What does a director of events do?
An event director or director of the event is responsible for organizing a successful execution of an event. This job is demanding and involves a varied range of tasks and obligations, from planning and overseeing the cast and crew recruited, supervise training for effective execution of the event. They manage how to effectively deal with people from staff and crew to sponsors, and talents, especially in tight schedules and difficult circumstances. Moreover, the event director is the representative of the event when dealing with the benefactors of the event, media group for promotion coverage, and people outside the industry.
Director of events responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real director of events resumes:
- Manage a team of employees with responsibilities of 40,000 sq.
- Create, update and manage donor databases, invitation and RSVP lists, and seating charts.
- Conduct ROI analysis to ensure effective allocation of corporate funds and staffing resources to achieve business and sales objectives.
- Manage weekly BEO meetings to discuss the upcoming events with other department heads to ensure the proper execution of all events.
- Maximize revenue by upselling and managing clients' budgets effectively.
- Manage all aspects of these events and act as onsite manager to ensure meeting are delivered effectively and professionally.
- Collaborate with culinary staff in special event menu planning and actively involve in planning and development of new catering business.
- Boost traffic to the website with SEO techniques.
- Maintain RSVP list for upcoming and during the special events.
- Establish the department Facebook page and mobile website and use of social media.
- Maintain company website and Facebook page and design marketing material for print and web.
- Coordinate all tourism promotions with national and state parks, main street, and all civic organizations.
- Provide client recaps with post ROI analysis, event recap, RFID data capture metrics, and attendance reports.
- Maintain standards for business processes between group sales and banquet events to ensure quality of booking criteria and contract integrity.
- Develop and design magazine website with a strong focus on branding, unique content, social media, and SEO.
Director of events skills and personality traits
We calculated that 15% of Directors Of Events are proficient in Customer Service, Event Management, and Customer Satisfaction. They’re also known for soft skills such as Speaking skills, Writing skills, and Negotiation skills.
We break down the percentage of Directors Of Events that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Service, 15%
Maintained rigorous time management standards while implementing customer service skills to foster a celebratory atmosphere for guests and their families.
- Event Management, 8%
Provide creative design, event management and marketing/communications for community social activities for a development of 3,500+.
- Customer Satisfaction, 7%
Coordinated event manager schedules and delegated group assignments to ensure optimal customer satisfaction.
- Event Planning, 7%
Utilized independent work style to effectively manage event planning initiatives to produce seamless and memorable events.
- Audio Visual, 6%
Position manages overall growing on-site operation of hotel's Audio Visual Department.
- Booking, 6%
Contract Negotiation-Negotiated contracts with booking agencies and record labels.
"customer service," "event management," and "customer satisfaction" are among the most common skills that directors of events use at work. You can find even more director of events responsibilities below, including:
Negotiation skills. directors of events are also known for negotiation skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to director of events responsibilities, because "meeting, convention, and event planners must be able to secure quality products and services at reasonable prices for their clients." A director of events resume example shows how negotiation skills is used in the workplace: "produced facility rental contracts, vendor and menu negotiations in addition to complete event production. "
Problem-solving skills. For certain director of events responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "problem-solving skills." The day-to-day duties of a director of events rely on this skill, as "meeting, convention, and event planners must be able to anticipate potential issues and prepare creative solutions that satisfy clients." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what directors of events do: "addressed and resolved customer service concerns. "
Organizational skills. A commonly-found skill in director of events job descriptions, "organizational skills" is essential to what directors of events do. Director of events responsibilities rely on this skill because "meeting, convention, and event planners must multitask, pay attention to details, and meet tight deadlines." You can also see how director of events duties rely on organizational skills in this resume example: "developed creative plan-of-action, organizational, and executive documents to aid in the vision of event execution and implementation. "
Interpersonal skills. Another skill commonly found on director of events job descriptions is "interpersonal skills." It can come up quite often in director of events duties, since "meeting, convention, and event planners must establish and maintain positive relationships with clients and suppliers." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day director of events responsibilities: "established repeat business through marketing and interpersonal skills. "
The three companies that hire the most director of eventss are:
- Marriott International52 directors of events jobs
- University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences45 directors of events jobs
- The Freeman Company LLC21 directors of events jobs
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Compare different directors of events
Director of events vs. Planning committee member
The role of planning committee members is to assist with designing and implementing an educational activity. They need to ensure that the leadership gives the continuing education (CE) developer enough time to complete the CE process. They are responsible for establishing a planning committee and maintaining access to all confirmed presenters and planners. Planning committee members are also responsible for meeting deadlines for submitting CE documents and clarifying any issues with the proposed CE documents.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between directors of events and planning committee member. For instance, director of events responsibilities require skills such as "customer service," "event management," "customer satisfaction," and "event planning." Whereas a planning committee member is skilled in "safety committee," "community outreach," "financial statements," and "alumni." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Planning committee members tend to reach higher levels of education than directors of events. In fact, planning committee members are 7.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 4.1% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Director of events vs. Meeting planner
A meeting planner makes professional decisions in all areas of meeting preparation and presentation. They plan meetings, establish meeting objectives, schedule meetings, budget expenses, inspect meeting sites, negotiate with suppliers, and create a speaker lineup. They also need to deal with travel arrangements and with technical equipment used in the course of the meeting.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, director of events responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "customer service," "customer satisfaction," "booking," and "crm." Meanwhile, a meeting planner has duties that require skills in areas such as "client facing," "meeting materials," "room set-up," and "site inspections." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Meeting planners earn a lower average salary than directors of events. But meeting planners earn the highest pay in the hospitality industry, with an average salary of $55,783. Additionally, directors of events earn the highest salaries in the technology with average pay of $71,076 annually.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Meeting planners tend to reach similar levels of education than directors of events. In fact, they're 2.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 4.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Director of events vs. Event planning internship
An events marketing manager specializes in overseeing the events marketing operations in a company, aiming to improve brand awareness and reach sales targets. Their responsibilities revolve around developing concepts and strategies, liaising with suppliers and other external agencies, coordinating different departments, and utilizing resources. An events marketing manager may also perform clerical tasks such as producing progress reports, preparing presentations, responding to inquiries and concerns, monitoring the budget, and managing schedules. Furthermore, as a manager, it is essential to lead and encourage the team, all while adhering to each project's deadlines and goals.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, directors of events are more likely to have skills like "customer service," "customer satisfaction," "audio visual," and "booking." But a event planning internship is more likely to have skills like "alumni," "blog posts," "administrative tasks," and "indesign."
Event planning interns typically earn lower educational levels compared to directors of events. Specifically, they're 5.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Director of events vs. Events marketing manager
Types of director of events
Updated January 8, 2025
