Conference Director- GDC Festival of Gaming
Job Description
This role is based in our Santa Monica or San Francisco office.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership & Innovation
- Develop and execute the strategic vision for Gaming group live events, including the GDC Festival of Gaming, regional conferences worldwide, and executive-focused gatherings.
- Drive innovation in event formats, content delivery, and attendee experiences to meet the evolving needs of the game development community and maintain GDC's position as the industry's premier professional gathering.
- Establish key performance indicators and success metrics while partnering with the operations team to ensure seamless event execution.
Team Leadership & Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Lead, mentor, and develop a team of conference producers, empowering them to leverage their deep community expertise and fostering a culture of collaboration, creativity, and continuous improvement.
- Manage team workloads, project timelines, and content budgets, making strategic trade-offs to ensure successful event delivery within financial parameters.
- Collaborate closely with the editorial team at GameDeveloper.com to ensure cohesive content strategies across live and digital platforms.
- Partner with marketing, sales, operations, and regional teams to align on business objectives and deliver exceptional event experiences.
Content Strategy & Community Engagement
- Work with conference producers and the advisory board to curate compelling, relevant programming that addresses the game development community's needs across all disciplines, career stages, and emerging industry trends.
- Cultivate and maintain relationships with key industry leaders, studios, sponsors, platform holders, and community stakeholders to secure high-quality speakers and strategic partnerships.
- Serve as an ambassador for GDC and affiliated events, representing the brand within the game development community and identifying new opportunities for engagement.
Experience & Expertise
- 7-10 years of progressive experience in conference/event management, game development, or a combination of both.
- 3+ years of team leadership experience, with demonstrated success in building and managing high-performing teams.
- Proven track record of delivering large-scale professional events or managing complex game development projects with multiple stakeholders.
- Strong understanding of the game development industry, including development processes, business models, emerging technologies, and community dynamics.
Skills & Competencies
- Exceptional strategic thinking and planning abilities with strong execution skills and a data-driven approach to decision-making.
- Outstanding communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage and inspire diverse audiences from indie developers to C-suite executives.
- Demonstrated ability to curate compelling content and identify industry trends that resonate with professional audiences.
- Excellent project management capabilities, including managing multiple concurrent events, budgets, timelines, and resources in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
- Collaborative mindset with experience working across multiple departments and stakeholder groups.
- Willingness to travel domestically and internationally.
- Ability to work extended hours during peak event periods.
We believe that great things happen when people connect face-to-face. That's why we work in-person with each other, or with customers and partners, three days a week or more.
When you’re not spending time together in one of our offices or other workplaces – like at an Informa event – you get the flexibility and support to work from home or remotely.
We work hard to make sure Life at Informa is rewarding, supportive and enjoyable for everyone.
Here’s some of what you can expect when you join us.
But don’t just take our word for it – see what our colleagues have to say at LifeAt.Informa.com