Senior Manager, Events and Experiences

About the Position

As Senior Manager of Events and Experiences, you lead delivery across a broad portfolio of client and internal events, from executive convenings and multi-day conferences to large-scale activations and community programs. You are the primary delivery lead on each engagement and the direct team leader for the Managers and Coordinators supporting the work.

Senior Managers operate with substantial autonomy on the delivery side. You receive an established scope from the Director and are responsible for everything that follows, including the project plan, the budget, the vendor ecosystem, the team's output, and the quality of the final product. You are trusted to make sound decisions, lead with confidence, and escalate when client relationships, scope, or budget are at risk. While the Director is responsible for the overarching client relationships, you lead daily client communication and build credibility through consistent delivery.

Day to day, you turn scope into clear working plans, manage vendors and partners, direct your team across concurrent engagements, track project health, and keep the Director informed of status and risk. You are engaged across the full event lifecycle, from planning through post-event debrief, with the greatest time investment in production and on-site delivery.

You report to the Director. Managers and Coordinators assigned to your engagements report to you for day-to-day project delivery, while continuing to report to their administrative supervisor for performance management, approvals, and other administrative matters.

Your success is measured by the consistency of your delivery, the strength of your project relationships, and the growth of the team you lead and develop over time.

This role requires physical presence at events. Hours vary by program and include early load-ins, late breakdowns, and full event days. Travel is expected based on the geographic scope of assigned engagements.

Requirements

What You'll Be Responsible For: 

Strategic Planning

• Uphold the quality standards defined by the practice, ensuring all engagements are executed consistently and meet expectations for excellence across planning, production, and delivery.

• Support day-to-day management of client relationships for assigned engagements, maintaining consistent communication, delivering against expectations, and escalating key moments to the Director.

• Support new business efforts and client growth initiatives as needed, contributing delivery perspective, event planning insight, and executional input.

• Collaborate with Directors to operationalize project frameworks, ensuring objectives, success criteria, and delivery expectations are clearly translated into execution plans

• Translate the approved scope into a working project plan, budget tracker, and master timeline, and own all three from kickoff through debrief. 

• Lead internal kickoff meetings and delivery work sessions, and support client kickoff and milestone meetings by translating direction into an executable plan.

• Assign project work, monitor team workload, and ensure all engagements follow established processes and standards

• Assign project related work to the identified Athena project team with a clear scope, deadlines, and context, and confirm understanding before moving on.

• Monitor team workload across your assigned engagements and redistribute tasks when capacity is uneven or a deadline is at risk.

• Ensure all assigned engagements follow established internal processes, templates, and documentation standards, and address gaps when they arise.

• Track project health using hours logged, deliverable progress, and budget burn, and bring a current picture of engagement status to the Director proactively.

• Flag risks, budget variances, and scope changes before they escalate.

Project Management & Event Delivery

• Translate established event strategy into operational and programmatic decisions that support client goals and intended audience outcomes. 

• Oversee client-facing meetings and lead day-to-day working sessions, ensuring plans, updates, and next steps are clearly communicated and aligned to established direction.

• Manage executional decisions across format, vendors, and program elements within defined parameters, escalating key decisions or tradeoffs to appropriate Director.

• Design and manage the attendee journey, accounting for every touchpoint including pre-event communications, arrival, wayfinding, programming flow, hospitality, and departure.

• Collaborate closely with Creative partners to ensure visual concept and execution come together as a coherent attendee experience across the full event lifecycle.

• Develop and oversee the run-of-show and supporting event flow documents in collaboration with the Director, client, and internal contributors. 

• Develop and oversee the guest list, registration process, and attendee communications for assigned events, ensuring accuracy and a consistent experience from invitation through arrival.

• Develop and oversee the hospitality plan for each event, including food and beverage programming, VIP handling, green room logistics, and concierge-level support for executive guests.

• Develop and oversee the gifting program where applicable, covering concept development, vendor sourcing, product curation, packaging, fulfillment, and delivery.

• Manage vendor relationships through the full program cycle, holding partners to agreed deliverables and resolving performance issues directly.

• Oversee all event logistics including transportation, catering, AV, production, signage, and materials.

• Produce and maintain core delivery documents including briefs, event overviews, run-of-show, status reports, and post-event recaps.

• Review key plans, trackers, and delivery documents for accuracy, completeness, and readiness before they move forward internally or externally.

• Lead on-site execution, managing the team, run-of-show, and real-time decision-making while aligning with the Director at key moments requiring senior visibility.

• Provide real-time guidance to the team on event day, ensuring everyone knows their role, their area, and who to escalate to.

• Conduct structured debrief after every engagement, documenting findings and applying them to the next program.

• Maintain organized records for every engagement, including contracts, invoices, contact sheets, timelines, and final reports.

• Capture lessons learned from delivery and apply them to future planning, tools, and team practices.

Financial Management 

• Maintain accurate budget tracking, time reporting, and expense documentation across engagements, ensuring adherence to established financial processes

• Identify efficiency opportunities within engagements and share observations with the Director to support cost and performance improvements

• Support pricing and scoping efforts as needed by providing input on execution approach, timing, and resource requirements

• Reinforce team adherence to time tracking expectations, ensuring entries are accurate, complete, and aligned to project work

• Ensure internal budget documents and expense logs are kept current and accurate across all engagements

• Coordinate with Finance as needed to ensure invoices reflect delivered work and align with project documentation

• Track vendor costs, contracts, and payments, ensuring all expenses are documented and aligned to approved budgets

Team Leadership & Development

• Embody Athena’s values in day-to-day leadership, reinforcing team expectations through actions, communication, and execution standards

• Represent the Events & Experiences team in client engagements and internal settings, contributing to a professional and consistent team presence

• Work alongside project teams on active engagements, providing hands-on guidance and support to ensure strong execution and continued skill development

• Collaborate with Directors and peers on team operations, capacity, and project needs as they relate to assigned engagements

• Serve as a resource within your area of expertise, supporting team members on active engagements as needed

• Support the development of Managers and Coordinators by providing coaching, feedback, and opportunities for growth within project work

• Hold regular one-on-ones with direct reports, providing ongoing feedback and guidance aligned to day-to-day performance and development

• Assign responsibilities that build team capability and support progression toward greater ownership of project delivery

• Identify performance challenges early and address them with clear, direct feedback and expectations for improvement

Qualifications:

• At least 6–8 years of experience in event management, experiential marketing, or a related field 

• Demonstrated ability to lead complex, multi-stakeholder projects with precision and confidence

• Experience leading the full event lifecycle across a range of formats, scales, and client types 

• Comfort working in fast-paced, deadline driven environments with multiple active engagements at different stages simultaneously

• Confidence in client facing settings

• Skilled in developing practical marketing and event strategies

• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail

• Strong written and verbal communication skills

• Proven ability to manage and develop team members 

• Eagerness to learn and a proactive, solutions-oriented mindset

• Team-oriented with a positive, can-do attitude

• Advanced proficiency in Excel, PowerPoint, and project management tools.

It’s a plus if you have:

• Bachelor's degree from a four-year college or university   

• Experience using time tracking and expense management software   

• Proficient knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite and SharePoint    

• Proficient knowledge of Airtable   

• Significant experience with event registration and management platforms such as SplashThat and Cvent  

Benefits 

• Medical/Dental benefits including 1K Health Reimbursement Account 

• Matching 401K

• Generous PTO policy

• Substantial Parental Leave Policy

• Hybrid Work Environment 

Athena is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regards to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other basis prohibited by law. If you are an individual with a disability and need assistance in applying for a position, please contact us at 866.299.6040 or at AthenaGlobalAdvisors.com.