Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. SAPinsider is seeking an experienced Director, Event Operations to provide hands-on operational leadership across its conference, executive event, community-event, sponsor, and exhibitor portfolio. The role will lead event planning and delivery, financial and expense management, sourcing, venue and hospitality operations, production, exhibition coordination, logistics, and third-party partner management.
Responsibilities
- Lead the operational planning and delivery of assigned SAPinsider events, from initial planning through on-site execution, post-event reconciliation, and lessons learned
- Build and maintain integrated event plans, workback schedules, operational checklists, readiness reviews, run-of-show documents, staffing plans, escalation paths, and on-site command structures
- Coordinate closely with Content, Speaker Management, Sponsorship, Audience Acquisition, Marketing, Finance, and executive stakeholders to turn event requirements into actionable operating plans
- Identify delivery risks early, recommend solutions and tradeoffs, and maintain clear communication with leadership on decisions, dependencies, budget implications, and event-readiness status
- Lead post-event debriefs and document recommendations that improve future event execution, supplier performance, cost management, and attendee experience
- Manage detailed operational budgets for assigned events, with accountability for forecasting, spend tracking, purchase-order coordination, invoice review, accruals, reconciliation, and budget-to-actual reporting
- Maintain detailed cost management across venue, hotel, food and beverage, production, AV, staging, scenic, labor, exhibit services, freight, technology, registration, staffing, security, travel, signage, furniture, and contingency
- Identify savings opportunities and ensure scope, service levels, and operational decisions remain aligned to approved budgets and commercial objectives
- Partner with SAPinsider Finance and internal budget owners to ensure vendor commitments, approvals, payments, cost allocations, and supporting documentation follow required controls
- Produce concise financial updates that flag risks, forecast changes, cost-saving opportunities, and decisions needed to protect event economics
- Lead or support sourcing activities for event vendors and services, including RFPs, RFQs, bid comparisons, scope development, commercial evaluation, and supplier recommendations
- Manage third-party event partners, including venues, hotels, event agencies, production and AV providers, general service contractors, exhibit partners, registration and housing providers, staffing agencies, transportation, security, freight, and event-technology vendors
- Review supplier scopes, schedules, deliverables, cost assumptions, and service levels to ensure alignment with SAPinsider’s event requirements
- Support commercial negotiations covering pricing, payment schedules, cancellation and attrition exposure, service charges, scope changes, insurance, force majeure, and operational obligations
- Maintain partner accountability through regular status reviews, issue logs, documented action plans, and post-event performance assessments
- Lead venue and hotel coordination for assigned events, including meeting-space requirements, room-block needs, expo and session layouts, loading access, power, internet, labor, venue services, security, and accessibility
- Manage venue-readiness reviews, site visits, floor-plan coordination, operational schedules, and on-site relationships with convention center, hotel, and catering teams
- Oversee food-and-beverage planning, menus, meal functions, dietary accommodations, receptions, executive hospitality, service flow, staffing, F&B minimums, consumption forecasting, and cost controls
- Ensure hospitality and F&B plans deliver an appropriate attendee experience while managing per-person cost, contractual commitments, waste reduction, and operational timing
- Coordinate production delivery across general sessions, breakouts, keynote environments, AV, lighting, staging, scenic, broadcast, rehearsals, show calling, power, connectivity, and technical contingency planning
- Partner with SAPinsider content, creative, speaker, and digital teams to ensure production requirements, speaker logistics, presentation playback, rehearsals, and show flow are coordinated and event-ready
- Lead exhibition and exhibitor operations, including floor plans, booth allocation, exhibitor communications, service manuals, service ordering, freight, utilities, labor, move-in/move-out, and exhibitor support
- Partner with Sponsorship and Account Management teams to operationalize sponsor benefits, activations, and exhibitor commitments, ensuring timely, accurate fulfillment and escalation of delivery risks
- Coordinate registration, attendee flow, signage, wayfinding, staffing, transportation, security, emergency procedures, accessibility, and other on-site services
Skills
- 10+ years of event operations, conference management, live-event production, hospitality operations, or experiential marketing experience, including responsibility for complex, multi-day events
- Demonstrated ability to manage event budgets, detailed expenses, vendor commitments, forecasts, reconciliations, and cost-saving initiatives
- Strong practical knowledge of event sourcing, third-party supplier management, venue and hotel operations, F&B, production, exhibition services, logistics, and on-site delivery
- Experience working with B2B conferences, enterprise technology events, associations, membership organizations, or comparable high-touch event environments
- Proven ability to work independently, prioritize competing workstreams, manage ambiguity, and deliver in deadline-driven, live-event environments
- Strong written communication, stakeholder management, negotiation, project-management, and problem-solving skills
- Availability for necessary travel and extended hours during site visits, move-in, show days, and move-out
Company Overview