Director, Event Operations

Full-time Regular
Santa Monica, CA, US

Salary Range:
$160,000.00 To $175,000.00 Annually

About the Position

The Milken Institute is seeking a seasoned Director of Event Operations to oversee the planning, production, and execution of global convenings that drive the Institute’s mission and influence. This role will lead cross-functional event logistics across our annual calendar—spanning large-scale flagship conferences, invitation-only summits, and innovative activations in the U.S. and abroad. The ideal candidate combines strategic oversight, operational rigor, and a passion for delivering world-class experiences that meet stakeholder, sponsor, and audience expectations.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the operational planning and delivery of high-profile global events, ensuring consistency in standards, logistics, and audience experience across regions.
• Develop scalable event strategies, while leveraging best practices and processes.
• Manage processes for venue site research, RFP cost analysis, hotel and function orders, room setup, rooming list and hotel reservation systems
• Manage event department budgets including forecasting, tracking and post-event analysis
• Prepare RFPs for event services, negotiate and execute contracts/agreements with venues, third-party event management companies, production and audio-visual companies, sourcing agent, and other ancillary services for all events
• Manage relevant vendor and staff resources pre-production and on-site to ensure flawless execution of events
• Propose initiatives that anticipate and reflect the changing needs of the company and industry trends
• Maintain event specifications, event timelines and staffing plans
• Cross-departmental collaboration for seamless production, including oversight of speaker logistics, internal activations, and sponsor deliverables.
• Work with Outreach & Engagement team on registration process and attendance, registration set-up, design, and execution onsite.
• Work with Development team to fulfill sponsorship needs, including private events, meeting suites, exhibits, sponsor branding, etc.
• Emphasize empowerment, mentorship, and team development to enable successful tactical execution.
• Prepare, edit and share meeting agendas and minutes
• Support many projects and events onsite at the Institute
• Manage events calendar
• Duties as assigned

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and minimum 10 years of professional work experience as Conference & Event Manager
• A proven track record of planning and executing small (40-60+ participants) and complex large-scale events (1000+ participants); demonstrated experience leading global event programs
• 5+ years of direct staff management experience
• Working knowledge of catering, BEOs, rooming lists, audio-visual and event technologies
• Understanding of financial accounting and previous use of large budgets (more than $10 million)
• Ability to manage forecasting and post-event analysis
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Carry out responsibilities within deadlines
• Familiarity with high-end, last minute, event organization & production
• Not afraid to get their hands dirty with a strong attention to detail
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to interact effectively with executive management and outside vendors
  Superior negotiation skills
• Work under pressure on challenging deadlines, while remaining professional and composed
• Professional presentation, appearance and work ethic
• Must demonstrate good judgement and be highly detail-oriented
• Leverage data and emerging tools, including AI-powered registration, event analytics, and CRM integrations (e.g., Cvent + Salesforce), to drive operational efficiency.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint)

Working Conditions & Travel Requirements

This position will work in a professional office environment on a hybrid schedule consisting of three (3) days per week reporting in-person to the Santa Monica office location (Tuesday – Thursday), with the remaining two (2) days working remotely. Please understand, this schedule is subject to change at the Institute’s sole discretion.

This person will also be required to travel occasionally to other offices and/or venues to assist with events as needed, requiring occasional work outside of traditional hours. International along with domestic travel is possible. Additionally, this position requires interacting virtually on a regular basis with Milken Institute staff based in other locations in the United States and around the world.

Note

The statements herein are intended to describe the overall nature and level of work being performed by employees and are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified. Furthermore, they do not establish a contract for employment and are subject to change at the discretion of the employer.

We are interested in qualified candidates who are eligible to work in the United States. Please note, we are not sponsoring visas at this time, being authorized to work in the U.S. is a precondition of employment.

Please submit resume and cover letter illustrating how your experience and skills will contribute to the department and any unique qualities you bring to the position. If applying via Indeed, please upload your resume and any supporting documentation as one attachment. Any application that does not include both a resume and cover letter will be rejected. If you are unable to complete this application due to a disability, contact our Human Resources department to ask for an accommodation or an alternative application process.

Benefits

• Health Care Plan (Medical, Dental & Vision)
• Retirement Plan – 403b (5% match)
• Life Insurance (Basic, Voluntary & AD&D)
• Paid Time Off (Personal, Vacation, Sick & Public Holidays)
• Family Leave (Maternity & Paternity)
• Fertility Support
• Short-Term & Long-Term Disability
• Flexible Spending Account (FSAs)
• Pet Insurance Discount
• Training & Development:
• LinkedIn Learning – over 15,000 self-guided classes offered
• Annual Mentor Program
• Wellness Resources:
• Employee Assistance Program
• CALM app membership