Event & Competition Operations Manager

Location: Birkirkara, Malta (minimum three days per week on-site, with flexibility to work from home)

Type: Full-time, indefinite

Reports to: COO

Growth potential: Opportunity to grow towards Head of Operations as the role and team develop. The official role title will be: Competitions Manager and Educational Support

This is a Malta-based role. You should already be based in Malta or be willing and able to relocate within the next 2 months.

No need to submit a LinkedIn application, only applications that fill this form will be considered: https://forms.monday.com/forms/cbea9ebec00e629d4135bfa76f26459c?r=euc1

DAIGON Esports helps international and independent schools launch esports programmes that build teamwork, leadership, and problem-solving skills.

We provide turnkey, future skills-aligned esports programs — including after-school clubs, global competitions, and leagues — that schools can introduce without additional hardware. We work with leading international school associations and support schools across more than 30 countries. Our mission is shaped by our own experiences as former international/independent school students.

Competitions are at the heart of the DAIGON experience. They bring students together across schools and countries, give teachers a programme they can feel proud of, and create some of the most memorable moments in our calendar.

As our competition programme grows, we're looking for an experienced operator to take responsibility for delivering it end to end. You'll coordinate a global calendar across association partners including COBIS, ISA, IAPS, ECIS, BSME, FOBISIA, AIMS, as well as support our flagship in-person finals: the Student Esports World Championship in Malta each November.

This is a hands-on role for someone who enjoys turning a detailed plan into a smooth, well-run experience. You'll work closely with the COO, our school and association partners, and the wider DAIGON team. You'll also have a documented six-phase process, clear escalation routes, and will help build an AI-supported operations layer to help you get up to speed and improve the way we work.

• Manage each competition through six phases: Pre-Competition, Outreach, Admin Setup, Onboarding, Active, and Post-Competition
• Build practical competition formats, age divisions, schedules, tiebreakers, check-in processes, forfeit rules, and contingency plans
• Keep schools, internal teams, and association partners clear on what is happening, what is needed, and when
• Make sure results, certificates, prizes, feedback, billing, and renewal follow-up are completed accurately and on time

• Host multi-school online competition sessions on a weekly or biweekly cadence during the season
• Coordinate match flow, scoring, troubleshooting, sportsmanship decisions, and communication with teachers and students
• Adapt sessions for schools across different time zones; some events may require several regional sessions in the same week
• Support the planning and delivery of in-person finals and produce a useful debrief after each event

• Be the first point of contact for score queries, no-shows, schedule clashes, platform issues, and other competition-day challenges
• Resolve day-to-day issues confidently and escalate higher-risk decisions with the relevant context and a considered recommendation
• Work within clear escalation routes for safeguarding, cheating rulings, pricing, and contractual matters
• Keep the experience of the school, teacher, and student at the centre of operational decisions

• Build warm, responsive relationships with school contacts and association partners
• Communicate deadlines, requirements, and decisions clearly and consistently
• Help schools feel supported while maintaining fair rules and a reliable competition structure for everyone
• Coordinate payment and participation follow-up with professionalism and tact

• Use our Competition Record, trackers, readiness reports, match-day packs, and communication templates to keep every competition on track
• Review AI-assisted drafts, reminders, reports, and reconciliations, applying judgement before anything is sent or published
• Identify recurring issues, improve the underlying process, and document changes so the whole team benefits
• Balance process improvement with dependable day-to-day delivery

• During August and September, spend around half of your time supporting after-school club onboarding alongside the Operations team
• At other times of the year, help with club operations when additional support is needed

This is a seasonal role, and the focus changes throughout the year:

• August–September: Season setup and club onboarding
• October: School onboarding, Q&As, practice weeks, and the first live sessions
• November–January: The busiest competition period, with several partner events running across time zones and the Student Esports World Championship in November
• February: A cluster of high-visibility finals
• March–April: A quieter competition window focused on retrospectives, documentation, and process improvements
• May–July: Next-cycle qualifiers, planning, and preparation for the following season and World Championship

• Have run operations with a public, immovable deadline — for example events, tournaments, live production, exams, conferences, venues, or logistics
• Have a reliable personal system for tracking details, deadlines, and follow-ups
• Stay calm and communicate clearly when plans change or something breaks during a live event
• Check important information before it is published and notice when an output does not look right
• Make thoughtful decisions based on what teachers and students will actually experience
• Can hold a deadline, follow up on an invoice, or say no when needed while preserving a positive relationship
• Are comfortable learning and working with AI and automation tools
• Write excellent English and can communicate professionally with school leaders across different countries and cultures
• Enjoy both improving a system and doing the practical work needed to run it well

• It is a hands-on operations position rather than a role focused primarily on playing or watching esports
• Live sessions have fixed start times and may occasionally take place early or late to accommodate international schools
• The visible event is only one part of the job; careful preparation and consistent follow-through are equally important
• Priorities can shift during busy periods, so you'll need to organise your time and communicate risks early
• You will have meaningful ownership, regular support from the COO, and clear routes for decisions that need wider input

• You understand DAIGON's competition process and can run it confidently using the existing SOP and tools
• You have co-hosted and then independently hosted a live competition session
• You have managed a competition through to close, including results, billing, and certificates
• You have built strong working relationships with the internal team and key school contacts
• You have identified practical improvements that make delivery clearer, faster, or more reliable

• Competitions run reliably, with risks raised early and the right decisions escalated at the right time
• Schools receive timely onboarding and are ready before their first match
• Published results are consistently checked and supported by a verification record
• Billing and post-competition follow-up happen at the correct stage of the process
• Retrospectives lead to clear improvements with owners and deadlines
• The COO and wider team trust you to lead the competition calendar with increasing independence

• At least two years of experience in operations, events, tournaments, production, or another deadline-driven environment. Ambitious candidates with less experience but a proven track record are invited to still apply.
• Experience coordinating several stakeholders, ideally across countries or time zones
• Based in Malta or willing to relocate, with eligibility to work in Malta or the EU
• Willing to travel occasionally for in-person finals and conferences

• Experience working with schools, including an understanding of term dates, safeguarding considerations, and school IT environments
• Experience running competitions or leagues at any level, including in a voluntary capacity
• Experience with invoicing, account follow-up, or other commercial administration
• Experience improving a process or building an automation that continued to add value over time

• 40 hours per week, with working patterns planned flexibly around the competition calendar and live events (need high level of flexibility)
• 24 days of annual leave, plus public-holiday adjustments

No need to apply on LinkedIn, please fill in this form: https://forms.monday.com/forms/cbea9ebec00e629d4135bfa76f26459c?r=euc1