LaJoy Creative is hiring: Director of Events & Operations

Company Description

LaJoy Creative

POSITION: Director of Events & Operations 

REPORTS TO:  CEO, LaJoy Creative 

FLSA STATUS:     Full-time, Exempt 

SALARY RANGE: $130,000 - $160,000 (plus commission) 

LOCATION: Remote – New York or DC; Global travel required 

WEBSITE: https://www.lajoycreative.com/ 

Overview 

The Director of Events & Operations is the senior operational leader of LaJoy Creative's client delivery and internal business infrastructure, reporting directly to the Founder & CEO. This role owns the strategic and managerial layer that LaJoy Creative staff and consultants execute against day-to-day — setting production standards, managing the team, owning client and vendor relationships at the leadership level, and building the systems that let the firm scale. Beyond operations, this role is also expected to actively grow the firm's business — bringing established client and network relationships to the table and translating them into new revenue opportunities alongside the CEO. The Director translates the CEO's vision and business development wins into a functioning, well-run operation: staffing plans, budgets, quality standards, and growth-ready processes. This is a hands-on leadership role — the Director will still walk a site, sit in a client meeting, and jump into a crisis — but the primary mandate is building and running the machine, not executing every task personally. 

LaJoy Creative is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to creating a diverse and inclusive organizational culture, and does not discriminate against employees because of their disability, sex, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, age, veteran status, or any other protected status under the law. 

Job Description

Key Responsibilities 

Team & Operational Leadership 

• Directly manage the LaJoy Creative staff and contract/freelance staff; set performance expectations, coach for growth, and build bench strength as the firm scales. 

• Own the firm's overall event production standards and quality bar across all client engagements, ensuring consistency regardless of which team member is executing. 

• Design and continuously refine internal operating systems (project management, resourcing, vendor management, financial tracking) to support increasing volume and complexity of client work. 

• Lead staffing and resourcing decisions across concurrent client projects, balancing capacity, budget, and team development. 

Client & Business Leadership 

• Serve as senior client-facing leader on the firm's most strategic or highest-visibility engagements, stepping in for key relationships and high-stakes moments. 

• Partner with the CEO on business development: scoping new opportunities, shaping proposals, setting pricing/budget parameters, and representing the firm in pitch and finalist conversations. 

• Own client retention strategy — identifying expansion opportunities within existing accounts and ensuring service quality drives repeat business and referrals. 

• Represent LaJoy Creative externally at industry functions, partner convenings, and speaking opportunities as an extension of the CEO's visibility strategy. 

Business Development & Network Partnerships 

• Bring established client and network relationships directly into LaJoy Creative's business pipeline, actively converting existing personal/professional connections into new engagements for the firm. 

• Identify, cultivate, and close new business opportunities by combining strong business acumen with a working knowledge of the events, hospitality, and mission-driven/nonprofit sectors. 

• Serve as a proactive originator of leads — not solely a responder to CEO-sourced opportunities — with accountability for contributing measurably to the firm's new business pipeline. 

• Build and maintain a network of referral partners, industry contacts, and past clients that can be activated for repeat business, introductions, and co-marketing opportunities. 

• Track and report on business development activity and pipeline health as part of regular leadership reporting to the CEO. 

Financial & Administrative Oversight 

• Own event and departmental budgeting, including forecasting, margin management, and profitability review across the firm's active project portfolio. 

• Oversee vendor strategy at the portfolio level — negotiating master agreements, setting preferred-partner terms, and managing the firm's overall vendor risk and cost position.