_Exhibition Workshop & Production Supervisor

Company Description ProVis Events Limited is an award-winning exhibition, brand activation, and showroom specialist based in Daventry, Northamptonshire. Our core focus is designing and building bespoke, high-impact creative spaces that maximize product visibility for our clients. We work with an exceptional roster of brands, including Indian Motorcycles, Polaris, Bizerba, and Selco Builders Warehouse.

Every project we undertake is driven by a deep commitment to high-quality craftsmanship and sharp attention to detail. We operate as a close-knit, dedicated team of 7 permanent staff, supported by a wealth of combined industry experience. To support our continued growth, we are looking for an experienced, practical, highly skilled, and hands-on Exhibition Workshop & Production Supervisor who shares our standard for excellence to lead our build production and manage our on-site teams.

Role Description The Exhibition Workshop & Production Supervisor is a full-time, on-site role based in Preston Capes. This role oversees day-to-day workshop operations, coordinating production schedules and supervising the build of exhibition stands and event structures to ensure quality, safety, and timely delivery. The supervisor collaborates closely with the Operations Manager, design, logistics, and project management teams to translate plans into efficient production workflows and resolve operational issues.

Key Responsibilities

1. Workshop & Production Management (60% Pre-Build)

• Hands-on Production: Lead and participate in the fabrication, joinery, assembly, and finishing of bespoke exhibition stands.
• Workflow Scheduling: Plan and optimize daily workshop tasks to ensure all project elements are completed on time, within budget, and to premium standards.
• Materials & Inventory: Monitor workshop stock levels, manage tool maintenance, and coordinate with procurement to ensure materials are ready for builds.
• Quality & Safety: Enforce strict workshop health and safety standards, ensuring a clean, organized, and compliant working environment.

2. Site Installation, Dismantle & Venue Operations (40% Event)

• Logistics Coordination: Supervise the safe packing, loading, and transit of components from the workshop to major UK and European event venues (e.g., NEC, ExCeL).
• On-Site Supervision: Act as the primary on-site lead responsible for structural installations, snagging, handover to the client, and eventual dismantle.
• Contractor Management: Direct, motivate, and manage a pool of up to 15 freelance contractors and specialist trades on-site, ensuring high productivity and strict adherence to build plans.
• Venue Compliance: Ensure all on-site operations fully comply with venue regulations, Health & Safety legislation, Risk Assessments, and Method Statements (RAMS).

Key Requirements & Qualifications

• Industry Experience: Minimum of 3–5 years of experience in exhibition build, scenic carpentry, shopfitting, or high-end joinery production.
• Leadership Capability: Proven experience managing workshop staff and coordinating freelance site crews or contractors under high-pressure event timelines.
• Technical Skills: Strong proficiency in interpreting technical CAD drawings, structural fabrication methods, material yields, and finishing techniques.
• H&S Knowledge: Working understanding of event health and safety standards; IOSH, CITB, or Site Supervisor Safety Training Scheme (SSSTS) qualifications are highly desirable.
• Logistics & Travel: Full UK Driving License (experience driving commercial vans up to 3.5t is highly advantageous). Willingness to work flexible hours, including weekends and nights during peak event periods.

What We Offer

• Competitive Base Salary: £36,000 – £42,000 per year plus paid overtime or Time Off in Lieu (TOIL) system for weekend/night venue commitments.
• Premium Travel Accommodation:We value our team's rest and well-being. All overnight venue stays include individual, single-occupancy hotel rooms (no room sharing) plus overnight subsistence allowances.
• Growth Opportunity: A key leadership role within a lean, agile business where your impact directly influences company growth and operational strategy.

Reporting to: Head of Operations
Tecna designs and delivers exhibition stands, brand activations and event environments for clients across the UK and Europe. As our business continues to grow, we’re looking for an experienced Production Manager to lead our production team at our Farnborough headquarters.

This is a genuine split role: roughly half management and half hands-on production. You'll lead our production team at our Farnborough headquarters while contributing directly to builds alongside an experienced and highly skilled team.

We have strong craft at the heart of our production operation. What we are looking to add is the layer around it: structured scheduling, effective workflow management, and a broader materials skill set. You will own the planning and people management, drive continuous improvement, and bring the knowledge and confidence to support the selection of the right materials and methods for each situation, rather than defaulting to the familiar.

We're looking for someone who is on trend with the industry, curious about new materials and methods, and ready to help us explore what's possible.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop the production team day-to-day, allocating work, setting priorities, running 1-to-1s and performance reviews, and building a culture of quality and craft.
• Own production scheduling and workflow planning, working closely with the Head of Operations, Install Manager and Projects team to ensure everything is built, finished and dispatched on time.
• Get hands-on in production, contributing directly to the fabrication, finishing and assembly of exhibition components alongside the team.
• Challenge conventional materials and construction methods. If something needs to look like wood but doesn't need to be wood, we want you to know the alternatives and be confident proposing them.
• Identify and trial new substrates, finishes, fabrication techniques and production methods that keep Tecna's offering modern, efficient and competitive.
• Manage stock, materials and supplier relationships, maintaining availability, controlling costs and building strong partnerships with specialist suppliers.
• Covered within bullet 1 above.
• Drive continuous improvement across processes, equipment, factory layout and workflow to increase efficiency, quality and productivity.
• Maintain a safe, organised and well-run production environment with high standards of housekeeping and compliance.

What We Are Looking For

• An instinctive understanding of exhibition build standards. You know that a stand will be judged at arm's length on a busy show floor, not under a microscope, and you make confident production decisions that deliver the right result without over-investing effort where it will have negligible impact.
• A background in exhibition, events, theatre, film/TV production, props, scenic construction or a related industry where bespoke, visual environments are the end product.
• Experience leading a production or fabrication team, planning workloads, managing people and meeting tight deadlines.
• Materials-agnostic thinking: you're as comfortable with foam, GRP, acrylic, fabric structures or printed substrates as you are with timber, and you know when to reach for which.
• Awareness of current trends in experiential and exhibition design. You follow the industry, you know what good looks like, and you have opinions about where things are heading.
• Strong organisational and planning skills with the confidence to own a production schedule and hold a team to it.
• Good IT skills and comfort using business systems for scheduling, stock management and reporting.
• A practical, hands-on approach combined with the ability to step back and improve the systems and processes around you.

Nice to Have

• Experience with CNC routing, print, finishing or graphics application.
• Familiarity with modular exhibition systems (aluminium framing, tension fabric, similar).
• Experience in scenic construction, props-making or set building for film, TV or theatre.
• Working knowledge of lighting and AV integration within exhibition or event environments.

Benefits

Annual bonus based on company performance

25 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays

Private healthcare

Paid volunteering days

Regular company events and socials