Senior Director, Meetings and Events

DESCRIPTION:

The Senior Director, Meetings and Events is both a visionary and a master at implementation, responsible for the planning and execution of key public facing APA Events, with a focus on event strategy, attendee experience and collaborative planning and execution, including APA's premier annual event, the APA Convention.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

Requires 10-15 years of progressively responsible positions in association meetings, conferences and events. Experience in a leadership role for significant city-wide, complex events is strongly preferred.

Must excel in leadership and be comfortable managing a complex team of staff, volunteer leaders, and vendor teams. Successful candidates will have a true commitment to collaboration and a positive approach to handling all level and types of event-related issues.

Requires outstanding relationship and communication skills to help further and strengthen a culture where individual contributions are valued, new ideas and longstanding experience are blended, and collaborative work is the rule rather than the exception.

Maintains transparency when working with and managing vendors and has a sterling industry reputation. Has substantial expertise in not only the events industry, but in making good judgements and quick decisions that balance many needs and goals.

Education and experience matter to APA so a CMP, CAE or CEM are preferred. College degree is strongly preferred as is continuing education and career development activity.

COMPUTER SKILLS:

Expertise and awareness of numerous event technologies is vital to this role. Must be fluent in basic computer skills and able to use word, ppt, excel Slack, Zoom, Teams etc. with little support. Digital event experience and/or certification is also preferred.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Manages the Meetings and Events team to support the planning and execution of all public facing APA Events.

• Develops and manages budgets, achieves revenue goals and accurately forecasting expenses and revenue for key events.
• Oversees all aspects of these events, including:
  • Collaboration with the Media & Event Sales Department on exhibits and sponsorship fulfillment
  • Support of embedded experiences in some events, like booths or programming led by internal teams such as Membership, Publishing, and Emerging Leaders staff
  • Registration, event technology, housing and hotel/facility contracting
  • Content and speaker support
  • Staging and production support
• For the APA annual convention:
  • Oversees all content development and delivery, working with 56 Division Program Chairs, Board of Convention Affairs (BCA), CME/Continuing Education Office, internal colleagues and external vendors.
  • Develops strategic direction in concert with the Chief Communications Officer and other key internal leaders.
  • Effectively interfaces with the APA Board of Convention Affairs (BCA) as their key staff liaison and manages staff collaborating with Division Program Chairs to innovate the overall attendee experience and increase the value of the Convention.
  • Supports main and featured stages, leads planning for main room experiences and closely collaborates with Chief Communications Officer and Sr. Director of Brand and Creative on-stage design, room set up, show flows and other production elements.
  • Directs sourcing and support for main stage speakers.
  • Leads future event site selection.
  • Is the face of the APA Convention regarding staffing, support and execution related issues, is comfortable presenting convention and event updates to the APA executive leadership team, including the CEO, BCA, and the APA board of directors, when required.
• Oversees all key vendor relationships while delegating primary work to key staff on the team.
• Reviews and improves department processes and practices to create more efficiency, transparency, and timeliness.
• Other Duties as Assigned.

Application Instructions:

Qualified candidates must apply online through APA's applicant system and attach a resume and cover letter specifying your salary expectations. Applications that are submitted without both documents are considered incomplete and will not be reviewed for consideration. Once your application is submitted, you will receive a confirmation email. Please make sure to check your Spam folder if you do not receive an email from us.

The American Psychological Association is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, age, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other protected categories covered under local law.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor's legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)