Meeting and Events Director

*COVER LETTER REQUIRED

ESSENTIAL JOB DUTIES:

• Leads and oversees the overall strategy, design, and delivery of the organization's meetings, conferences, and special events. Develops and implements a long-term vision for a first-in-class, organization-wide meetings and events management function that ensures service excellence and operational efficiency across all activities.

• Oversees the full scope of event management services from concept to completion, including venue selection, budget development and management, contract negotiations and vendor coordination, registration, marketing and promotion, facility logistics, catering, and services such as audio-visual and technology support as well as transportation.

• Establishes and ensures compliance with policies and standards for organization meetings and events, including protocols for accessibility, sustainability, quality control, and risk management. Ensures adherence to government, sponsor, and organization rules and regulations, and provides training and guidance to staff. Maintains and evolves operational procedures, including SOPs, planning resources, and documentation that support consistency and continuity across the event portfolio.

• Manages daily operations and team performance, providing leadership, coaching, and development to ensure high-quality delivery of services. Provides initial and ongoing training and mentorship for meetings and events staff, ensuring proficiency with systems and tools. Leads workforce planning, forms effective teams, monitors workloads, and cultivates a collaborative and service-oriented team culture. Interprets and ensures consistent application of organizational policies. Initiates personnel actions, including performance and compensation reviews and disciplinary actions.

• Oversees the scheduling, operations, and use of National Academies' meeting spaces and conference centers, ensuring efficient use of space, policy compliance for internal and external events, and alignment with strategic priorities. Works in coordination with Facilities and Security to ensure readiness, accessibility, and safety.

• Develops and executes marketing strategies to promote the use of National Academies meeting space by external organizations, in alignment with institutional priorities and revenue targets. Oversees contracting, invoicing, and payment processes for external events to ensure clarity, compliance, and timely revenue collection. Coordinates with the Office of General Counsel and the Office of the Chief Financial Officer to ensure contract terms align with institutional policies and that invoicing procedures support audit readiness and financial integrity. Monitors external events for quality, brand protection, and adherence to organization values.

• Leads food service strategy and quality assurance for all catered events, working closely with catering vendors and internal stakeholders to maintain the highest standards for food quality, presentation, and customer experience.

• In coordination with unit leadership team, develops and oversees budget and financial planning, including forecasting, monitoring, and reporting. Works with finance and other administrative leaders to ensure transparency, compliance, and cost recovery across the event portfolio. Reviews and approves cost projections and estimates of meetings and events.

• Oversees billing in collaboration with the Director, Travel Management.

• In collaboration with AV and Travel leadership, develops technology strategy for meetings and events platforms, databases, and collaboration tools. Oversees the implementation of new technologies and systems that enhance event planning, production, and reporting.

• Identifies and procures vendor solutions for needs that cannot be met with in-house resources, including hotels, travel agencies, convention centers, transportation providers, audio-visual and technology vendors, entertainment, and general service contractors. Partnering with the Office of Contracts & Grants, prepares requests for proposals, solicits competitive bids, and negotiates vendor contracts. Manages key vendor relationships. Monitors contract performance, cost, and service delivery to ensure value and alignment with organization standards.

• Collaborates with leaders to understand evolving programmatic needs, ensure alignment with strategic priorities, and continuously improve service offerings and client satisfaction. Coordinates with teams responsible for substantive and other logistical aspects of conferences, meetings, and events, including those responsible for developing the technical program, sales of exhibits and advertising, etc.

• Leads the planning and direct execution of the organization's highest-profile and most complex events, including those involving senior leadership, high-level external stakeholders, or sensitive logistical considerations. Serves as the primary point of contact and onsite lead for these events to ensure flawless delivery and alignment with organization standards and objectives. Coordinates closely with internal and external security teams to support events involving senior government officials and other dignitaries requiring enhanced security protocols or specialized access arrangements.

• Collaborates closely with the Director, Building Operations to support facility management efforts, ensuring meeting and event spaces consistently meet high operational standards and identifying opportunities for improvements in appearance, functionality, and user experience.

• Maintains the highest standards of confidentiality. Handles secure, privileged, sensitive, or confidential information with discretion and in accordance with organizational policies and procedures. Maintains strict confidence to prevent disclosure. Accesses such information strictly for work-related purposes, and ensures that it is securely stored, transmitted, and disposed of in compliance with organization guidelines. Ensures procedures are in place to safeguard confidentiality and prevent unauthorized disclosure. Provides ongoing training and guidance to team members to reinforce best practices in handling confidential information.

NONESSENTIAL JOB DUTIES

Related duties and special projects as assigned.

JOB SPECIFICATIONS

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: Excellent skills in project management and customer service. Ability to solve problems of substantial variety and complexity using originality and ingenuity. Ability to lead and direct the work of others. Ability to serve as a resource to others in solving problems. Ability to operate using substantial latitude for independent judgment and action. Ability to train staff. Ability to manage and maintain privileged, sensitive, and confidential information and matters appropriately. Ability to work successfully in a team environment and to form and maintain effective teams. Experience working in complex environments with a high degree of organizational effectiveness. Ability to develop relationships with co-workers and employees in other National Academies' departments through effective communication. Excellent communication skills with a proven ability to effectively interact with all levels of employees, members, and vendors.

Minimum Education/Training Requirements: Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration or related field, or equivalent knowledge.

Minimum Experience: Eight years of related professional experience, four of which were in a supervisory capacity.

Physical Capabilities: Ability to work at a computer for extended periods of time.

Required Licenses, Certification or Registration: None.

Supervisory Responsibilities/Controls: Reports to Director. Independently establishes goals and objectives. Supervises staff.

Work Environment: Office environment, with occasional travel between National Academies' facilities and to off-site meeting/sponsor locations. May need to work long hours, late-night, and on weekends in order to complete projects and resolve problems.

Compensation & Benefits: The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine support equity, fairness, and transparency in our compensation programs. An estimated compensation range for this position is $101,130 - $158,015. Compensation offered to the selected candidate will be based on the candidate's relevant knowledge, skills, and work experience, commensurate with compensation of current employees in comparable positions with similar knowledge, skills, and work experience, and subject to budget parameters. Note it is not typical for a candidate to be hired at the higher end of the range.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

It is the policy of the National Academies to recruit, hire, transfer, compensate, and promote people in all job categories and to administer all other personnel actions, terms and conditions of employment in a manner that does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws. It is also the institution's policy to recruit, hire, promote, and provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities and covered veterans who are otherwise qualified.

Any qualification to be considered equivalent, in lieu of stated minimum, requires the prior approval of the Office of Human Resources.
The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by employees assigned to this job. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required of personnel so classified. Some functions in this description may be specific to a particular unit of the National Academies and not applicable to other units

Job Family: