Sr Manager, Meetings and Events

Intro

Are you ready to explore a world of possibilities, both at work and during your time off? Join our American Airlines family, and you’ll travel the world, grow your expertise and become the best version of you. As you embark on a new journey, you’ll tackle challenges with flexibility and grace, learning new skills and advancing your career while having the time of your life. Feel free to enrich both your personal and work life and hop on board!

Why you'll love this job

This role will use innovative and creative approaches to continue building excellent customer and team member experience at American. The ideal team member will be a person who has vast experience in leading, executing and delivering world-class in-person and virtual events, ranging in size from 20-10,000, that are aligned to the business strategy. 

Working side-by-side with key company stakeholders to lead, define, plan and execute on enterprise events, customer meetings, recognition programs and conferences. You’ll lead the team to ensure all company-wide standards for brand, production quality, creativity, teamwork, and budget management are met.

What you'll do

As noted above, this list is intended to reflect the current job but there may be additional essential functions (and certainly non-essential job functions) that are not referenced.  Management will modify the job or require other tasks be performed whenever it is deemed appropriate to do so, observing, of course, any legal obligations including any collective bargaining obligations.

•    Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing team of event professionals, fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement. 
•    Define and drive the strategic vision for large-scale events, overseeing all components including program design, creative direction, registration, audiovisual production, food & beverage, accommodations, and transportation logistics. 
•    Oversee and optimize vendor strategy and partnerships across venues, hotels, agencies, and technology providers, including sourcing, negotiations, and performance management. 
•    Provide executive oversight of complex event operations, including production build-outs, staffing models, speaker and executive engagement, and onsite execution. 
•    Establish and enforce standards for sustainability, safety, security, and compliance, including emergency protocols and permitting requirements. 
•    Partner with senior stakeholders to define event objectives and success metrics; act as a strategic advisor and key decision-maker to ensure alignment and program success. 
•    Drive innovation and process improvement across event planning and execution, enhancing both operational efficiency and participant experience. 
•    Own and manage multimillion-dollar event budgets with strong financial discipline, including forecasting, cost control, and delivering programs under budget. 
•    Lead multiple concurrent programs in a fast-paced, global environment, balancing strategic priorities with operational execution while maintaining a high standard of quality. 
•    Leverage data, feedback, and post-event evaluations to assess effectiveness, improve future programs, and consistently deliver high attendee satisfaction and engagement. 
•    Build strong relationships across all levels of the organization, influencing stakeholders and ensuring seamless cross-functional collaboration.

All you'll need for success

Minimum Qualifications- Education & Prior Job Experience

•    Bachelor’s degree in relevant field or equivalent experience/training
•    7+ years of experience in corporate meetings, conferences and/or strategic event planning
•    Must be able to travel (+30%) and work extended hours as necessary, including evenings and weekends
•    2+ years of leadership experience with direct or indirect reports

Preferred Qualifications- Education & Prior Job Experience

•    3 years of experience in the airline or travel industry
•    Proven track record creating, managing, and executing business events, including demonstrated ROIs/KPIs
•    Well versed in event strategy and trends for in-person, virtual, and hybrid meetings and events.

Skills, Licenses & Certifications

•    MPI certification 
•    Excellent leadership and teamwork skills
•    Expertise with Cvent and other event software
•    Excellent written and verbal communication, project management and presentation skills. Skills that enable you to earn trust and engage effectively with the senior leaders
•    Able to work collaboratively