Sr. Director of Events & Experiential

smartlyio; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 300,000 - 420,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Five weeks PTO

Healthcare packages

401K matching & equity

Wellness reimbursement

Volunteer time off

Job summary

Smartly is seeking a Senior Director of Events & Experiential to shape and scale a global event strategy that drives growth and strengthens brand. You will lead a global team across New York and London to design tier-1 summits, CABs, and regional executive activations, while overseeing employer brand experiences and workplace events.

You will own the commercial event engine, partner with RevOps and MOPs for pipeline reporting, and ensure cross-functional alignment with product, sales, and

Qualifications

• 8-12+ years of progressive B2B SaaS event marketing leadership.
• Experience managing multi-million-dollar global event budgets.
• Governing tier-1 experiential agency partners.
• CRM/Marketo data flows and pipeline attribution experience.

Responsibilities

• Own global commercial event strategy to expand event-influenced sales pipeline.
• Direct external agencies for experiential ideation and event production.
• Lead Customer Advisory Board governance and cross-functional programs.
• Manage multi-million dollar annual event budgets and vendor negotiations.

Job description

Smartly is seeking a strategic, commercially-minded Senior Director of Events & Experiential to lead our global event strategy and experiential marketing engine. Moving beyond traditional event coordination, this role is a core commercial growth driver and brand steward.

Reporting directly to marketing executive leadership, the Senior Director will lead a global team across New York and London to design, execute, and scale tier-1 industry summits, Customer Advisory Boards (CAB), and regional executive activations. The Director of Events & Experiential will also be responsible for overseeing Employer Brand Experiences and Workplace Events.

What You Will Do

Commercial Growth & Pipeline Acceleration

• Drive Event-Influenced Revenue: Own global commercial event strategy to expand event-influenced sales pipeline.
• GTM Anchor Campaigns: Position flagship event activations (e.g., Cannes Lions, regional executive forums) as primary forcing functions that compel product, sales, and marketing teams to rally around unified market narratives and GTM launches
• Pipeline Attribution & Sales Enablement: Partner closely with Marketing Operations (MOPs) and Revenue Operations (RevOps) to leverage automated 4-, 8-, and 12-week post-event pipeline reporting
• Equip Sales and Customer Success teams with actionable post-event attendee insights via follow-up assets from PMM & Enablement

Brand Reputation, Experiential Strategy & Agency Governance

• Experiential Storytelling & Tier-1 Summits: Conceptualize and direct high-visibility experiential activations that solidify Smartly's market leadership, thought leadership, and employer brand advocacy
• Agency Ideation & Vendor Management: Direct external creative agencies for experiential ideation and event production, maintaining internal team focus strictly on operational governance, fiscal management, and execution SLAs
• Executive & Analyst Integration: Align high-touch executive programs with PR, corporate communications, and industry analyst touchpoints (targeting an increase in 3rd-party market validations)

Retaining & Growing Existing Business

• Customer Retention Target: Structure customer-facing event tracks, certification workshops, and executive immersions to retain and grow existing business
• Customer Advisory Board (CAB) Leadership: Lead the strategic agenda, content curation, and operational execution for the global Customer Advisory Board to deepen executive client partnerships
• Product Adoption & CS Alignment: Collaborate with Customer Success to embed product education, alpha/beta invitations, and customer case study opportunities directly into event programming

Scope Control & Process Governance

• Fiscal & Budget Discipline: Direct multi-million dollar annual event operating budgets, daily invoice tracking, and vendor negotiations to ensure agile capital allocation
• Lead Window Enforcement: Require cross-functional partners (Partnerships, Product Marketing) to adhere to strict 12-week lead times and standardized briefs for joint co-marketing activations

We're looking for someone who…

• Experience: Has 8-12+ years of progressive B2B SaaS event marketing leadership, with a proven track record of managing multi-million-dollar global event budgets and driving quantifiable sales pipeline (SALs, SQLs).
• Team Leadership: Experience managing direct reports across international hubs (specifically US and EMEA) and governing tier-1 experiential agency partners
• Commercial Acumen: Strong fluency in CRM/Marketo data flows, pipeline attribution models, and sales enablement workflows (partnering directly with RevOps)
• Process Governance: Demonstrated ability to enforce planning lead times, brief hygiene, and cross-functional SLA boundaries under fast-paced conditions

What We Offer You…

• Five weeks paid time off (PTO), 11 company paid holidays, unlimited sick days
• Generous healthcare packages & mental health benefits
• 401K plus matching & equity grants for all new Smartlies
• Wellness benefit & learning reimbursement opportunities
• Volunteer time off days & company donation matching opportunities
• And so much more…

About Smartly

Smartly is the AI-powered advertising technology company transforming ad experiences for brands and their consumers. Our comprehensive advertising platform seamlessly integrates the capabilities of media, creative, and intelligence to power more than 800 billion impressions and generate more than 300 billion creatives annually, delivering tangible business outcomes for brands and advertisers.

Smartly is the only company in the industry recognized as a Leader in The Forrester Wave: Creative Advertising Technologies with PwC validating the results it delivers for brands. We manage creative and media for 700+ brands worldwide and $6B in ad spend across the largest media platforms, including Facebook, Google, Instagram, Pinterest, Snap, and TikTok. Our end-to-end technology, unmatched access to media platforms and exceptional customer service help Fortu