Director of Event Planning

Overview

The Linux Foundation is hiring a Director of Events to manage the planning and execution of our B2B developer events (15+ events a year, domestic and international including 5 conferences across North America, Europe, China and Japan with 1-2k attendees each) that drive education, engagement and collaboration within the Linux, open cloud and open source communities.

This position reports to the VP of Events, who oversees both the Event Services division and Linux Foundation’s own events.

Position Description:

Manage an event team of 7 with 3 direct reports including two event managers and the sponsorship deliverables manager. Grow, coach and mentor the team. Set a high standard and best practices across the team for delivering exceptional client and event experiences.

Responsibilities

• Understand event strategy and revenue goals, and manage the event team to reach those Workwith event managers to ensure budgets are updated and accurate on an ongoing basis. Review and approve event reconciliations done by event managers before submitting to finance. Post Event analysis – review revenue/expense and attendee data; communicate results/analysis to VP of Events in a timely manner.
• Review all event contracts and provide changes/feedback to teams before final approval/signature; uplevel to legal as needed. Responsible for all web content on event websites being accurate and posted in a timely manner. Review sponsor prospectus and exhibit guides in detail; edit and provide feedback.
• Take responsibility onsite at events for ensuring that our code of conduct is adhered to and assist with the growth and management of our diversity programs within events
• Post Event analysis – review revenue/expense and attendee data; communicate results/analysis to VP of Events in a timely manner.
• Work with VP of Events and cross-functional teams for successful execution of events and to meet company, stakeholder and event goals and objectives.
• Work with Director of Event Services and VP of Events to collaborate on project participation in LF events and to collaborate on a One Team culture across both event groups, sharing best practices and processes.
• Research and attend other events in our market to find out what we can do better, where we shine, and get ideas to share with team.

Required Skills & Experience

• 8+ years event management experience with hands on experience producing industry leading, multi-faceted events with multiple touch points; minimum 3 years leading an event team.
• Strong management skills with the ability to lead in a nurturing and collaborative way. Understanding what it means to ‘manage up’ and the ability to do so effectively.
• Excellent proofreading and copywriting skills.
• Ability to think of new ways to impact our events, streamline processes and increase ROI; creative and forward thinking.
• Excellent strategic thinking and critical reasoning skills; ability to adapt to challenges and opportunities with a solution-oriented perspective.
• Highly customer service oriented with a can-do attitude and an engaging and amiable personality; no task is beneath you.
• Superior interpersonal and communication skills; politically savvy and ability to interact with a wide range of clients from C-level executives to technical programmers.
• Self-directed, amiable, and composed under pressure; able to work both independently and participate as a team player for achieving departmental and company goals.
• Ability to effectively deliver in a fast–paced environment; ability to manage tasks, time and schedule with limited supervision competently handling demanding deadlines.
• Solid computer skills. Experience with CRMs, registration systems and wordpress a plus.
• Bachelor Degree Required
• Must be comfortable working remotely (entire team works remotely).

Position requires domestic and international travel through the year (25%).

Linux Foundation Overview

The Linux Foundation is creating the greatest shared technology investment in history by enabling open source collaboration across companies, developers and users. We are the organization of choice to build ecosystems that accelerate open technology development and commercial adoption.

The Linux Foundation is a largely all-remote workforce that hires top-notch talent. We are as passionate of providing a flexible and supportive work culture as we are in open source software. Collaboration is in our DNA, and we pride ourselves on being able to work closely together while not being tied to an office. We offer outstanding benefits, including fantastic health care, unlimited PTO, 100% 401k match (up to $18,000), profit-sharing and exceptional healthcare plans.

The Linux Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer.