Events Marketing Lead
Strategic events marketing leader owning the vision, execution, and business impact of a B2B SaaS company's events program in the commerce advertising space. Directly accountable for MQL generation and MQL-to-SQL conversion. People manager with one direct report.
The Events Marketing Lead owns the vision, execution, and business impact of the company's events program, including webinars, podcasts, client visits, workshops, industry conferences, and company gatherings. This role sits at the intersection of demand generation and brand, and is directly accountable for the volume and quality of marketing qualified leads (MQLs) generated through events, and for their conversion into sales qualified pipeline (SQLs) in close partnership with Sales. This is a leadership role with a direct report. The Events Marketing Lead will build and own the standard operating procedures that make the events function scalable and repeatable, coordinate tightly with regional marketing teams (primarily EMEA) to ensure a consistent global events strategy, and represent the company externally through award submissions and partnership initiatives. The ideal candidate has run events in a B2B SaaS environment, brings strong cross-functional influence with Sales and Customer Success, and holds themselves and their team highly accountable to pipeline goals.
Strategy, goals, and accountability
- Own the annual events strategy and calendar, aligning investment and prioritization to pipeline generation, client engagement, and brand goals.
- Own and report on MQL generation and MQL-to-SQL conversion goals tied to the events program; hold the team accountable to hitting these targets and course-correct quickly when performance lags.
- Set and manage the events budget, making trade-off decisions across programs to maximize pipeline return.
- Define KPIs for every event and report on business impact to marketing and sales leadership on a regular cadence.
Team leadership
- Manage and develop an Events Marketing Coordinator / Specialist, setting priorities, providing coaching, and ensuring high-quality execution across the event portfolio.
- Build capacity plans and delegate execution so the team can scale the number and complexity of events run.
Standard operating procedures and process ownership
- Own the creation, documentation, and continuous improvement of SOPs for event planning, execution, lead capture, and post-event follow-up.
- Ensure processes are consistent, scalable, and followed across all event types and by any regional or contract support.
Cross-functional alignment with Sales and Customer Success
- Partner closely with Sales to ensure MQLs generated from events are properly routed, followed up on, and converted into sales qualified pipeline; build and refine the lead handoff process.
- Work with Customer Success on client-facing events (client visits, workshops, advisory sessions) that support retention, expansion, and advocacy.
- Act as the events point of contact in pipeline and revenue planning conversations.
Regional coordination (primarily EMEA)
- Coordinate tightly with regional marketing teams, primarily EMEA, to align global and regional event calendars, messaging, and lead-gen goals.
- Adapt and localize event playbooks for regional markets while maintaining a consistent global brand and process standard.
Awards and partnerships
- Own the end-to-end award submission process, identifying relevant industry awards, managing submissions, and tracking outcomes to build brand credibility.
- Support partnership marketing initiatives, including co-marketing events, joint webinars, and partner-facing activations.
Event execution oversight
- Oversee end-to-end delivery of industry events, webinars, podcasts, client visits, and more, including speaker / guest coordination, vendor management, and production quality.
- Ensure all events are delivered on time, on budget, and reflective of the company's brand and positioning.
Reporting and continuous improvement
- Track and report on event performance, pipeline contribution, and ROI; translate results into recommendations for future investment.
- Maintain a repository of event assets, playbooks, and best practices for use across the marketing organization.
Qualifications
- 3 to 6+ years of experience in events marketing, with at least 1 to 2 years in a leadership or people-management role required.
- Experience in B2B SaaS marketing heavily preferred; background in retail media or advertising technology highly valued.
- Demonstrated track record of owning pipeline-related goals (MQL generation, MQL-to-SQL conversion) and being held accountable to them.
- Experience building or owning SOPs and scalable processes for a marketing function.
- Proven ability to work cross-functionally with Sales and Customer Success in a revenue-focused capacity.
- Experience coordinating with regional or international marketing teams.
- Experience managing award submissions and / or partner marketing programs.
- Experience with marketing automation platforms and CRM systems (e.g., HubSpot, Salesforce, Pardot) for attribution and pipeline reporting.
- Strong budget management and vendor negotiation skills.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with executive-level presence.
- Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, Business, or a related field (preferred).
Compensation
Competitive salary + benefits package. Unlimited PTO.