Associate Director – Event Planning, Congress & Symposia

We are seeking an experienced Associate Director of Commercial Events & Engagement to lead the planning and execution of commercial meetings, congresses, symposiums, and related HCP engagement activities within a fast-paced life-sciences environment.

This role will partner closely with Sales, Marketing, Field Training, Marketing Operations, and external vendors to deliver high-quality events while driving process improvements, operational efficiency, and compliance.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end planning and execution of commercial meetings and events.
• Manage venue sourcing, attendee tracking, accommodations, F&B, event materials, and overall meeting logistics.
• Coordinate national, regional, and local congresses, including attendee registration and hotel accommodations.
• Partner with cross-functional teams to develop agendas, timelines, and event strategies.
• Manage external production, logistics, and event vendors.
• Own master project schedules, identify risks, and ensure on-time execution.
• Support annual event forecasting, budgeting, spend tracking, and vendor contracts.
• Develop and optimize SOPs, planning frameworks, processes, and tracking mechanisms.
• Develop metrics and dashboards to evaluate event performance and engagement.
• Establish and train field teams on local congress participation processes.
• Analyze post-event feedback and data to identify opportunities for continuous improvement.
• Ensure events follow applicable U.S. compliance requirements, including Sunshine Act requirements.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of life-sciences, pharmaceutical, biotech, or relevant industry experience.
• 3+ years of experience managing commercial events, meetings, congresses, or HCP engagements.
• Proven experience with end-to-end event logistics and commercial event execution.
• Experience managing cross-functional teams and external vendors.
• Strong budgeting, forecasting, procurement, and vendor management experience.
• Experience with Cvent and Microsoft Office Suite, particularly Excel and PowerPoint.
• Strong understanding of U.S. HCP/event compliance requirements.
• Experience developing SOPs, processes, timelines, and reporting dashboards.
• Experience supporting a pre-launch or commercial launch organization is strongly preferred.
• Experience with national sales meetings and life-sciences congresses is highly valued.
• Bachelor's degree required.
• CMP certification preferred/required based on client requirements.
• Strong communication, organizational, problem-solving, and stakeholder-management skills.
• Ability to travel up to 40%, including overnight travel.