Senior Manager of Event Operations

JOB SUMMARY

The Senior Manager of Event Operations is the operational backbone of Gather's Events team—serving as the right hand to the Sr. Director of Events and ensuring that vision and strategy translate into flawless, detailed execution across Gather's three core event expressions: Gather:Cities, IF:Gathering, and Gather.

This role owns the day-to-day project management that keeps multiple events moving in parallel—building and maintaining systems, timelines, task trackers, run-of-show documents, and budgets, and making sure nothing falls through the cracks across a complex web of internal departments and external vendors.

Where the Sr Director of Events sets direction and owns overall event health, the Senior Manager of Event Operations owns the execution layer beneath it: turning plans into assigned tasks, tracked deadlines, and coordinated handoffs. This person is comfortable holding multiple events in their head at once, moving fluidly between Program, Production, Engagement, Partnerships, Communications, and Operations, and working directly with external production partners and vendors—without dropping a single detail.

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES

Multi-Event Project Management

• Serve as the project management lead across two or more concurrent Gather events (Gather:Cities, IF:Gathering, Gather), managing distinct timelines, task lists, and stakeholders for each without cross-contamination.
• Build and maintain detailed run-of-show documents, production schedules, planning trackers, and critical-path timelines for each event, keeping them current as plans evolve.
• Break down high-level strategy and leadership-level decisions into specific, assigned, deadline-driven tasks, and track them to completion.
• Flag risks, bottlenecks, and slipping deadlines early, and drive resolution before they become leadership-level problems.
• Help own the weekly and daily operational rhythm for events in flight—status meetings, task check-ins, and follow-up—so the Sr Director of Events can stay focused on strategy, major milestones and stakeholder relationships.

Cross-Functional & Vendor Coordination

• Act as the connective tissue between the Events team and Program, Production, Engagement, Partnerships, Marketing, and Operations, ensuring each function has what it needs, when it needs it.
• Manage day-to-day relationships with external production partners and vendors (venues, staging, AV/broadcast, security, hospitality, and others), tracking deliverables, contracts, and timelines.
• Coordinate logistics across departments and vendors for multiple simultaneous events, resolving scheduling conflicts and competing priorities.
• Prepare clear, accurate materials—briefs, agendas, recaps, and status updates—for cross-functional meetings and vendor calls.

Budget & Documentation

• Help maintain detailed event budgets and expense tracking in partnership with the Sr Director of Events and Director of Finance, flagging variances early.
• Track vendor contracts, deliverables, and payment schedules, ensuring agreements are fulfilled on time and within scope.
• Build and maintain the operational documentation that keeps events organized and repeatable—checklists, staffing plans, vendor database, and post-event reports.

Team & Execution Support

• Support the Sr Director of Events in leading and coordinating the broader Events team, providing hands-on guidance to coordinators and volunteers on task execution.
• Lead or support on-site event operations, ensuring the plan on paper translates faithfully to the plan in the room.
• Contribute to post-event evaluations, capturing lessons learned and operational improvements for future events.

QUALIFICATIONS

• 4–6 years of experience in event operations, production, or project management, ideally supporting or managing multiple large-scale events simultaneously.
• Exceptional organizational skills and follow-through, with a demonstrated ability to track many moving parts across multiple projects without losing detail.
• Proven experience coordinating across internal departments and external vendors, with strong relationship-management instincts.
• Comfortable working with project management and tracking tools (spreadsheets, project trackers, shared docs) to build and maintain timelines, budgets, and task lists.
• Strong written and verbal communicator, able to translate complex plans into clear, actionable direction for varied audiences.
• Financial acumen, with experience tracking budgets, expenses, and vendor contracts.
• Calm, adaptable, and solutions-oriented under pressure, with the ability to reprioritize quickly as circumstances change.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and anticipate needs, operating as a trusted second-in-command rather than waiting for direction.
• Experience working with diverse teams, partners, or distributed environments preferred.
• Deep alignment with Gather's mission, global vision, and values, with the ability to lead in a way that reflects the organization's culture.
• Personal, thriving relationship with Jesus Christ.

REPORTING:

• Reports to: Sr Director of Events
• Supervises: Vendors & Contractors as assigned per project 
• Classification: Full time, Exempt

LOGISTICS:

• Full-time employee, 40 hrs/week
• Remote employment, with a minimum of quarterly travel required for All Team meetings

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BENEFITS:

• The employer provides healthcare insurance for you and your family, with no contribution from the employee.
• Hospital Insurance Plan paid for by the employer.    
• Unlimited Paid Time Off (PTO)