are maintained in "event-ready" condition, supporting rapid turnaround schedules, multi-event calendars, and back-to-back event operations typical of NBA/NHL and major touring entertainment environments.
• Establish and track key performance indicators (KPIs), service level standards, and operational dashboards to strengthen efficiency, enhance system reliability, and elevate the guest and client experience, while ensuring full alignment with industry best practices and procurement requirements.
• Collaborate closely with event operations, booking, production, security, public safety, and external promoters to ensure seamless execution of events from load-in through load-out.
• Ensure full compliance with all applicable building codes, life safety systems, OSHA regulations, environmental standards, and risk management protocols, with a strong emphasis on proactive safety culture and incident prevention.

Reporting Relationship

This position reports directly to the Deputy Chief Venues Officer.

Work Schedule

Due to the 24/7 nature of venue and event operations, this position requires flexibility to workdays, evenings, nights, weekends, and holidays, as operational and event schedules dictate.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Sports Management, Facility Management, Engineering, Construction Management, Public Administration, or a closely related field, and a minimum of seven (7) years of progressively responsible management experience in venue operations, facility management, engineering, maintenance, or event operations, including at least three (3) years in a senior leadership role overseeing multiple operational departments, large-scale teams, and both operating and capital budgets within a major public assembly venue.
• Ten (10) or more years of progressively responsible senior-level experience in a comparable venue environment is strongly preferred.
• An equivalent combination of education, training, and directly related senior-level experience in high-performance venue operations may be considered.
• A valid Florida Driver License is required prior to employment.
• Qualifying experience must include leadership within a professional sports and entertainment environment such as an NBA or NHL arena, NFL or NCAA Division I Stadium, major convention center, or comparable high-capacity public assembly facility that regularly hosts professional sports, touring concerts, and large-scale live events.