Associate Conferences Director

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc; Greenbelt (MD); On-site; USD 80,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid Work Schedule

Medical insurance

Vision insurance

Dental insurance

401(k)

Paid parental leave

Job summary

Bloomsbury Publishing USA in the DC/MD region seeks an Associate Conferences Director to lead strategy, training and execution for the global conference program across Academic & Professional (A&P). The role oversees conferences for US and UK teams, ensuring alignment with editorial and marketing goals and sustainable branding.

The position manages a small team, coordinates planning meetings, budgets, and vendor relationships, and travels occasionally to conferences within the US.

Qualifications

• Academic conferences experience.
• 5-7 years in events and conference management.
• Experience with global conferences and understanding territorial differences.
• Strong budgeting, scheduling and ROI tracking.
• Clear writing and communication across stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Oversee strategy, training and execution for Bloomsbury’s global conference program.
• Lead planning meetings and ensure branding consistency.
• Manage ExhibitDay and coordinate vendor contracts.
• Maintain conference budgets and monthly ROI reporting.
• Coordinate logistics, shipping and on-site setups.

Skills

Conference management

Budgeting

Team leadership

Vendor coordination

Global conferences

Tools

ExhibitDay

Excel

Databases

Work Management System

AI

Job description

Description

Bloomsbury's Academic Professional division is seeking an Associate Conferences Director This role oversees strategy, training and execution for Bloomsbury’s global conference program across Academic & Professional (A&P).The role manages all aspects of Bloomsbury’s conference presence for A&P marketing and editorial teams in the US and UK, across Books and Bloomsbury Digital Resources (BDR). Ensuring the smooth running of conferences globally, and to budget, the role supports A&P’s strategic objectives, including commissioning goals, branding and sustainability. This is an exciting position for someone highly organized and committed to continuous improvement who would like to be part of optimizing Bloomsbury’s brand presence.

The role oversees a small team supporting up to 200 conferences a year globally.

Management:

• One Associate Conferences Manager and one Conferences Assistant in the US; one Conferences Executive in the UK
• Allocates and delegates work as appropriate across the team

Communications:

• Communicates strategy and schedule to all A&P
• Oversight and management of ExhibitDay (conferences database) including assignment of due dates and tasks to stakeholders
• Oversees training program for marketers, attendees and other stakeholders to ensure that everyone understands their roles and responsibilities
• Provides clear written guidelines to ensure the above
• Works with A&P colleagues to keep to deadlines and achieve 100% submission of conference reports.

Budget Responsibilities:

• Manages the annual global conferences budget, working with editorial and marketing staff to ensure a smooth budgeting process for all conference expenses (including T&E) which works within budget and supports A&P and company goals
• Monthly reporting to senior management on budget, spend and ROI at top line, subject and conference evel

Conference Planning (allocated across team as appropriate):

• Negotiates with conference organizers to reserve exhibit space by required deadlines in order to obtain best possible rates and stand location
• Maintains contracts for 3rd party exhibitors like Scholar’s Choice, Library of Social Science and Combined Book Exhibit, liaises with subject marketer on what books to send and arranges shipments
• Books program advertising, liaising with subject marketer on creation & design through submission
• Schedules and leads planning meetings for key conferences so our presence meets specific goals and objectives
• Maximizes prominence of Bloomsbury brands in accordance with branding guidelines and ensures consistent branding across all conferences
• Works closely with marketing, stand builders and design team to maximize stand design and layout
• Oversees the booking of relevant furniture, AV/tech equipment as required, based on the stand type and volume of product
• Orders conference supplies: signage, table drapes, bookstands, toolkits, etc.
• Provides support on marketing activities such as receptions, sponsorships and book signings as agreed with internal stakeholders
• Ensures editors/meeting attendees are fully briefed on conference details and logistics before attending a conference

Conference Execution and Administration (allocated across team as appropriate):

• Coordinates the ordering, delivery and return shipment of equipment and products in a cost-effective manner, dealing directly with external vendors and conference organizers and completing all related administration tasks and paperwork by required deadlines
• Maintains tracking of all materials shipped to conferences to meet the required deadlines
• Accurately maintains information on ExhibitDay to facilitate planning and management of the global conference schedule
• Ensures global stakeholders are kept informed on all aspects of the conference execution process including full list of products being sent to the show, out of stock titles and price list production
• Provides insight and market intelligence to stay ahead of conference trends
• Willingness to travel to occasional conferences within the US

Special Projects:

Contributes to projects related to continuous improvements in conference workflows and operations for global conferences

Requirements

• Academic Conferences Experience
• 5-7 years if experience of events and conference management
• Extensive experience managing conference schedules, and organizing and attending conferences in an academic and/or professional publishing environment
• Experience with global conferences, and a solid understanding of territorial differences
• An eye for design and brand (no hands-on design experience or skills required)

Strategic Planning & Improvement

• Strategic thinking with operational follow-through
• Experience budgeting, tracking and maximizing ROI
• Demonstrable mindset of continuous improvement and solutions-based thinking, in line with business priorities
• Excellent attention to detail

Management & People Skills

• Leading a small team, assigning roles and delegating effectively
• Liaising with and communicating with a variety of internal stakeholders
• Training experience
• Excellent project and time management skills
• Works effectively across geographic and organizational boundaries
• Oral and written communication skills

Systems Knowledge

• Demonstrates ability to use systems and tools (e.g. AI, databases, Work Management System) to enable smarter, more insight-led conference organization and presence
• Excel to at least intermediate level

Location:

Candidates must be located within the DC, MD, VA region and are able to work on a hybrid schedule from our Greenbelt MD office.

Salary Range:

$80,000- $90,000

Equal Opportunity Employment

Bloomsbury Publishing USA is committed to a merit-based, equal-opportunity workplace. We hire, retain, and promote employees based on individual qualifications, skills, and performance, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Our company fosters an inclusive environment where all employees are treated fairly and have the opportunity to succeed based on their abilities and contributions. We remain dedicated to upholding the highest standards of professionalism and fairness in all aspects of employment.

Benefits

• Medical insurance
• Vision insurance
• Dental insurance
• 401(k)
• Paid parental leave
• Hybrid Work Schedule