Senior Program Lead, Education & Specialty Conferences

American Heart Association; Fayetteville (AR); On-site; USD 90,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision

Retirement plan with employer match

Tuition assistance

Paid time off

Employee wellness program

Job summary

The American Heart Association is seeking a Senior Program Lead, Professional Education, Specialty Conferences to provide strategic leadership for a portfolio of scientific conferences and educational programs, including EPI/Lifestyle, BCVS, VasD, HTN, and ReSS.

This role leads a team and collaborates with volunteers, scientific committees, and external partners to deliver high-quality meetings that advance our mission and meet financial goals.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• 5 years of relevant experience
• Demonstrated experience managing scientific conferences, association meetings, or professional education programs.
• Experience supervising professional staff and leading high-performing teams.
• Experience developing and managing budgets and financial performance.
• Strong project management skills with the ability to oversee multiple complex initiatives simultaneously.
• Experience working effectively with volunteers, committees, and multiple stakeholder groups.
• Excellent communication, relationship management, and problem-solving skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for a portfolio of specialty scientific conferences and educational programs.
• Develop and implement growth strategies to increase attendance, revenue, engagement, and market relevance.
• Establish long-term portfolio plans that align with organizational goals and emerging trends in cardiovascular science and professional education.
• Identify opportunities for innovation, new meeting formats, and enhanced attendee experiences.
• Lead efforts to achieve annual attendance, revenue, and net revenue goals.
• Monitor conference performance metrics and implement improvement strategies as needed.
• Identify and cultivate strategic partnerships that expand conference reach, value, and impact.
• Collaborate with professional societies, academic institutions, and other external organizations to strengthen meeting programs and advance business objectives.
• Support initiatives that increase global engagement and broaden participation across scientific communities.
• Serve as a staff partner to volunteer leadership, scientific committees, and planning groups.
• Facilitate effective volunteer engagement and foster productive relationships with key stakeholders.
• Guide volunteers through strategic planning, program development, and decision-making processes.
• Ensure volunteer contributions align with conference objectives and organizational priorities.
• Directly supervise program management staff members.
• Provide coaching, mentorship, performance management, and professional development opportunities.
• Foster a collaborative, high-performing team culture focused on accountability and continuous improvement.
• Establish priorities and allocate resources to ensure successful execution of conference objectives.
• Develop and manage conference budgets and financial forecasts.
• Monitor expenses, revenue, and overall conference profitability.
• Collaborate with finance, sponsorship, and meeting operations teams to maximize financial performance.
• Identify opportunities to improve operational efficiency while maintaining program quality.
• Oversee the planning, execution, monitoring, and evaluation of assigned conferences and educational initiatives.
• Ensure projects are completed on schedule, within budget, and according to established quality standards.
• Coordinate activities across multiple internal departments and external vendors.
• Communicate project status, risks, and outcomes to leadership and stakeholders.

Skills

Project management

Leadership

Communication

Volunteer management

Budgeting

Strategic planning

Problem solving

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience

Job description

The American Heart Association is seeking a Senior Program Lead, Professional Education, Specialty Conferences to provide strategic leadership for a portfolio of scientific conferences and educational programs, including EPI/Lifestyle, BCVS, VasD, HTN, and ReSS.

This role leads a team and collaborates with volunteers, scientific committees, and external partners to deliver high-quality meetings that advance our mission and meet financial goals.