Audience Development Director Jobs in Reston, VA

Job Title: Senior Manager, Audience Development and Marketing, RESIDE and Lightapalooza

Department: Exposition and Event Services

Reports To: Senior Director, Exposition Marketing

FLSA Status: Exempt

Level: Manager

Location: Fairfax, VA or Remote (USA)

Alt Work Eligibility: CWW-Y, Telework-Y, Remote-Y

The starting base pay range for this position is $80,000-$85,000. Individual compensation will be commensurate with candidate's experience. This position is eligible for full benefits, as well as the Manager level annual incentive bonus program.

Summary of Position

AVIXA is seeking a Senior Manager, Audience Development and Marketing to lead marketing efforts for RESIDE and Lightapalooza, AVIXA's new residential technology and smart home events. This role is responsible for developing and executing integrated marketing strategies that drive attendee acquisition, build community, industry engagement, and overall brand awareness.

As a launch-focused event marketer, the Senior Manager will play a critical role in establishing RESIDE and Lightapalooza's market position, growing awareness among residential technology professionals, and building a vibrant community that supports long-term event growth. The ideal candidate is entrepreneurial, audience-focused, data-driven, and energized by creating demand for a new event and brand.

Major Duties & Responsibilities

• Develop and execute integrated marketing strategies that drive attendee registration and overall event awareness.
• Build and grow the RESIDE and Lightapalooza brands through compelling positioning, messaging, and value propositions that resonate across the residential technology ecosystem.
• Collaborate with Sales, Event Operations, Content, Industry Relations, and Communications teams to support growth objectives.
• Develop audience acquisition strategies targeting residential technology integrators, smart home professionals, designers, architects, builders, security professionals, lighting specialists, and related industry audiences.
• Plan and execute multi-channel marketing campaigns including email, digital advertising, social media, content marketing, direct mail, public relations, and strategic partnerships.
• Manage email marketing campaigns including audience segmentation, automation, analytics, and performance optimization.
• Create compelling marketing content across digital, print, social, web, advertising, and promotional channels.
• Leverage AI-powered tools and emerging technologies to improve content creation, audience targeting, campaign performance, and operational efficiency.
• Identify, evaluate, and manage relationships with industry associations, buying groups, media partners, influencers, and strategic partners that expand RESIDE's visibility and reach.
• Collaborate with advisory committee members and industry stakeholders to ensure marketing efforts align with market needs and emerging trends.
• Monitor campaign performance metrics and provide data-driven recommendations to optimize audience acquisition, engagement, and conversion.
• Lead development and distribution of registration, marketing performance, and audience growth reports, including progress toward established goals.
• Represent RESIDE and Lightapalooza at industry events, conferences, buying group meetings, and networking opportunities to strengthen market understanding and build industry relationships.
• Stay informed on residential technology market trends, competitive events, audience behaviors, and emerging marketing best practices.

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree preferred.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in event marketing, audience development, demand generation, brand marketing, association marketing, or related B2B marketing roles.
• Proven success developing and executing integrated marketing campaigns that drive measurable business results.
• Experience supporting trade shows, conferences, membership organizations, media properties, or live events preferred.
• Experience launching new products, brands, services, or events strongly preferred.
• Experience within residential technology, smart home, consumer electronics, luxury home, design, construction, or related industries preferred.

Skills & Attributes

• Exceptional written, verbal, and presentation communication skills.
• Strong campaign strategy, audience development, and project management capabilities.
• Demonstrated ability to build awareness and demand for new products, events, or brands.
• Analytical mindset with the ability to interpret performance data and make data-driven decisions.
• Strong stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Creative thinker with a passion for innovation, audience engagement, and continuous improvement.
• Comfortable operating in a launch-stage environment where priorities evolve and new opportunities emerge.
• Self-starter who thrives amid ambiguity and takes ownership of outcomes.
• Proficiency with marketing automation platforms, CRM systems, digital marketing tools, analytics platforms, and Microsoft Office.

Travel – 20%

Travel as needed to support RESIDE and Lightapalooza, industry conferences, partner events, advisory committee meetings, and other strategic business development opportunities.

Why You’ll Love Working Here:

This description describes the general duties and responsibilities of the position. It is not a complete list of duties, and the employee may be required to take on additional duties and responsibilities as required by the needs of the association.

EEO Policy Statement: “It is the policy of AVIXA to provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified persons, and to recruit, hire, train, promote, and compensate persons in all jobs without regard to age, race, color, age, religion, sex, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, or any other category protected by law.”