Senior Events Marketing Manager

About the role

Since 2014, the mission-driven team at the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) has helped fuel the tremendous growth of the Stellar blockchain network, an open-source platform that operates at high-scale today. Developers and companies around the world build on it, and the SDF team is expanding to support the rapidly growing and changing Stellar ecosystem. SDF's Experiential Marketing team creates unique and memorable events that attract new partners and developers to build on Stellar, nurture its existing ecosystem, showcase its growing number of products, and strengthen brand awareness across a constantly evolving industry.

Responsibilities

• Lead planning and execution for Tier 1 flagship activations — including Meridian (our annual global conference) and Stellar House (2–3 global owned-format activations per year) — serving as the primary production and operational owner from brief through wrap report.
• Own operational oversight for Tier 2 sponsored activations globally and independently triage, prioritize, and manage Tier 3 self-serve events without requiring escalation for routine challenges.
• Serve as the primary day-to-day relationship owner for assigned agency partners (e.g., production agencies, experiential studios) — managing correspondence, deliverable timelines, and alignment with SDF standards.
• Manage vendor sourcing and management across all production disciplines — AV, staging, fabrication, décor, rentals, and specialty vendors — from brief through final reconciliation.
• Serve as on-site lead for select events, overseeing all logistical, vendor, and attendee-facing operations; make real-time decisions to maintain event quality without escalation.
• Drive cross-functional alignment across Marketing, Partnerships, Product, and Ecosystem on event materials, timelines, and deliverables; proactively identify and resolve coordination gaps before they become blockers.
• Own post-event wrap-up including documentation of executed deliverables, vendor performance assessments, invoice reconciliation, and applied learnings for future activations.
• Contribute to third-party conference sponsorship execution as part of the broader events portfolio.
• Mentor junior team members and contribute perspective on work outside your direct scope; make the team around you better.

Requirements

You Have 8+ years of event production and operations experience, including ownership of large-scale owned events (conferences, brand activations) and third-party sponsorships in B2B or tech environments.

Deep hands-on experience managing complex production — AV, staging, fabrication, F&B, décor, specialty vendors — from sourcing through on-site execution and reconciliation.

Demonstrated ability to serve as the primary day-to-day owner of agency and vendor relationships, managing correspondence, deliverables, and accountability without heavy oversight.

Proven track record of running cross-functional programs independently — you identify coordination gaps before they become problems and keep multi-stakeholder initiatives moving.

Strong financial operations skills: budget tracking against actuals, invoice management, PO routing, and post-event reconciliation.

Experience as an on-site lead for major events — you make real-time decisions under pressure and don't need escalation pathways for routine challenges.

Clear, confident communicator who can translate complex operational topics for cross-functional audiences and senior stakeholders.

Experience mentoring or leading junior team members or contractors.

Familiarity with the blockchain, crypto, or fintech industry — or a demonstrated ability to get up to speed quickly in a technically complex space.

Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in marketing, business administration, event management, or a related field.

Experience with Bizzabo, Luma, or similar event registration platforms at scale.

Experience working with a tiered event portfolio (Tier 1 flagship through Tier 3 self-serve).

Skills

Event planning and production.

Strategic thinking and project management.

Financial operations and budget management.

Vendor management and negotiation.

On-site event leadership and decision-making.

Communication and stakeholder management.

Benefits

USA Benefits/Perks: Competitive health, dental & vision coverage with most plans covered at 100% for the employee + any dependents; Flexible time off + 15 company holidays, including a company-wide holiday break; Generous paid parental leave for all parents, plus paid pregnancy disability leave for birthing parents; Gym reimbursement ($80 per month); Life & ADD (up to $50K); Short & Long-term disability; 401K with 4% match; Health & Dependent Care FSA Accounts; Commuter benefits with $250/month employer contribution; Health Savings Account (HSA) with monthly employer contribution; Family building benefits through Kindbody; Wellbeing benefits (One Medical, Rightway, Headspace); L&D budget of $1,500/year; Daily lunch and snacks in office; Company retreats.

Pay

$130,000 - $190,000 depending on job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and location.

Schedule

Domestic and international travel required — this role is regularly on the ground at events globally.