Events, Education, and Partnerships Manager- GameTime

About GameTime

GameTime is a leader in creating outdoor recreation spaces that bring people together through play, movement and connection. Our work supports parks, schools, communities and organizations across the country with innovative playgrounds, outdoor fitness spaces, site amenities and recreation solutions. We believe play is essential to healthy communities, and we are looking for people who share that belief and want to help us create meaningful experiences for the people we serve.

Position Summary

The Events, Education, and Partnerships Manager is responsible for planning, managing and advancing GameTime’s national and regional trade shows, educational conferences, customer trainings, sales enablement presentations and strategic industry partnerships. This role will work as part of a cross-functional team that works collaboratively with marketing, sales, education, product, customer engagement and external relationship-building, helping ensure every event, training, presentation and partnership reflects the quality, purpose and mission of the GameTime brand.

This is a highly collaborative, detail-driven role for someone who loves execution as much as ideas. The ideal candidate is organized, creative, proactive and passionate about creating experiences that people remember long after the event is over. They believe in the power of play and recreation to build healthier, more connected communities, and they bring that belief into every booth, presentation, training, customer interaction and partner relationship they help create.

The right person is not just an event planner. They are a do-er, a problem solver, a content builder, a relationship manager and a trusted partner to sales and marketing. They bring energy, follow-through and imagination to the work, with the ability to manage details while keeping the bigger brand experience in view.

Key Responsibilities

Trade Shows, Conferences and Events

• Plan, coordinate and manage national, regional and local trade shows, conferences, customer events and sales meetings.
• Develop event strategies that align with business goals, audience needs, partner opportunities and brand positioning.
• Manage event timelines, deadlines, budgets, logistics, registration, shipping, booth requirements, staffing plans, lead capture and post-event follow-up coordination.
• Partner with internal teams to ensure sales representatives, subject matter experts and leadership are prepared with the right tools, talking points, presentations and materials.
• Coordinate booth layouts, graphics, signage, product displays, promotional items, literature and other event materials.
• Identify opportunities to improve the customer experience at events and create more engaging, memorable and mission-driven brand moments.
• Evaluate event performance and recommend improvements based on attendance, engagement, lead generation, feedback, partnership value and business impact.
• Maintain an annual events calendar and ensure the organization has clear visibility into upcoming deadlines, needs and priorities.

Education, Training and Sales Enablement

• Support the planning and execution of educational conferences, CEU sessions, customer trainings, webinars and internal learning opportunities.
• Develop, coordinate and prepare presentations for training sessions, education programs, sales meetings and customer-facing events.
• Work with subject matter experts to translate complex information into clear, compelling and useful presentation content.
• Research key data, trends, statistics, customer insights and market information to support sales enablement tools, educational content and thought leadership presentations.
• Help ensure training and education materials are accurate, visually polished, audience-focused and aligned with GameTime’s brand voice.
• Partner with sales leadership to identify gaps in sales tools, presentation resources and customer education materials.
• Support the creation and maintenance of reusable presentation templates, event materials, talking points and training resources.

Partnerships and Industry Relationships

• Help nurture, manage and strengthen GameTime’s relationships with industry associations, nonprofit organizations, advocacy groups, educational institutions and other mission-aligned partners.
• Support partnerships with organizations committed to advancing inclusive play, intergenerational recreation, outdoor fitness, community health, youth development, accessibility and meaningful public spaces.
• Coordinate partnership-related activations, events, presentations, educational opportunities, sponsorship deliverables and shared initiatives.
• Serve as a key point of coordination for partner communication, deadlines, materials and internal follow-through.
• Identify opportunities to expand the value of existing partnerships through events, content, research, education, storytelling and sales enablement.
• Help ensure partner relationships are supported with consistent communication, organized documentation and clear internal ownership.
• Work with marketing, sales and leadership to align partnership activity with broader business goals and brand priorities.
• Track partnership commitments, benefits, deliverables and outcomes to ensure GameTime is maximizing the value of each relationship.
• Support collaborative initiatives that position GameTime as a leader in inclusive, intergenerational and community-centered play and recreation.

Vendor and Partner Management

• Manage relationships with event vendors, exhibit houses, printers, promotional product suppliers, AV providers, freight companies, venues and other external partners.
• Request quotes, review proposals, manage timelines and ensure vendors deliver high-quality work on time and within budget.
• Coordinate with internal purchasing, finance and operations teams as needed to process estimates, purchase orders, invoices and contracts.
• Build strong vendor relationships that help improve quality, reduce friction and create more efficient event execution.
• Maintain organized records of vendor contacts, partner agreements, event costs, sponsorship commitments and related deliverables.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with marketing, sales, product management, customer service, education, leadership and external partners to support event, training and partnership needs.
• Serve as a central point of coordination for event-related and partnership-related communication, deadlines and deliverables.
• Anticipate needs, identify potential issues early and keep projects moving forward.
• Bring a solutions-focused mindset to challenges and help create alignment across teams.
• Contribute ideas that improve processes, elevate the brand and help GameTime show up with excellence in every market.
• Help connect internal teams to the external conversations, organizations and opportunities that support GameTime’s mission and market leadership.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, event management, hospitality, education, business, public relations or a related field.
• 5 to 7 years of experience managing events, trade shows, conferences, trainings, partnerships, sales enablement projects or similar programs.
• Demonstrated experience building or coordinating professional presentations for sales teams, training sessions, conferences or customer-facing programs.
• Experience working directly with sales teams and supporting customer-facing business development efforts.
• Experience managing vendor partnerships, external relationships, estimates, timelines, deliverables and event logistics.
• Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple deadlines, vendors, stakeholders and priorities at the same time.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to follow-through.
• Ability to translate ideas, research and business objectives into clear, useful and compelling materials.
• Proficiency with presentation software such as PowerPoint, Keynote, Canva or similar tools.
• Comfort working in a fast-paced, collaborative environment with shifting priorities.
• Ability to travel for trade shows, conferences, sales meetings, customer events and partner meetings as needed.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in the parks and recreation, education, architecture, landscape architecture, construction, playground, public sector, nonprofit, association or commercial products industries.
• Experience supporting CEU programs, professional education sessions or accredited learning events.
• Experience working with industry associations, nonprofit organizations, advocacy groups or mission-driven partners.
• Familiarity with CRM systems, lead capture tools, project management platforms and digital event platforms.
• Experience with basic data research, market research, competitive analysis or customer insight gathering.
• Strong visual sense and ability to help shape presentation flow, storytelling and audience experience.
• Experience supporting national sales teams or distributed representative networks.
• Understanding of topics related to inclusive play, intergenerational recreation, community health, outdoor fitness, accessibility or public space design.

Ideal Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate is someone who takes ownership, follows through and brings positive energy to complex work. They are comfortable managing details, but they are not limited by logistics. They understand that a trade show booth is not just a booth. It is a brand experience. A presentation is not just a deck. It is a chance to teach, inspire and move someone to action. A partnership is not just a logo exchange. It is a relationship that can help advance a shared mission.

This person is creative without being chaotic, organized without being rigid and confident enough to solve problems without waiting to be told every next step. They enjoy working with people, building relationships and making things better than they found them.

They believe in the mission of play and recreation. They understand that GameTime helps create spaces where children, families and communities connect, grow and thrive. They bring that belief into the experiences they create, the materials they help build and the partnerships they help nurture.

Key Competencies

• Event planning and execution
• Project management
• Partnership coordination
• Relationship management
• Presentation development
• Sales enablement support
• Vendor management
• Research and data gathering
• Cross-functional collaboration
• Creative problem solving
• Written and verbal communication
• Detail orientation
• Follow-through and accountability
• Brand experience thinking
• Customer-focused mindset
• Mission-driven thinking

Success in This Role Looks Like

• Trade shows and events are planned earlier, executed more smoothly and evaluated more consistently.
• Sales teams arrive prepared with the right materials, messaging and presentations.
• Educational sessions and trainings are polished, purposeful and aligned with brand strategy.
• Vendor and partner relationships are organized, proactive and productive.
• Strategic partnerships are nurtured with clear communication, consistent follow-through and stronger alignment to GameTime’s mission.
• Event experiences feel more intentional, creative and memorable.
• Internal teams have greater confidence in event planning, presentation development, partnership coordination and sales enablement support.
• GameTime shows up in every market and partnership with more consistency, energy and impact.

Physical and Travel Requirements

• Ability to travel to national and regional trade shows, conferences, customer trainings, sales meetings, partner events and company meetings as needed.
• Ability to occasionally lift, move or coordinate the movement of event materials, signage, literature and booth-related items.
• Ability to work occasional evenings or weekends when required for event setup, execution, travel or partner activities.