Live Events Manager Jobs in Ohio (NOW HIRING)

We are looking for an Events Senior Manager to serve as operational lead for assigned events, partnering closely with Sales, Marketing, Content, Registration, and other cross-functional teams to deliver high-quality experiences that achieve revenue, margin, attendee, and sponsor objectives. The Senior Manager will manage events from initial strategy and budgeting through onsite execution and post-event analysis, with a strong focus on operational excellence, financial discipline, consistency, and continuous improvement. This role will also play an important part in evolving events from stand-alone moments in time into integrated components of the broader business—connecting live experiences with audience, content, community, and revenue strategies.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Event Strategy & Portfolio Management

• Lead the planning and execution of conferences and trade shows, specifically year 1 event launches.
• Develop event strategies aligned with overall business, brand, audience, and revenue objectives.
• Establish event goals, timelines, operating plans, and key milestones in partnership with cross-functional stakeholders.
• Evaluate event performance and recommend opportunities for growth, optimization, or repositioning.

Financial Management

• Own event expense budgets and partner with leadership and sales on revenue and margin goals.
• Develop accurate event forecasts and proactively manage expenses throughout the planning lifecycle.
• Identify opportunities to improve event profitability through strategic sourcing, volume purchasing, vendor consolidation, and right-sizing of spend.
• Evaluate investments based on measurable impact to attendee experience, sponsor value, revenue, and overall event performance.
• Track budget performance and communicate risks, opportunities, and variances to leadership.

Event Operations & Execution

• Lead end-to-end event operations from initial planning through onsite execution and post-event reconciliation.
• Manage venue selection, hotel contracting, room blocks, meeting space, floorplans, food and beverage, production, signage, transportation, staffing, and other operational requirements.
• Develop and maintain detailed event timelines, production schedules, floorplans, agendas, and operational documentation.
• Ensure events are delivered consistently against established brand and operational standards.
• Serve as a senior onsite leader, proactively identifying and resolving operational issues.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Serve as the central operational point of contact for assigned events.
• Lead regular cross-functional event planning meetings with Sales, Marketing, Content, Registration, and other stakeholders.
• Establish clear roles, responsibilities, deadlines, and accountability across event teams.
• Build strong relationships across the organization and proactively resolve competing priorities.

WHAT YOU BRING

• 7+ years of progressive experience in event management, including extensive experience with conferences and trade shows.
• Demonstrated experience independently managing complex, multi-stakeholder events.
• Strong financial acumen with experience managing event budgets, forecasts, and profitability.
• Experience managing hotels, venues, production partners, general service contractors, and other event vendors.
• Strong understanding of sponsorship and exhibitor operations.
• Experience with event technology and registration platforms; Cvent experience strongly preferred.
• Experience managing multiple events simultaneously across different stages of the planning lifecycle.
• Strong project management, organization, negotiation, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to translate business objectives into actionable event strategies.
• Advanced Excel skills and finance-level budget discipline.
• Comfortable with extensive travel to attend events across the portfolios.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to travel regularly and work extended hours during event execution as required.

WHAT WE OFFER

We believe that a highly engaged audience is our greatest asset. You will have the unique opportunity to drive strategy, build processes and systems and lead events across our portfolios, backed by a team that values robust technical infrastructure and continuous innovation. In addition, the following benefits are available:

• Competitive salary
• Premium medical, dental, vision and other health plans – you choose what fits your needs
• Full vested 401(k) match to help you prepare for your future
• Generous paid time off, including vacation, sick, float, bereavement, 12 office holidays and flexible working hours
• Supportive work/life balance and paid parental leave
• Dynamic, dedicated, fun and hard-working environment
• A collaborative work environment in a growing market
• Consistently ranked as a Top Workplace and included on the Forbes 5000 Fastest Growing Companies for 5+ years

ABOUT ARROWFLY

Arrowfly is a live and digital B2B destination serving professionals across the engineering, healthcare, food, retail and hospitality sectors. The company delivers trusted journalism and editorial content, industry-defining events, and digital measurement tools, all backed by an established reputation for independence and credibility in the markets it serves. This is an opportunity to join a company in active transformation, with a portfolio of 40+ events, a growing team, and the ambition to build something that sets the standard for B2B events marketing. Our values are simple: The Audience Comes First, Raise the Bar, Unite the Community, Surface What Matters Most, and Track What Works. If those resonate with how you work, you'll fit right in.

ATTENTION CANDIDATES: Beware of Job Scams & Protect Yourself

At Arrowfly, we prioritize your well-being and safety during your career search. Unfortunately, scammers often exploit candidates with fraudulent job offers. Please keep an eye out for fake listings, individuals posing as representatives from our company, unsolicited email offers, and informational material scams. Arrowfly will never ask for your personal information via a text message or Gmail account, nor will we offer employment that requires an upfront purchase of equipment or other items. If you encounter anything that may look suspicious, please contact us through our company website and report it to the authorities at the FTC. Thank you and best of luck in your search!