Executive Producer

FREEMAN; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 100,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, Vision Insurance

Tuition Reimbursement

Paid Parental Leave

Life, Accident and Disability

Retirement with Company Match

Paid Time Off

Salary range up to 150000 USD base

Annual bonus up to 15%

Job summary

The Freeman Company is seeking an Executive Producer to guide and flawlessly execute large-scale event programs. This senior role partners with Operations, Growth, Strategy, and Creative teams to ensure client satisfaction while achieving financial targets.

The position requires 2–3 days per week in client offices/show sites and supports multiple domestic markets including Chicago, IL. Responsibilities span RFP through post-event wrap, risk management, and on-site leadership, with a focus on

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience.
• 12+ years of conference operations and management experience.
• Experience producing diverse events, including conferences, concerts/evening events, hospitality programs, and consumer activations.
• Proven ability to manage budgets of $8M+ and oversee multiple large-scale programs.
• Experience managing programs with 8,000+ attendees.
• Strong communication, leadership, project management, and client-service skills.
• Mastery of G Suite (Slides, Sheets, Docs), Microsoft Office, Airtable, and all relevant internal and client tools.
• Direct people-management experience, including leading and developing producers and coordinators.
• Breadth across multiple event formats beyond conferences e.g., activations, incentives, exhibits, and consumer/PR experiences — consistent with a generalist role.

Responsibilities

• Lead cross-functional teams to deliver a wide range of event experiences including conferences, brand activations, and large-scale programs.
• Oversee programs from RFP through post-event wrap-up, ensuring client expectations and internal quality standards.
• Define roles and responsibilities on a project.
• Manage all aspects of project execution including venue logistics, production, staffing, décor, signage, food & beverage, health & safety, security, transportation, permitting and on-site operations.
• Own and manage project budgets end to end, from concept through reconciliation — tracking expenses and vendor invoices and driving profit margins.
• Facilitate internal and client meetings, lead kickoff sessions, maintain consistent communication, and provide timely documentation and action-item reporting.
• Own risk management, contingency planning, insurance, and compliance/permitting across programs, and ensure health, safety, and security standards are met on site.
• Serve as the senior on-site leader through load-in, show days, and strike, ensuring ADA and sustainability requirements are planned for.
• Supervise and support producers, event managers, and coordinators, coaching team members to grow their expertise.
• Conduct regular employee reviews and contribute to ongoing training and development initiatives.
• Mentor junior production staff and help build a positive, collaborative, high-performing department culture.
• Forecast resourcing and staffing needs across concurrent programs and partner with Operations on bench planning.
• Follow departmental processes and develop planning tools like playbooks and best-practice frameworks.
• Serve as primary client contact in collaboration with growth lead and Executive Sponsor, aligning program goals and relationships.
• Work with Growth Leads to define program success metrics and ensure alignment across teams.
• Develop relationships with vendors, freelance staff, and production partners; negotiate contracts to ensure high service and execution quality.
• Support organic account growth by identifying opportunities within existing clients and contributing to proposals.
• Translate client goals into actionable production plans and timelines, including show flows and run-of-show documents.
• Identify opportunities for improvement and propose innovative production solutions.
• Collaborate with growth, strategy and creative teams to support concept development, content, and audience engagement strategies.
• Identify opportunities for improvement and support continuous evolution of event delivery methodologies.
• Lead post-event client debriefs and translate results into recommendations.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Project management

Client service

Budgeting

Vendor management

Team mentoring

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience

12+ years of conference operations and management experience within an agency, communications firm, or production company

Experience producing diverse events (conferences, concerts/evening events, hospitality programs, consumer activations)

Manage budgets of $8M+ and oversee multiple large-scale programs

Experience managing programs with 8,000+ attendees

Mastery of G Suite, Microsoft Office, Airtable, and related tools

Direct people-management experience leading producers and coordinators

Breadth across multiple event formats (activations, incentives, exhibits, PR experiences)

Experience managing vendors, freelance crews, and production partners across markets

Tools

G Suite

Microsoft Office

Airtable

Job description

About Us

Sparks is a leading global brand experience agency, specializing in the design and execution of award-winning experiences that forge deep connections between brands and audiences. Recognized by Adweek as Experiential Agency of the Year, we bring a unique blend of strategic insight and execution excellence to every brand activation, corporate event, trade show exhibit, and immersive experience. Our commitment to creativity, innovation, and flawless execution drives us to craft impactful experiential marketing solutions that deepen relationships, inspire action, and build trust—all around the world.

Summary

The Executive Producer is a senior leader within the Events & Experiences team, responsible for guiding the strategic vision and flawless execution of complex event programs. Working closely with Operations, Growth, Strategy, Creative Technology and Creative leadership, this role ensures that every project delivers meaningful client results while meeting financial and operational goals. The Executive Producer drives alignment across internal teams, external partners, and clients, bringing effective communication, leadership, and project‑management expertise to every engagement.

This position will support our Events & Experiences team and is eligible for a hybrid work schedule, generally requiring work in the office and/or at show site 2-3 days a week. Preferred locations for this role include the following; however, qualified candidates outside of these markets will also be considered.

• Philadelphia, PA

• Fort Wayne, IN

• Las Vegas, NV

• Royal Oak, MI

• Grand Prairie, TX

• New York, NY

• Chicago, IL

• Los Angeles, CA

• San Francisco, CA

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Lead cross‑functional teams, including growth, strategy, creative, creative technology, operations, production, and technical production, to deliver a wide range of event experiences such as proprietary events, conferences, brand activations, virtual events and large‑scale experiential programs (both B-to-B and B-to-C).

• Oversee programs from RFP through post‑event wrap‑up, ensuring all deliverables meet client expectations and internal quality standards.

• Define roles and responsibilities on a project.

• Manage all aspects of project execution including venue logistics, technical production, staffing, décor, signage, food & beverage, health & safety, security, transportation, permitting and on‑site operations.

• Own and manage project budgets end to end, from concept through reconciliation — tracking expenses and vendor invoices and driving profit margins through thoughtful financial management.

• Facilitate internal and client meetings, lead kickoff sessions, maintain consistent communication, and provide timely documentation and action‑item reporting.

• Own risk management, contingency planning, insurance, and compliance/permitting across programs, and ensure health, safety, and security standards are met on site.

• Serve as the senior on‑site leader through load‑in, show days, and strike, making real‑time decisions and resolving escalated issues.Ensure accessibility (ADA) and sustainability requirements are planned for and met across programs.

• Supervise and support producers, event managers, and coordinators, assigning workloads and coaching team members to grow their expertise.

• Conduct regular employee reviews and contribute to ongoing team training and development initiatives.

• Mentor junior production staff and help build a positive, strong, collaborative, and high‑performing department culture.

• Forecast resourcing and staffing needs across concurrent programs and partner with Operations on assignments and freelance/vendor bench planning.

• Follow departmental processes and develop planning tools to lead the team. i.e. playbooks, and best‑practice frameworks that scale across the team.

• Serve as the primary point of contact for clients in collaboration with the growth lead and Executive Sponsor, setting program goals, managing communication, and nurturing long‑term relationships that support business growth.

• Work with Growth Leads to define program success metrics and ensure all teams are aligned.

• Develop strong relationships with third‑party vendors, freelance staff, and production partners; negotiate and manage their contracts to ensure the highest level of service and execution quality.

• Support organic account growth by identifying new opportunities within existing clients and contributing to proposals, scopes, and pitches.

• Translate client goals into actionable production plans and timelines, including production schedules, budgets, communication plans, show flows, and run‑of‑show documents. Collaborate with growth, strategy and creative teams to support concept development, content, and audience engagement strategies.

• Identify opportunities for improvement, propose innovative production solutions, and support continuous evolution of event delivery methodologies.

• Collaborate with growth, strategy and creative teams to support concept development, content, and audience engagement strategies.

• Identify opportunities for improvement, propose innovative production solutions, and support continuous evolution of event delivery methodologies.

• Lead post‑event client debriefs, translating results and learnings into recommendations for future programs.

Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience.

• 12+ years of conference operations and management experience within an agency, communications firm, or production company.

• Demonstrated experience producing diverse events, including conferences, concerts/evening events, hospitality programs, and consumer activations.

• Proven ability to manage budgets of $8M+ and oversee multiple large‑scale programs simultaneously.

• Experience managing programs with 8,000+ attendees.

• Strong communication, leadership, project management, and client‑service skills, with exceptional attention to detail; as well as flexibility, professional confidence and a positive disposition.

• Mastery of G Suite (Slides, Sheets, Docs), Microsoft Office, Airtable, and all relevant internal and client tools.

• Direct people‑management experience, including leading and developing producers and coordinators.

• Breadth across multiple event formats beyond conferences e.g., activations, incentives, exhibits, and consumer/PR experiences — consistent with a generalist role.

• Experience managing vendors, freelance crews, and production partners across markets.

Travel Requirements

Travel 25% to 50%

What We Offer

The Freeman Company provides benefits that aim to empower our people and their families to thrive mentally, physically, and financially. These are a handful of the types of programs and benefits our full‑time people may be eligible for. There may be some variances in specific benefits across regions.

• Medical, Dental, Vision Insurance

• Tuition Reimbursement

• Paid Parental Leave

• Life, Accident and Disability

• Retirement with Company Match

• Paid Time Off

• Salary range of $100,000- $150,000 based upon experience

• Eligible for an annual bonus of up to 15% of the base salary

Diversity Commitment

At The Freeman Company, our commitment to diversity and inclusion is helping us to create not only a great place to work, but also an environment where our employees, our customers and our communities around the world can reach their goals and connect with each other. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status and other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.