Executive Producer

Our Opportunity

GPJ is hiring an Executive Event Producer to support a high-tech client's portfolio of flagship, large-scale conferences and proprietary events.

This role is hybrid, requiring you to report on-site to one of the following office locations a minimum of 2 days/week: Austin, Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, Nashville, New York City, San Francisco or Denver.

Your Role

As Executive Producer, you are responsible for overseeing the efficient and effective execution of timelines and budgets across all workstreams for major, large-scale conferences and complex experiential events. These projects encompass multi-day live, hybrid, and digital elements, requiring creative solutions, massive logistical coordination, and flexibility within the timeline and budget. Depending on the size and scope of the conference program, this role may have a wide range of required skill sets and compensation will vary depending on level of experience & location.

You take ownership of entire mega-conferences or a portfolio of large-scale events throughout the span of a year. Collaboration across matrixed teams is essential as you work together to develop flawless concepts, general sessions, and expo floor strategies. One of your key roles is to monitor the profitability of these high-budget projects while ensuring the utmost satisfaction of our clients.

Managing client relationships is a crucial aspect of your role. You not only nurture these relationships but also act as a strategic partner and advocate at senior levels within the client's organization, guiding them through the complexities of large-scale event production. Regular updates are provided to the Account Lead, and any potential issues or concerns are proactively addressed. You also offer insights and collaborate to find solutions.

When it comes to event staffing and resourcing for massive production teams, you provide input while working closely with Department Managers and IP (Integrated Production) leaders. You also handle strategic relationships with Tier-1 vendors and convention centers. This involves maintaining effective communication, overseeing the vendor Request for Proposal (RFP) process for major builds, and promptly addressing any issues that may arise.

You ensure that the closing and reconciliation processes are meticulously completed for the entire event. During this phase, you identify any potential risks or significant opportunities for improvement. Another important aspect of your role is guiding and mentoring large event teams and workstream leads, providing them with direction and support.

Due to your extensive experience in large-scale conference production, you are considered a subject matter expert (SME) in this field. As such, you contribute to the education and development of teams working on projects, both within a specific project and across the entire practice.

Your Skills

• Advanced awareness of GPJ and Project agency offerings.
• Extensive experience leading highly complex, high-profile flagship conferences and city-wide events (including multiple concurrent workstreams, multi-track agendas, large general sessions, and complex client structures).
• Event experience: Proven track record managing large-scale event budgets, specifically leading conferences with $5M+ budgets (with variance based on tech sector benchmarks).
• Event attendance: Direct experience leading major conferences, summits, or user groups with 5,000+ attendees.
• Global conference or international pavilion experience is highly desired.
• Experience working with Fortune 500 tech brands is desired.
• Builds comprehensive budgets/estimates for entire large-scale events; manages/reconciles multi-million dollar budgets; directs and guides workstream leads to build, manage, and reconcile their respective budgets while providing final oversight and accountability.
• Understands and effectively manages/oversees key financial metrics across all conference workstreams (e.g., expo, registration, production, housing).
• Understands and takes effective steps to address the impact of scope changes on a massive project budget and overall financial metrics.
• Able to proactively identify and elevate potential budget/financial issues early in the planning cycle, taking effective actions to address them.
• Court-level understanding and active oversight of key PO, reconciliation, and invoicing processes for large-scale operations.
• Has the ability to negotiate and identify SCORE; oversee and drive event team SCORE results.
• Expert ability to understand on-site methodology, convention center practices, and complex venue rules and labor regulations (e.g., union rules, rigging, marshaling yards).
• Expert knowledge of end-to-end GPJ Event Production and project processes, with the ability to train others.
• Strong proficiency in Google and Microsoft Office software. Previous experience with ERP, Project Management software, or large-scale event management tools is preferred.

Your Competencies

Relationship Builder

Develop, maintain and strengthen partnerships with others inside and outside the client organization. Identify new stakeholders, manage client expectations for complex deliverables, define new business opportunities and deliver against clients’ needs while skillfully balancing the needs of the client and those of the agency. Relates well to all kinds of people, up, down, and sideways, inside and outside the organization; builds appropriate rapport; builds constructive and effective relationships; uses diplomacy and tact; can diffuse even high-tension situations comfortably on the conference floor.

Accountable

Be accountable. Demonstrate accountability. Hold yourself and large cross-functional teams to a high standard of work, that includes following set processes, achieving strict milestones, and operating within control systems. Own both success and failures, without blaming others. Create a culture of accountability in your production teams. Follow through on commitments by your actions. You set the example for your team.

Collaboration

Seek opportunities and take action to ensure effective collaboration with the GPJ internal teams, other Project agencies, clients, and third-party vendors. If responsible for leading people or a multi-workstream team, model this behavior for the team and expect the same behavior from employees.

Solution Oriented: Integrated Event Production

Even with tight project budget management practices and shifting scope common to major conferences, you focus on the desired outcome and are ready with multiple creative solutions in order to reach the end goal flawlessly.

Your Experience

12-15+ years of relevant experience in event production, live production, integrated production, account management, project management or similar.

4 Year College Degree; preferred in Marketing/Advertising/Event Management/Business Administration, Hospitality, Communications, or related field.

Your Impact

In your role, you will have influence and responsibility over:

• May have direct reports
• Contribute to selling, planning, and developing work
• Able to lead and inspire a high performing kickass team (e.g., high trust, committed, effective conflict management, focus on accountability and results)
• Experience and confidence engaging and building respected, trusted peer-to-peer relationships with mid to senior level client side executives
• May help mentor / teach others on Event team
• Has overall ownership and management of master timelines / schedules

Salary Range: $140-170k

Salary is dependent on a variety of factors including (but not limited to) experience, skills, and location.

Travel & Mobility

Ability to travel as required, around 25%.

Ability to work irregular hours in addition to normal business hours, to include nights, weekends and holidays as needed.

Who We Are

GPJ is the world leader in experiential marketing. Our 29 global offices are filled with fearless people dreaming up ideas that are transforming industries and bringing the most respected brands to life in powerfully, exciting ways. We are a part of the Project Worldwide family. An independent, employee-owned global network of complementary, wholly owned agencies.

You read that “employee-owned” part, right? You heard us correctly. You work hard, she works hard, we all work hard… we all succeed and reap the rewards. We have an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) – providing our employees with an ownership interest. We thought you would want to know that. In fact, there is a lot more you would want to know about us, like our FTO policy (no more “accruing” time off), our employer matching 401(k) plan (no vesting period), and our low contribution healthcare option. But we are getting ahead of ourselves here, let’s talk about this exciting opportunity first and we can fill you in on our perks & benefits later.

GPJ is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation and gender identity), national origin, citizenship, disability, protected veteran status, or any other protected class. In addition to federal law requirements, GPJ complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training. GPJ expressly prohibits any form of workplace harassment based on any protected class.