Associate Director, Conferences Logistics

As an Associate Director, you will be responsible for leading a team of highly skilled operations professionals to flawlessly deliver a portfolio of complex, fast growing conferences which meet our financial goals. To be successful in this role you must learn and understand our corporate strategy and translate it into an operations strategy which delivers exceptional conference experiences for our customers. Your role is to guide the team’s decision making, delivering for today whilst planning for the future. 

What You Will Do:

• Lead operations strategy for regional conference portfolio in partnership with COEs.
  • Lead communication and collaboration across regional portfolio COE leaders.
  • Support conference teams to transition from the design and delivery of individual parts to intentionally crafting an end-to-end audience journey.
  • Drive consistency and innovation across the regional portfolio. 
  • Actively participate in key milestone reviews to ensure the team recommendations align with corporate strategy and meet the needs of the customer. 

• Recruit, retain and coach a team of agile, customer focused, operational experts.
  • Inspire confidence and provide clear direction.
  • Provide subject matter / functional expertise and guidance.
  • Ensure that team is leading the development of an end-to-end conference experience.
  • Drive initiatives which enhance the portfolio, deliver results against priorities and improve processes in planning and execution in partnership with strategic initiatives leader.
  • Build team infrastructure to scale and operate efficiently.

• Deliver for today while preparing for the future.
  • Develop detailed action plans to achieve growth including optimized space planning, capacity solutions, venue selection and transitions, and growth into new regions.
  • Lead strategy for conference growth solutions, direct and guide team to develop detailed plans for achieving growth and optimizing space  
  • Build strong relationships with venues and vendors, ensure that they are meeting our expectations and equipped to scale as our business grows  
  • Clearly understand and translate the needs of the audience.
  • Champion change and drive creative solutions.

• Overall responsibility for regional portfolio budgets including preparation, negotiations, accurate and timely monthly forecasts.
  • Collaborate with COE leaders to identify trends and regional impacts. 
  • Ensure team is accountable and responsible for the expenses they manage and understand the financial impact of the decisions they make 
  • Lead the team through investment process ensuring recommendations align with the overall strategy for the conference. 
  • Lead portfolio forecast reviews and participate in monthly forecast calls 
  • Understand risk and deviations to plan and make recommendations for corrective actions.  Partner with COE’s to mitigate risk.   

What You Will Need:

• Bachelor’s degree, preferred
• 10+ years Event Management experience
• Proven event operational skills including food & beverage, production schedules, budget management and event staffing
• Project management experience on detailed programs with multiple variables and dependencies
• Proven experience in managing agency and vendor partners
• Proven people management experience
• Strong interpersonal and relationship building skills especially with senior level professionals, cross-functionally and with agency partners
• Creative, innovative and strategic thinker with a strong attention to detail
• Strong financial management skills
• Motivated team player with desire to learn and grow.
• Excellent written/oral communication and presentations skills
• Demonstrated ability to adapt, implement and manage change and strive for continuous improvement.
• Ability to thrive in high pressure situations
• Confident decision maker 
• Ability to travel up to 20%, domestically & internationally

Who are we?

At Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT), we guide the leaders who shape the world.

Our mission relies on expert analysis and bold ideas to deliver actionable, objective business and technology insights, helping enterprise leaders and their teams succeed with their mission-critical priorities.

Since our founding in 1979, we’ve grown to 20,000 associates globally who support over 13,000 client enterprises in ~90 countries and territories. We do important, interesting and substantive work that matters. That’s why we hire associates with the intellectual curiosity, energy and drive to want to make a difference. The bar is unapologetically high. So is the impact you can have here.

What makes Gartner a great place to work?

Our vast, virtually untapped market potential offers limitless opportunities – opportunities that may not even exist right now – for you to grow professionally and flourish personally. How far you go is driven by your passion and performance.

We hire remarkable people who collaborate and win as a team. Together, our singular, unifying goal is to deliver results for our clients.

Our teams are inclusive and composed of individuals from different geographies, cultures, religions, ethnicities, races, genders, sexual orientations, abilities and generations.

We invest in great leaders who bring out the best in you and the company, enabling us to multiply our impact and results. This is why, year after year, we are recognized worldwide as a great place to work.

Gartner is the world authority on AI

At Gartner, you’ll join a company at the very center of the AI revolution. Gartner has proactive, objective guidance throughout clients’ AI journeys. We set the standard for how organizations leverage artificial intelligence to drive meaningful impact. You’ll have access to unmatched resources, expertise, and technology, and play a key role in helping Gartner and our clients innovate and grow as we leverage AI to transform business and technology landscapes.

It’s an exciting time to be at Gartner, with limitless opportunities to make a real impact, grow your skills, and build a lasting, meaningful career in a field that’s reshaping the way we operate. If you’re passionate about AI and want to be part of a team that’s guiding the leaders who shape the world, Gartner is the place for you.

What do we offer?

Gartner offers world-class benefits, highly competitive compensation and disproportionate rewards for top performers.

In our hybrid work environment, we provide the flexibility and support for you to thrive — working virtually when it's productive to do so and getting together with colleagues in a vibrant community that is purposeful, engaging and inspiring.

Ready to grow your career with Gartner? Join us.

Gartner believes in fair and equitable pay. A reasonable estimate of the base salary range for this role is 93,000 USD - 140,000 USD. Please note that actual salaries may vary within the range, or be above or below the range, based on factors including, but not limited to, education, training, experience, professional achievement, business need, and location. In addition to base salary, employees will participate in either an annual bonus plan based on company and individual performance, or a role-based, uncapped sales incentive plan. Our talent acquisition team will provide the specific opportunity on our bonus or incentive programs to eligible candidates. We also offer market leading benefit programs including generous PTO, a 401k match up to $7,200 per year, the opportunity to purchase company stock at a discount, and more.

The policy of Gartner is to provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, citizenship status, age, national origin, ancestry, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected status and to seek to advance the principles of equal employment opportunity.

Gartner is committed to being an Equal Opportunity Employer and offers opportunities to all job seekers, including job seekers with disabilities. If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran, you may request a reasonable accommodation if you are unable or limited in your ability to use or access the Company’s career webpage as a result of your disability. You may request reasonable accommodations by calling Human Resources at +1 (203) 964-0096 or by sending an email to ApplicantAccommodations@gartner.com.

Job Requisition ID:111768

By submitting your information and application, you confirm that you have read and agree to the country or regional recruitment notice linked below applicable to your place of residence.

Gartner Applicant Privacy Link: https://jobs.gartner.com/applicant-privacy-policy

For efficient navigation through the application, please only use the back button within the application, not the back arrow within your browser.