Director, Event Operations

Crain-Communications; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 120,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Crain Communications is seeking an experienced Event Operations Leader to oversee the orchestration of Crain's event portfolio, ensuring consistent processes and scalable systems across brands. The role requires onsite work three days a week with travel 30-50%.

You will partner with Events leadership on budgets, venue sourcing, vendor negotiations, and end-to-end logistics, mentoring the team and driving operational excellence for conferences and large-scale events.

Qualifications

• Must have 8+ years of experience producing conferences, executive events or large-scale business events.
• Expertise in budgeting, venue management, production, logistics, and onsite execution.

Responsibilities

• Partner with Events leadership to develop and manage event budgets.
• Lead venue sourcing and vendor negotiations while partnering with Events leadership on final recommendations and contract approvals.
• Oversee food & beverage planning, production schedules, registration, signage, audiovisual coordination and all event logistics.
• Partner with Events leadership to develop event timelines, operational plans and resource allocation.
• Develop and maintain standardized run-of-show documents, timelines and operational playbooks.
• Direct onsite event operations and proactively troubleshoot execution issues.
• Manage relationships with production partners, venues and event vendors.
• Lead, mentor and develop members of the event operations team.
• Partner with internal stakeholders to align event objectives, operational priorities and execution strategies.
• Manage multiple events simultaneously while maintaining exceptional execution standards.
• Establish operational best practices that improve efficiency, scalability and the attendee experience.
• Support Events leadership with post-event operational reviews and continuous process improvements.
• Leverage event technology and registration platforms (Cvent preferred), along with project management tools, to improve planning, attendee experience and operational efficiency.

Skills

Budgeting

Venue management

Vendor negotiations

Event operations

Leadership

Cvent

Travel 30-50%

Tools

Cvent

Project management tools

Job description

DescriptionLead the operational planning and execution of Crain's event portfolio, establishing consistent processes, operational excellence and best practices across all brands. This role serves as the operational leader for the Events team, ensuring seamless execution while building scalable systems to support future growth.LocationWill work onsite 3 days a week from one of our larger offices: Chicago, New York City, Detroit or Houston. You'll be coming in-office three days a week. You must be able to travel within the US and internationally 30-50% with trips being typically in the 3-5 day range.Primary ResponsibilitiesPartner with Events leadership to develop and manage event budgets.Lead venue sourcing and vendor negotiations while partnering with Events leadership on final recommendations and contract approvals.Oversee food & beverage planning, production schedules, registration, signage, audiovisual coordination and all event logistics.Partner with Events leadership to develop event timelines, operational plans and resource allocation.Develop and maintain standardized run-of-show documents, timelines and operational playbooks.Direct onsite event operations and proactively troubleshoot execution issues.Manage relationships with production partners, venues and event vendors.Lead, mentor and develop members of the event operations team.Partner with internal stakeholders to align event objectives, operational priorities and execution strategies.Manage multiple events simultaneously while maintaining exceptional execution standards.Establish operational best practices that improve efficiency, scalability and the attendee experience.Support Events leadership with post-event operational reviews and continuous process improvements.Leverage event technology and registration platforms (Cvent preferred), along with project management tools, to improve planning, attendee experience and operational efficiency.Ideal CandidateAn experienced event operations leader with a proven track record producing conferences, executive events or large-scale business events. Must have at least 8 years of experience.The ideal candidate brings expertise in budgeting, venue management, production, logistics, vendor negotiations and onsite execution, while demonstrating strong leadership skills and the ability to build scalable operational processes across a growing portfolio.Experience with Cvent and other event technology platforms is strongly preferred.This position is exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act and is not eligible for overtime pay.Pay Transparency Disclosure:The estimated salary range for this position is $120,000 to $140,000.The final salary offering will take into account a wide range of factors, including experience, accomplishments and location. The salary range provided should not be considered as a salary limit or cap. In addition to base salary, Crain also offers competitive benefits including retirement plan savings contributions and bonus opportunities based on individual and company performance.@CrainComm#LI-Onsite#events#full-time#LI-LV1#directorAbout Crain Communications:Crain Communications is a leading business news and information company with a portfolio of 24 media brands that provide indispensable coverage and data for professionals globally and across sectors, including advertising, automotive, energy, finance, healthcare, staffing, and workforce solutions. Many of Crain’s brands are the most influential media properties in the industries and communities they serve, including Ad Age, Automotive News, Pensions & Investments, Modern Healthcare, Staffing Industry Analysts, as well as Crain’s regional business brands. For more than a century, our dedication to deep sector expertise and journalistic integrity has enabled us to provide trusted insights across all our platforms, empowering today’s business leaders to make industry-shaping decisions. To learn more about Crain Communications, visit crain.com.Environmental DemandsWhere you work matters. The job posting will provide specific information on where and when your amazing work would be performed. Employee work location is determined by the needs of the specific team and may include on-site, hybrid or remote. Employee work location is subject to change.An “in-office” role would require the employee to come into the office most days with occasional flexibility to work remotely if tasks can be performed elsewhere and if the manager approves.A “remote” role would allow an employee to work from a home office that is in one of the states Crain does business in. We can only employ a remote / \"work from home\" employee if they reside in one of these states: AZ, CA, CO, IL, MD, MA, MI, MN, NV, NY, NC, OH, OR, TN, TX, VA, WA, WI, and Washington, DC.A “hybrid” role would be a mix of in-office and remote work. There may be a specified schedule for coming into the office or it could be at the discretion of the employee with the manager’s approval, subject to change.Employees who live within a reasonable commute distance from a Crain office are expected to work on-site 3 days per week.Many positions will also include work done in “the field.” Depending on the role, this may include conducting in-person interviews, attending work-related events, meeting with sources or clients. Specifics will be noted in the job posting but are subject to change as a role evolves. Employees may be exposed to adverse environmental conditions, specifically during field work. Other typical job functions are performed under conditions such as those found in general office work.Travel to cover news stories/events, meetings with clients, and to our geographically separated offices may be required. It is the nature of many positions to experience non-standard working hours and be on-call when needed for responding to email, meeting with clients, attending work-related events, story development or breaking news. Most employees perform work Monday through Friday, although early-morning, evening or weekend shifts may be required. Work schedule and travel requirements are subject to change as a role and needs evolve over time.Physical DemandsThe physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of many Crain jobs and are subject to change.Physical activities will include frequent in-person or virtual interactions. For most positions, it is essential to be able to remain at a desk/computer workstation for prolonged periods, perform computer-related tasks, and create/maintain documents within filing systems. Must have close visual acuity to perform an activity, such as preparing and analyzing reports and information, transcribing, viewing a computer terminal, or extensive reading. The typical physical requirements are light work—exerting up to 25lbs of force occasionally and/or up to 10lbs of force frequently and may include climbing, pushing, standing, hearing, walking, reaching, grasping, kneeling, stooping, and repetitive motion. Some positions will have additional physical requirements, including exerting up to 50lbs of force to move and/or carry equipment, supplies, files, or other materials as the role requires.Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential job functions and meet the environmental and physical demands of the role.Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)