Global Events Ops Lead for 1,000+ Attendee Conferences

The Fountain Group; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 44,000 - 47,000; Full time

Job summary

The Fountain Group is hiring a Senior Global Events Operations Lead to plan, coordinate, and execute large-scale corporate conferences and global events in a hybrid Chicago environment. Collaborate with the Head of Global Event Strategy and the COE to deliver high-impact experiences for 1,000+ attendees.

The ideal candidate will be highly organized, hands-on, and capable of managing budgets, sponsorships, contracts, and cross-functional teamwork from planning through post-event activities.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of experience managing large-scale corporate conferences with 1,000+ attendees.
• Experience planning and executing complex corporate events from start to finish.
• Strong background in event operations, logistics, venue sourcing, and vendor management.
• Experience negotiating contracts and managing MSAs.
• Proven experience managing large event budgets while maintaining quality and controlling costs.
• Experience working with event production teams and managing event registration platforms.
• Knowledge of corporate sponsorship management, including sponsor coordination and contract administration.
• Strong project management, organizational, and multitasking skills with the ability to manage competing priorities.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with confidence interacting with senior leadership and cross-functional teams.
• Ability to collaborate across departments, cultures, and global teams.
• Proactive, adaptable, hands-on, and able to learn new processes quickly.
• Strong understanding of current corporate event trends and attendee engagement strategies.
• Ability to work onsite in Chicago at least 3 days per week and travel ~25%.

Responsibilities

• Execute established global event strategies by developing actionable timelines, tracking milestones, and coordinating event deliverables.
• Support the end-to-end planning and execution of large-scale corporate conferences and events with 1,000+ attendees.
• Manage day-to-day event operations, coordinating logistics, vendors, registration, production, and onsite activities.
• Represent the Global Events team in planning meetings, communicating updates to stakeholders and senior leadership.
• Take operational ownership of assigned corporate events, including venue sourcing, registration platforms, production coordination, and post-event follow-up.
• Oversee sponsorship operations, including sponsor coordination, contract management, and related event deliverables.
• Partner with internal stakeholders to develop engaging event content aligned with corporate messaging and business objectives.
• Manage large-scale event budgets, track expenses, identify cost-saving opportunities, and maintain attendee experiences.
• Coordinate procurement activities, MSAs, vendor contracts, and venue negotiations.
• Collaborate with production teams, external vendors, and internal departments to ensure seamless event execution.
• Support onsite event operations and travel as needed for global events.
• Identify opportunities to improve event processes, operational efficiency, and attendee experience.

Skills

Project management

Event operations

Budget management

Vendor management

Sponsorship management

Contract negotiation

Communication

Cross-functional collaboration

Job description

The Fountain Group is hiring a Senior Global Events Operations Lead to plan, coordinate, and execute large-scale corporate conferences and global events in a hybrid Chicago environment. Collaborate with the Head of Global Event Strategy and the COE to deliver high-impact experiences for 1,000+ attendees.

The ideal candidate will be highly organized, hands-on, and capable of managing budgets, sponsorships, contracts, and cross-functional teamwork from planning through post-event activities.