Senior Manager, Conferences Exhibit Operations

We are seeking a passionate, collaborative, and effective leader with experience in conferences, events or trade shows to join the Exhibit Operations team. This leader will direct a team of associates to deliver exhibits and sponsorships across Gartner’s B2B conference portfolio, with a focus on strategic direction, people leadership and successful conference delivery across NA/LATAM portfolios. The role is responsible for leading key projects, managing inventory/capacity for current and future years, and fostering cross-functional partnerships to ensure operational excellence and impactful client experiences. Key performance measures for the role include exhibit and sponsorship retention, revenue growth and associate retention and satisfaction.

What You Will Do:

• Exhibit/Sponsorship product delivery & inventory management
• Develop strategies for engagement between conference attendees and exhibitors
• Collaborate on strategic projects and identify key initiatives with leadership
• Enhance financial forecasting for scalability and profit margin growth
• Establish positive relationships with internal and external partners
• Oversee all aspects of sponsorship delivery and conference planning for Gartner’s destination Senior Leaders portfolio of 11+ conferences in NA and LATAM, including project management of operational strategy, new venue launches and co-located events.
• Lead and inspire a rapidly expanding and diverse team focusing on ongoing development through continuous feedback, coaching and training.
• Liaise and collaborate with key partners and team members (both internal and external) to ensure successful execution; build and maintain good relationships by establishing trust.
• Develop and execute attendee-to-exhibitor engagement strategies, establish KPIs and analyze data to evaluate performance and mitigate delivery risks.
• Effectively lead supplier management and contract negotiations, collaborating with vendors, agencies and internal teams to support conference delivery and reduce expenses to improve margins.
• Consistently innovate conference delivery processes and procedures to create efficiencies and improve output.
• Manage product inventory and projection modeling for various exhibit and sponsorship products. Create and maintain product strategies to drive maximum revenue.
• Develop and present risk assessments for various components of exhibitor products based on shifts in market demand or capacity.
• Partner with Exhibit Operations leadership team on projects by providing feedback and maximize output to scale the business.
• Analyze data to develop metrics-driven exhibitor retention and attendee engagement strategy to determine best course of action on various conference elements. 
• Attend conferences as the onsite lead for in-person delivery including managing the production schedule, conference staff and liaising with agency partners and vendors.
• Develop a comprehensive understanding of Gartner’s business including the value proposition for attendees and exhibitors.
• Become an expert on Gartner’s exhibitor products, pricing strategy and conference financials.
• Achieve operational excellence and execute conferences on time, within budget and with great attention to detail.
• Become a respected leader and mentor across Gartner and build a strong personal brand reputation.

What You Will Need:

• Bachelor’s Degree preferred
• 8+ Years Experiential Marketing, Event Management, Event Marketing and/or Tradeshow Management
• Track record of creating or fulfilling revenue driving sponsorship products in complex live-event environments
• Project management experience on detailed programs with multiple variables and dependencies
• Proven ability to improve business processes resulting in increased efficiency and productivity
• Proven management of teams and talent development
• Effective people management and leadership skills with a passion for a collaborative work environment
• Strong interpersonal and relationship building skills with senior professionals, agency partners, vendors and internal teams
• Creative, innovative and strategic thinker with a strong attention to detail
• Demonstrated ability to adapt, implement, manage change and strive for continuous improvement
• Strong oral & written communication skills with experience motivating or persuading
• Excel in finance and budget management
• Motivated team player with desire to learn and grow
• Ability to thrive in high pressure situations and meet deadlines

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Who are we?

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