Amanda Tomlinson
Leamington Spa
Summary
Accomplished event professional specialising in strategic planning and execution of events in UK and international markets. Demonstrated success in managing budgets and delivering cost-neutral events. Skilled in cultivating strong relationships with suppliers and stakeholders, leading projects effectively while promoting team development.
Overview
12
12
years of professional experience
Work history
Senior Event Manager (Maternity Cover)
VisitBritain
London/Hybrid
2025.03 - 2026.01
- Acted as a key stakeholder in the strategic planning of the 2026–2028 B2B event portfolio, collaborating across the international network to define requirements and delivery priorities.
- Created standardised event processes and business case templates focused on KPIs, risk and logistics; collaborated cross-functionally to develop an internal events toolkit and risk register supporting consistent best practice.
- Led the procurement and requirements development for a new event management system, leading cross-functional collaboration with CRM and IT teams to meet government standards (project in progress).
- Led the procurement of a new event management software and venue-finding platform
- Supported early-stage research into venue-finding solutions as part of a cross-functional working group, participating in supplier demos and collaborating with procurement (ongoing).
- Line manager to an Event Executive, supporting professional development through coaching, delegated responsibility and progressive ownership across event planning and delivery.
- Held event delivery responsibility for the 2025 event portfolio, leading cross-functional teams and assuring consistent, high-quality delivery across the event programme;
- Event Portfolio: Destination Britain Americas 2025, Playa del Carmen – Mexico, Spain Roadshow 2025, Bilbao, Madrid, Barcelona – Spain, Destination Britain China & Northeast Asia 2025, Chengdu - China
Event Manager
VisitBritain / MeetEngland
2023.03 - 2025.03
- Commercial lead for the procurement of a three-year stand build contract (c. £900k), leading tender development, evaluation and supplier selection in line with procurement processes. Retained accountability as contract owner, ensuring KPI performance and consistent, high-quality delivery across the tradeshow portfolio.
- Led the strategic re-design of the MeetEngland stand in partnership with the appointed stand build supplier, enhancing the partner experience through improved brand visibility, clearer zoning and improved stand flow to drive engagement and usability.
- Led improvements to the partner event experience by redesigning briefing and information pack templates and introducing clearer, more structured pre-event engagement, including webinars and enhanced on-site briefings, to improve partner readiness and experience across tradeshows.
- Introduced sustainability reporting across our tradeshows and for the VisitBritain Association Conference using TRACE by isla
- Played a key role in shaping the programme for the VisitBritain Association, ensuring DEI principles were meaningfully embedded across content, speakers and representation.
- Line manager to one Event Executive, with a focus on delegation of tasks and event delivery processes
- Budget owner and event delivery lead for the MeetEngland and VisitBritain Business Events event programme, responsible for the strategic planning, delivery and portfolio performance;
- Event Portfolio: MeetEngland Impact Network 2026 – Sheffield, England, IMEX Frankfurt 2024, 2026, Germany, IMEX America 2023, 2024, Las Vegas, IBTM 2023, 2024 Barcelona, Spain, VisitBritain Association Conference 2025 – Newport, Wales
Event Manager
Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board (AHDB)
2019.08 - 2023.02
- Event lead and project manager for national and international trade shows, conferences and digital events, with end-to-end accountability including budgets up to £100k, contract and supplier management, stakeholder engagement, operational delivery, governance (H&S, GDPR) and impact evaluation.
- Developed and implemented event evaluation tools for national and international shows, enabling consistent post-event measurement and structured follow-up with levy payers.
- Led the research and rollout of event technology solutions, including stand analytics software and digital screens, enhancing engagement and insight across trade stands.
- Played a key role in the development, ownership and embedding of event delivery processes, supporting wider team collaboration and providing training on revised ways of working.
- Supported organisational transition to virtual and hybrid event delivery during COVID-19, contributing to platform testing, training and delivery (GoToWebinar, Microsoft Teams, Hopin).
- Authored and managed stand build tenders up to £60k, overseeing procurement, tender evaluation, supplier appointment and end-to-end relationship management.
- Held responsibility for supplier management of the venue-finding service, including performance review, process improvement and value-for-money assessment.
- Delivered best-practice briefings and presentations to the wider team, contributing to continuous improvement across event planning and delivery.
Customer Services Manager
University of Warwick
2019.05 - 2019.08
- Managed front-of-house operations
- Line-managed a team of 15 reception staff, leading recruitment, training, performance management and service standards, including the introduction of structured 1-to-1s and performance reviews. team development through 1:1s and PDRs
Outreach Projects & Activities Coordinator
Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
2018.02 - 2019.05
- Led the planning and delivery of national and regional outreach programmes, including conferences, competitions, lecture series and forums for students, junior doctors/dentists, Fellows and Members across the UK & Ireland.
- Acted as the primary representative and spokesperson for the College at internal and external events, engaging prospective and existing members with confidence and authority.
- Managed multi-stakeholder projects and external professional events end-to-end, including promotion, delivery and sponsorship negotiation, ensuring a consistently high professional standard.
Sales & Events Coordinator
Aurora Energy Research
2015.08 - 2018.01
- Delivered a portfolio of high-value conferences and meetings (£3k–£100k budgets), leading all aspects of programme development, speaker management, registration and end-to-end delegate experience.
- Provided event and project leadership, coordinating management team involvement and acting as on-site lead for delivery.
- Project-managed the company website redesign (£15k), including creative direction, content development and ongoing maintenance.
- Supported commercial engagement and retention, coordinating client communications, social media promotion and monthly email campaigns, and delivering live WebEx events.
Client Experience Supervisor
Transun Travel Ltd
2014.06 - 2015.08
- Led the end-to-end delivery of bespoke destination weddings in Lapland, including venue coordination, staffing, on-site management and upselling of wedding packages to maximise customer value.
- Project-managed high-profile photography shoots to build the company's image portfolio, leading supplier sourcing, logistics planning and creative delivery against brand briefs.
- Supervised the Customer Service function, managing escalated complaints, sales enquiries and regulatory compliance (including ABTA processes), and introducing structured complaint handling and team coordination.
Education
MA (Hons) - Geography
University of St Andrews
Skills
- Strategic event planning and delivery (UK & international)
- Budget ownership and cost-neutral event management
- Supplier and stakeholder relationship building
- Confident communicator and project lead
- Leadership and team development
- Strong logistics management
- Proficient in EventsAir
Event Portfolio - VisitBritain / MeetEngland 2023 - 2026
MeetEngland Impact Network 2026 – Sheffield, England
- Half day conference and award ceremony
- Contract management and stakeholder management of venue, AV and stage production
- Responsible for the communications with delegates and all on-site branding and event collateral
- Onsite delivery and risk management
- MeetEngland Impact Network | VisitBritain.org
MeetEngland North America Trade Mission 2026 – New York & Washington DC, USA
- Responsible for the networking dinner held in Washington DC for 40 delegates
- Responsible for the operational delivery of 4 industry partners attending SMU and then travelling to and undertaking client meetings in Washington DC
- Supported the Business Events Director, Americas & Australasia in taking meetings at SMU
- Managed comms plan and all communications with industry partners throughout the event planning and delivery process
Destination Britain China & Northeast Asia 2025, Chengdu - China
- Senior delivery lead for a two-day international B2B event comprising 121 pre-scheduled meetings, opening networking reception which included a delegate activation and a 300-guest VIP gala dinner attended by senior government representatives
- Played a key role in the procurement and appointment of the in-market event management company, and worked closely with the appointed supplier throughout the planning and delivery
- Led all UK delegate communications and briefings
- Oversaw and ensured branding consistency working closely with the event management company and our design team to deliver our company brand standards in market
- Held on-site responsibility for UK supplier experience and customer service, resolving issues and safeguarding delivery quality
- Supported programme development, providing logistical guidance for seminars and networking activity to ensure effective flow and delegate engagement
- Event NPS Score: 73. All suppliers rated the pre-during event experience as good or excellent
Spain Roadshow 2025, Bilbao, Madrid, Barcelona – Spain
- Led the end-to-end logistical and operational delivery of a multi-city roadshow across three Spanish destinations, encompassing travel, accommodation and B2B meeting programmes for 25 UK suppliers meeting over 60+ buyers in each city for meetings
- Delivered the event in partnership with Tourism Ireland, leading on cross-organisational collaboration and alignment
- Owned the integration of dual-brand event identity, working closely with the branding team to develop reusable cross-organisation event templates for future programmes
- Held responsibility for on-site delivery, delegate management and risk management, ensuring safe, compliant and high-quality live delivery
- Acted as the central point of contact for all UK supplier communications, managing relationships throughout planning, delivery and post-event phases
- Results: 44% of attending UK suppliers rated as Promoters NPS
Destination Britain Americas 2025, Playa del Carmen – Mexico
- Led the end-to-end delivery of a 200-delegate, three-day international event, comprising 121 pre-scheduled meetings, seminars, sponsored breakout sessions, gala dinner and hosted networking receptions
- Held full commercial and operational accountability, including contract negotiation and management across venue and third-party suppliers, overall budget ownership and financial control
- Directed stakeholder communications across delegates, speakers, sponsors and VIP attendees, ensuring a consistent and high-quality customer experience throughout the event lifecycle
- Chaired and led the cross-market project team across UK and US stakeholders, aligning planning, delivery timelines and decision-making
- Owned event branding, on-site risk management and live delivery, ensuring compliance, quality assurance and issue resolution in a live environment
- Oversaw registration, meeting-matching and customer services, ensuring operational excellence and delegate satisfaction
- Advised on sponsorship operations, supporting the development of sponsorship packages and acting as the operational lead for sponsor delivery and on-site management
- Event NPS Score: 83. Support from VisitBritain Events team was the highest rated event experience in post event feedback
VisitBritain Association Conference 2025 – Newport, Wales
- Two day conference with breakout sessions, welcome reception and gala dinner
- Contributed to the development of the event programme, embedding the VisitBritain Business Events Impact Network into the overall event delivery
- Accountable for sustainable event logistics, embedding lower-carbon transport options and prioritising local supplier sourcing across event delivery
- Designed and delivered a tailored student engagement and learning programme for event management undergraduates, facilitating knowledge exchange with conference delegates and contributing as a panel speaker
- Click here for a summary of the impact results from the conference
IMEX Frankfurt, Germany 2024, 2026 & IMEX America, Las Vegas, 2023, 2024 & IBTM, Barcelona, Spain, 2023, 2024
- Delegate management of upto 20 industry UK partners exhibiting on stand including registration, invoicing, communications and onsite management on stand
- Responsible for the management of the stand build supplier and stand design
- Responsible for sourcing venues and management of the programmes for our off-stand networking activities for industry partners and hosted buyers
Destination Britain China and India – 2023
- Pre-event event management of the two international B2B two day even of meetings, networking receptions and gala dinners
- Supported with the procurement and subsequent working with the in-country event management partners to deliver all local communications alongside ensuring full compliance with organisational brand guidelines across event collateral
- Owned UK industry registrations, communications and briefings, and B2B meeting-matching delivery via EventsAir
Timeline
Senior Event Manager (Maternity Cover)
VisitBritain
2025.03 - 2026.01
Event Manager
VisitBritain / MeetEngland
2023.03 - 2025.03
Event Manager
Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board (AHDB)
2019.08 - 2023.02
Customer Services Manager
University of Warwick
2019.05 - 2019.08
Outreach Projects & Activities Coordinator
Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
2018.02 - 2019.05
Sales & Events Coordinator
Aurora Energy Research
2015.08 - 2018.01
Client Experience Supervisor
Transun Travel Ltd
2014.06 - 2015.08
MA (Hons) - Geography
University of St Andrews