Events Operations Manager

Harrow  |  Reports to: Associate Director, Events and Operations

Position Summary

Reporting to the Associate Director, Events and Operations, and part of the commercial team, the Events Operations Manager is responsible for providing the strategic as well as operational ownership of the planning and execution of national, regional, and local level meetings — i.e., congresses, conventions, exhibits, commercial meetings (including internal meetings), and other key company-sponsored events across all brands. This role will ensure all activities associated with congresses and key meetings — such as driving and gaining internal alignment and approval, ensuring approval of all materials via PRC as required, scheduling, contracting, pre-con meetings, ordering and shipping of materials, etc. — are completed in an organized, timely, and efficient manner.

Core Responsibilities

• Lead the end-to-end planning and execution of national, regional, and local events and exhibits, working cross-functionally with sales, legal, compliance, marketing, and field operations to ensure alignment with business and brand goals.
• Lead all non-exhibit sponsorship operations, from planning and contracting through on-site logistics and execution
• Support planning for key internal meetings and events, including National Sales Meetings, POAs, and President's Club trips
• Source and contract venues and vendors, conduct site inspections, and serve as the primary point of contact for agencies handling booth design, logistics, and execution.
• Chair cross-functional teams and develop, monitor, and communicate timelines to ensure consensus on content, messaging, and overall event strategy.
• Manage exhibit design and staffing, and oversee on-site logistics including registration, housing, travel, and financial reconciliation.
• Select congresses and meetings to attend in partnership with brand leaders and conduct post-event evaluations to measure ROI and business impact.
• Oversee the review of content and materials to ensure compliance with legal, regulatory, and medical guidelines, including PRC approval.
• Manage event budgets, controlling costs while delivering high-quality, financially competitive outcomes.
• Build and maintain relationships with healthcare professionals and congress associations to support the company’s strategic positioning.
• Develop and maintain SOPs for meetings and congresses, continually improving processes to ensure consistent, flawless execution.
• Maintain transparent communication with all stakeholders about event objectives, roles, responsibilities, and outcomes.
• Oversee all aspects of the planning process for meetings, events, and/or conventions as assigned
• Act as internal Project Manager managing event expectations with internal clients (agenda, attendee list, web registration, materials and other supplies, gifts, presenters/vendors)
• Manage communication with meeting attendees pre-meeting and onsite
• Manage logistics with venue and/or oversee 3rd party vendor hired to assist (attendee and rooming list management, food and beverage, audio-visual, materials shipment and tracking, space layout and setup requirements, on-site logistics, property site inspections, pre-con meetings, billing)
• Post meeting closeout (coordinate meeting survey, invoice review/approval, final budget tracking, conduct event debrief, maintain historical data, present future options for cost savings/agenda drivers/lessons learned)

This position also provides on-site meeting and event management, quickly assesses critical situations, and responds with creative solutions so that the event objectives are met.  Negotiate, submit and manage contracts and purchase orders. Event budget development, management and reporting. Optimize the meeting planning and events budget and monitor expenses while leveraging all facility/vendor negotiations to achieve the greatest return on investment.

Establish trusted working relationships with all commercial partners. Assist stakeholders with education of the event planning process to ensure goals are attained in the most efficient and cost effective manner possible. Contributes to and leverages meeting planning and events processes, templates, policies and best practices with a focus on contracting, logistics, standardization, compliance and execution to internal team. Work in conjunction to develop best practices with stakeholders, sales training or other commercial teams. Maintains complete meeting and event historical data. Assess process improvements at the conclusion of each meeting to improve overall function performance.

Qualifications & Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree preferred.
• Experience in marketing to the ophthalmic audience preferred.
• Experience with ophthalmic pharmaceuticals preferred.
• Experience in conference or meetings management required
• 5+ years of experience of event planning and coordination in the pharmaceutical/biotech or agency sector
• Demonstrated Project Management Skills
• Demonstrated Strategic Skills
• Budget Management experience
• Experience working with outside vendors required
• Understanding of the FDA PRC review process for promotional activities.
• Demonstrated experience working cross-functionally.
• Attention to detail and well-organized.
• Ability to think creatively in confronting new issues and provide novel solutions.
• Work under pressure, meet deadlines, and exercise sound business judgment with critical thinking skills and high ethical standards while being a team player.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; ability to write effective customer and field sales communications.
• Ability to multitask, adjusting priorities as needed.
• Proficiency in standard MS Office software products, including Outlook, PowerPoint, and Excel.
• Proficiency with Salesforce, Pardot, Airtable, and Tableau a plus.
• Experience with Adobe Suite, including Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator, a plus.

Position Type

• Remote

Travel

• Up to 50%