Associate Director, Creative Journey & Branding, Global Conferences

This is a senior leadership role within the Global Creative Journey and Branding team, it is responsible for driving strategic partnerships, business unit initiatives, and cross-functional collaboration across Gartner’s conference portfolio. You will partner with internal stakeholders, Conference Center of Excellence teams, and external vendors to deliver exceptional client experiences while leading strategic planning, vendor management, financial stewardship, operational excellence, and organizational growth initiatives. You'll serve as a key member of the Member Experience and Business Unit leadership team, helping shape long-term strategy and drive business performance across the organization.

What you will do:

• Serve as a senior member of the Global Creative Journey and Branding (CJB) team, providing strategic leadership and guidance across key business initiatives and partnerships.
• Develop and maintain strategic partnerships with internal stakeholders and external vendors to support the success of Gartner’s destination conference portfolio.
• Partner with conference business leaders on future planning, portfolio strategy, cross-functional collaboration, and execution of strategic initiatives.
• Act as a core member of the Member Experience & Business Unit (MEBU) leadership team, representing CJB priorities and driving alignment across business objectives.
• Collaborate with Conference Center of Excellence teams to design and deliver exceptional, white-glove onsite experiences for clients, prospects, and conference attendees.
• Lead strategic vendor management initiatives, including relationship management, contract negotiations, performance optimization, and long-term partnership planning.
• Partner with regional portfolio leaders to develop and execute future planning strategies for large-scale vendors and service providers.
• Drive strategic projects and operational initiatives focused on financial management, budgeting, forecasting, and long-term business planning.
• Support organizational growth through workforce planning, staffing strategies, and resource allocation recommendations.
• Identify and implement process improvements to enhance operational efficiency, scalability, and overall business performance.
• Provide leadership and influence across cross-functional teams to ensure successful execution of enterprise-wide initiatives and business priorities.
• Establish and maintain governance, best practices, and operational frameworks that support consistent delivery and continuous improvement across the Creative Journey and Branding organization.

What you will need:

• Bachelor’s Degree
• 8-10+ Years Event Management, Creative Development, Branding and Operations.
• Proven creative and operational management responsibility & management of teams.
• Proven event operational and project management skills.
• Proven experience in managing agency and vendor partners.
• Proven people management experience.
• Effective people management skills and leadership.
• Experience in creation of event spaces/environments/floor plans.
• Proven and exceptional project management skills, effective management of time and prioritization.
• Strong interpersonal and relationship building skills especially with senior level professionals, cross-functionally and with agency partners.
• 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.
• Creative, innovative, and strategic thinker with a strong attention to detail.
• Strong financial management skills.
• Client focused, solution oriented, and collaborative.
• High sense of urgency, decisiveness, attention to detail and confidentiality.
• Fully competent in Microsoft office and Google Suite, especially PowerPoint, Excel and similar in G-Suite.
• Strong Oral & Written Communication Skills
• Willingness to travel approximately 30% of time

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 w