Senior NCS Relations and Planning Manager

The Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games will be hosted in Los Angeles, California in 2028, returning to the United States for the first time in over 30 years. 2028 will be the first time LA hosts the Paralympic Games, creating an opportunity to expand awareness, understanding and inclusion of people with disabilities.

LA28, the organizers for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles, is on a mission to create an unparalleled Games experience for athletes, fans, partners, our community and our people. Our vision is to collectively create what’s next through sport, community and the power of our differences.

The 2028 Olympics and Paralympics will represent LA and leverage the strength of our community’s diversity and creativity as we collectively work to design a Games that we all want to be a part of. We do this by focusing on people and by inviting everyone into the story of the LA28 Games.

The LA28 organizing committee is an independent, non-profit organization that is privately funded and governed by a board of directors. 

Our Vision is to collectively create what’s next by harnessing sport, community and the power of our differences. Our Mission is to create an unparalleled Paralympic and Olympic Games for athletes, fans, partners, our community and our people.

Values and Behaviors:

• Optimism – Embody a positive, enthusiastic, and solution-oriented attitude in everything we do; challenge the status quo, inspire and support one another to achieve our best; have our eyes on the future and believe we can make a meaningful impact
• Integrity – We communicate openly and honestly, listen, and respectfully value multiple perspectives; we do what we say and are accountable for everything we do; we do the right thing, always. Even when it isn’t easy
• Excellence – We hold ourselves to the highest standard and expectations; we live our values and truths and persevere through challenges; we are continuous learners and adapt and pivot with speed to meet changing needs
• Inclusion – We seek to represent, include, empower and level the playing field; our work reflects the communities we serve and the world in which we live; we leverage our platforms to bring awareness to issues relevant to who we are
• Co-Creation – We are authors of a shared story. Everyone contributes their unique voice to our shared mission; we share pride in our accomplishments and ownership of our shortcomings
• Boldness – We embrace creativity, courage and outside-the-box thinking; we are unafraid to take risks, explore unconventional solutions, and learn from the process; we are innovators, disruptors, and challengers of the status quo

Senior NCS Relations and Planning Manager

The Team: The National Olympic and Paralympic Committee Service (NCS) Team’s aims is to engage, empower, and support 206 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and 183 National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) in the preparation and planning of the most seamless, innovative, and engaging Games experience ever for their athletes, team officials, and delegation members.

NCS is organized into two key workstreams: Relations & Planning and Services.  These two workstreams create a trusted and impactful client-centered cross-functional team which delivers the opportunities, channels, and support required for NOCs and NPCs to successfully engage with LA28, and to prepare to bring their athletes and delegations to the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The NCS team also is charged with the creation and management of a range of critical programs and services in accordance with LA28, IOC, and IPC guidelines in the lead-up to and throughout the Games-time period including workshops, seminars, reporting, and operation centers.

Position Summary:

The Senior NCS Relations and Planning Manager will play a critical role within the LA28 NCS team, reporting directly to the Director of NCS while leading all aspects of service level planning, client management, communications, and support for an assigned group of National Olympic and Paralympic Committees.

This role ensures the implementation of a robust engagement strategy that provides timely, transparent, and effective channels of communication between NOCs, NPCs, and LA28.  They will work to build a strong understanding of the requirements and needs of their client group and represent those needs across the organization.  They will regularly collaborate with and align on planning with centralized Games Planning team as well as other LA28 functional areas (FAs) within Games planning, operations, and services, and across the organization to drive the successful and on time provision of Games-time services and key NOC/NPC deliverables.

As the team scales, it will be organized by geographical region. Each NCS Relations and Planning Manager will oversee a team responsible for interfacing with and supporting a specific group of NOCs or NPCs, and designated LA28 FAs.  Additionally, they will also be appointed as a program lead to one or more key NCS program deliverables.

Responsibilities:

1. NOC & NPC Relations

• Cultivate and maintain trusted, transparent, and authentic client relationships
• Manage and track day-to-day client correspondence ensuring timely, transparent and clear communications
• Support the production of key documents, policies, and client informational resources, and leading the distribution of those resources to clients in a timely, consistent and coordinated manner
• Serve as the client escalation pathway throughout the Games lifecycle, managing and coordinating the consolidation of client issues/feedback and subsequent issue resolution
• Represent LA28 at continental meetings and seminars, coordinating required meetings and presenting updates to regional stakeholders

2. NOC & NPC Planning:

• Lead client and LA28 discovery meetings, presentations, and planning sessions to capture key information and trends in NOC/NPC planning
• Oversee and maintain the client journey from touch-down to take-off, validating service levels and venue plans impacting the NOC/NPC delegation journey 
• Integrate with LA28 FAs as a trusted and valuable central resource of NOC/NPC specific information to support their planning.
• Collaborate closely with Athlete Relations to ensure athlete experience remains central
• Create strategies and action plans to mitigate identified gaps and meet the demands of NOC/NPC delegations.  
• Coordinate highly impactful client visits, developing an effective agenda, liaising with NOC/NPC Services, and internal FAs on their participation and generation of post-visit follow-ups and reports

3. NCS Team and Administration:

• Cultivate an inclusive, transparent, honest, and welcoming working environment
• Manage status tracking and reporting tools reflecting progress on NOC/NPC, and LA28 FA milestones and deliverable status
• Manage the on-time delivery of program or NOC/NPC regional specific deliverables
• Support the development of budgets and projects plans with well researched and validated client/project requirements and planning assumptions
• Contribute to the design and implementation of core team processes and procedures
• Lead the recruitment process for NCS Relations and Planning roles within assigned region
• Support the NCS growth strategy, onboarding process, and day-to-day leadership of future regional team members

Background & Qualifications:

• Direct National Olympic and/or Paralympic Committee experience at multi-sport events including regional games, continental games, youth games – direct Olympic and Paralympic Games experience within the NOC and NPC ecosystem is required
• Experience working in a similar role in international sport organizations, local organizing committees, or equivalent
• Experience of working in an environment that deals with multiple stakeholders, both internal and external.
• Experience in managing projects at a high level with a strong attention to detail, sense of accountability, and reporting skills.
• Existing relations with NOCs/NPCS and a keen understanding of their needs and requirements at Games time is preferred.

Required Expertise

• In-depth knowledge of Olympic and Paralympic Family network and Olympic and Paralympic Games operations.
• Understanding and expertise within accreditation, sport entries and qualifications, or other key Games operations and logistics functional areas.
• Eagerness to think out of the box and challenge the status-quo; unafraid to contribute new ideas and implement them
• Required proven ability of building good interpersonal relationships with people across the organization, while balancing assertiveness with diplomacy
• Strong communication, team building, and commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging.
• Strong work ethic with high standards for delivery of work outputs/products
• A track record of leading and managing a multi-cultural team effectively
• A track record of strong business skills including budget management
• Extremely detail-oriented with excellent project management and organizational skills
• Well-developed problem-solving skills and ability to work independently to resolve issues
• Self-starter with experience in defining tasks, seeking feedback, and evolving work
• Ability to work effectively in a close team environment and adapt to a dynamic, evolving workload with multiple tasks and deadlines[PC2] 

Physical Requirements and Working Conditions

• Based in Los Angeles
• Some travel may be required, both domestically and internationally
• Working hours may vary to accommodate different time zones in specific regions.

The successful candidate:

• Team player who values the success of the team over self
• Creative problem-solver and critical thinker
• Service-oriented and reliable
• Genuinely curious and ready to think outside of the box
• Great communicator and unifier
• Assertive and confident
• Displays the highest levels of integrity and commitment
• Enjoys challenges and fast-paced work environments
• Finds ways to move forward without all the answers
• Values inclusiveness in all its forms.
• Enthusiastic about sport and the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
• Understands how to deliver against an immovable timeline

Position Requirements:

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent required
• Multilingual (English as primary working language; fluent written and spoken French, Spanish or another languages highly preferred).[JH5] [DL6] [PC7] [DL8] 
• Fluent working with Office suite products including Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint
• Experience with data analytics and reporting tools a plus
• Project Management certifications are a plus

Submission Requirements:

• Resume

The annual base salary range for this position is $115,000.00 - $130,000.00. The pay scale provided is the range that LA28 reasonably expects to pay as starting base compensation for this role. All LA28 compensation remains subject to final determination based on individual candidate qualifications, experience, or other reasonable criteria consistent with LA28’s operational business needs and applicable law.

LA28 does not provide relocation assistance.

LA28 is committed to operating fair and unbiased recruitment procedures allowing all applicants an equal opportunity for employment, free from discrimination on the basis of religion, race, sex, age, sexual orientation, disability, color, ethnic or national origin, or any other classification as may be protected by applicable law. We strive to build a team that is diverse, inclusive and encourages qualified candidates of all backgrounds, perspectives, and identities to apply. We will consider all qualified candidates with criminal histories in a manner consistent with local law. We assess applications based on relevant skills, education, and experience a candidate can add to our team.