Company: Scottish Music Industry Association Ltd.
Location: Remote working / Glasgow (hybrid) – The SMIA currently operates a hybrid working policy, with the team working from home and from the Scottish Music Centre, Glasgow.
Reports to: CEO and Creative Director
Fee: £12,000
Contract Term: Freelance contract from June 2026 – 30 November 2026 (approx 40 working days in total)
Deadline: Midnight Sunday 31 May 2026
About the Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA)
The Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA) exists to strengthen, empower and unite Scotland’s music industry.
Our mission is to….
- Create and nurture a diverse, accessible and inclusive membership community that reflects the full spectrum of Scotland’s music industry
- Ensure that Scotland’s music industry has an effective voice within government, parliament and development organisations that facilitates understanding and awareness of key opportunities and challenges
- Produce and support projects and programmes to stimulate sustainability, domestic and international growth, development and innovation
… In order to strengthen and increase the value of Scotland’s music industry both at home and on the world stage; economically, socially and culturally.
Membership of the SMIA is free and open to anyone working in music in Scotland. The organisation currently has over 6,500 members who work across the music industry ecosystem.
The SMIA receives Multi-Year Funding from Creative Scotland, the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries across all parts of Scotland on behalf of everyone who lives, works or visits. Creative Scotland distributes funding from the Scottish Government and The National Lottery.
Role Description
We’re looking to recruit a freelance SAY Award Ceremony Event Manager to join our small and dedicated team to deliver the Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award.
The Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award is Scotland’s national music prize; celebrating Scottish music and the cultural impact and contribution of outstanding Scottish albums.
Produced by the Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA), The SAY Award exists to:
- Enrich Scotland’s cultural identity by recognising, rewarding and championing the strength and diversity of Scotland’s recorded output; past, present and future.
- Stimulate a national focus on music by providing an annual focal point to celebrate it; driving audiences, instilling civic pride and increasing cultural confidence.
- Inspire the listening, learning, playing and creation of music, especially by young people, to ensure the continued vibrancy of Scottish music both now and in the future.
- Enhance the profile, reputation and credibility of Scotland’s artists and music industry; both domestically and internationally.
…in order to strengthen and increase the value of Scotland’s music industry on the world stage: economically, socially and culturally.
The successful candidate will be required to be on-site for delivery of the event across the w/c Monday 2 November.
Key Responsibilities:
Leadership and Strategic Oversight
- Act as senior production lead across all ceremony workstreams, accountable to the CEO and Creative Director
- Oversee and manage the full ceremony budget in partnership with the CEO and Creative Director
- Lock in core production costs (Crew, Sound, Lights, AV, Transport, Catering) before secondary spend, and prioritise essential costs before discretionary spend (furniture, additional branding)
- Lead ceremony post-event debrief and produce written evaluation
- Lead sustainability strategy for the ceremony.
- Work closely with the CEO and Creative Director, and General Manager on confirming the final performer line-up
- Work with the SMIA team to ensure partners’ event-related benefits are delivered as planned
Event Team Management and Recruitment
- Review and agree job descriptions and person specifications for all event roles with the SMIA’s CEO and Creative Director
- Recruit, contract and line manage: Production Manager, Stage Manager, Artist Manager, Artist Liaison Team, Welcome Reception & Artist Bar Manager
- Manage handover documentation and onboarding of new event team members
- Manage the volunteer experience and provide feedback to the SMIA team
- Ensure appropriate cross-role briefing and communication protocols are in place
- Act as a point of escalation for all ceremony team members during show week
- Create and issue a volunteer briefing document
Meetings and Stakeholder Engagement
- Chair weekly SAY Award event team meetings from 8 weeks ahead of the Ceremony
- Attend monthly marketing meetings with the host city weekly from the SAY Award Longlist announcement (chaired by SMIA General Manager)
- Attend dedicated ticketing meetings with Host City and venue teams, and contribute to the Ceremony marketing strategy to drive ticket sales.
Event Planning and Delivery
- Oversee the event management blueprint and ensure all deliverables are assigned and tracked
- Manage ceremony purchases and financial tracking across all cost areas
- Produce and maintain the Event Management Plan
- Oversee all furniture placement and dressing in performance and ceremony spaces
- Liaise with venue, host city team, bar operator and partners on event-specific deliverables
- Identify catering companies for welcome reception and crew catering, appointing and liaising with the successful catering operator (in conjunction with the Welcome Reception & Artist Bar Manager)
Ticketing, Audience and Marketing Support
- Lead ticketing planning and finalisation, including on-sale process and row-by-row seating layout
- Support the project team in ensuring transparency with audiences about event start and end times, accessibility and transportation
- Contribute to the ceremony marketing strategy to support and drive ticket sales
Branding, Print and Production Assets
- Manage all ceremony branding and print, including ceremony print programme, venue signage, merchandise and at event branding to ensure quality and accuracy whilst ensuring all deadlines are met. This involves working with a freelance SAY Award Designer, project delivery team and contracted printers, with final approval required by the CEO and Creative Director
- Oversee venue signage, crew catering signage, printed scripts, stage timings, pass sheets, venue floor plans and Artist Liaison spotter’s guide
Compliance, Risk and Accessibility
- Ensure all insurance and licensing requirements are met and documented
- Manage risk register and ensure single-point-of-failure risks are mitigated across the team
- Oversee welfare and accessibility requirements across all areas of the event, working with the SMIA’s Equalities and Industry Development Officer
- Ensure accessibility requirements are met for all involved with the SAY Award Ceremony, working with the SMIA’s Equalities and Industry Development Officer
Artist, Talent & Host Management
- Act as the primary point of contact for all performing acts and their managers prior to being on-site at venue
- Confirm host(s) dates and availability; maintain regular communication throughout
- Manage autocue requirements for the hosts
Person Specification:
Essential
- Proven experience managing large-scale live events end-to-end
- Strong budget management and financial oversight experience
- Experience recruiting and managing multi-disciplinary event teams
- Strong interpersonal skills; warm, professional
- Excellent communication with senior stakeholders
- Experience working with Scottish venues and suppliers
- Sound knowledge of H&S, insurance and licensing for live events
- Confident, creative problem-solver, able to develop pragmatic solutions under pressure and adapt quickly when plans change
- Committed to a person-centred approach: ensuring artists, staff, volunteers and audiences feel genuinely welcome, respected and safe; working practices consistently reflect the values set out in the SMIA Staff Code of Conduct
- Proficient in Google Workspace
Desirable
- Knowledge of The SAY Award, the SMIA and their values
- Experience with Scottish cultural or music sector events
- Experience managing events in heritage or civic venues
- Experience using Slack and/or Asana for team communication and project management
- Driver’s license
- First Aid Certificate
- Experience/interest in accessible and sustainable event delivery
How To Apply:
If you meet the majority of the criteria we require for this role then we want to hear from you. The SMIA is committed to ensuring equal opportunities in employment. No discrimination will be made throughout the recruitment process based on age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, gender or socio-economic background. The SMIA values the understanding that lived experience brings.
To apply for the role of SAY Award Event Manager, please send your CV and a cover letter to jobs@smia.org.uk
If you have any questions or would like to arrange an informal conversation about the role in advance of submitting your application, please contact Aja Garrod-Prance (General Manager): jobs@smia.org.uk
Once you have completed your application, please fill in the SMIA equality and diversity monitoring form. If you have any questions about the form, including requests for reasonable adjustments, or if you would prefer to complete an offline version using Microsoft Word, please contact jobs@smia.org.uk. Please note that all questions are optional and filling in this form is voluntary.
If you require any reasonable adjustments to be made to the application process, for example, submitting your responses via audio or video, please contact jobs@smia.org.uk
Application Deadline:
The application deadline is midnight on Sunday 31 May
Interviews will be held in person in Glasgow in mid/late June. Should you be unable to attend in person we can accommodate requests for alternative arrangements.
We look forward to hearing from you!