Post job

How to hire a senior event manager

Senior event manager hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring senior event managers in the United States:

  • The median cost to hire a senior event manager is $1,633.
  • It takes between 36 and 42 days to fill the average role in the US.
  • HR departments typically allocate 15% of their budget towards recruitment efforts.
  • Small businesses spend $1,105 per senior event manager on training each year, while large companies spend $658.
  • It takes approximately 12 weeks for a new employee to reach full productivity levels.
  • There are a total of 8,019 senior event managers in the US, and there are currently 8,855 job openings in this field.
  • New York, NY, has the highest demand for senior event managers, with 17 job openings.

How to hire a senior event manager, step by step

To hire a senior event manager, you should clearly understand the skills and experience you are looking for in a candidate, and allocate a budget for the position. You will also need to post and promote the job opening to reach potential candidates. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to hire a senior event manager:

Here's a step-by-step senior event manager hiring guide:

  • Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
  • Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
  • Step 3: Make a budget
  • Step 4: Write a senior event manager job description
  • Step 5: Post your job
  • Step 6: Interview candidates
  • Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new senior event manager
  • Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a senior event manager do?

A senior event manager's role is to spearhead different events, focusing on its planning and execution to ensure that everything runs smoothly in adherence to the goals and budgets. Their responsibilities typically revolve around meeting with clients to discuss their needs and preferences, managing the workforce, and coordinating with suppliers, caterers, photographers, designers, and other external agencies. They must also update clients regularly, monitor the progress of all procedures, and resolve issues promptly and efficiently. Furthermore, they must lead and encourage the workforce to meet goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.

Learn more about the specifics of what a senior event manager does
jobs
Post a senior event manager job for free, promote it for a fee
  1. Identify your hiring needs

    First, determine the employments status of the senior event manager you need to hire. Certain senior event manager roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

    Determine employee vs contractor status
    Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

    You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a senior event manager to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a senior event manager that fits the bill.

    The following list breaks down different types of senior event managers and their corresponding salaries.

    Type of Senior Event ManagerDescriptionHourly rate
    Senior Event ManagerMeeting, convention, and event planners coordinate all aspects of events and professional meetings. They arrange meeting locations, transportation, and other details.$29-65
    Conference CoordinatorA conference coordinator organizes professional gatherings and meetings according to a client's needs and preferences. There are also instances where they may plan reunions, parties, and other events... Show more$15-25
    Planning Committee MemberThe 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... Show more$9-152
  2. Create an ideal candidate profile

    Common skills:
    • Digital Marketing
    • Customer Service
    • Event Management
    • Event Planning
    • Event Production
    • Audio Visual
    • Guest Satisfaction
    • Corporate Events
    • Brand Awareness
    • Event Operations
    • Site Inspections
    • Meeting Space
    • Guest Rooms
    • Wine
    Check all skills
    Responsibilities:
    • Manage attendee database for hotel rooming list and transportation manifests, including room blocks and VIP arrangements.
    • Advise, manage, supervise, and coordinate all special events, programs, ceremonies and VIP visits.
    • Manage all aspects of these events and act as onsite manager to ensure meeting are delivered effectively and professionally.
    • Prepare contracts, BEOs and restaurant group reservations and distribute to appropriate managers.
    • Create and maintain all event paperwork, including BEOs, event contracts, deposits and payments.
    • Challenge to continually identify new and innovative ways of executing event solutions, while minimizing marketing spend, and maximizing ROI.
    More senior event manager duties
  3. Make a budget

    Including a salary range in your senior event manager job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A senior event manager salary can vary based on several factors:
    • Location. For example, senior event managers' average salary in arkansas is 62% less than in washington.
    • Seniority. Entry-level senior event managers earn 55% less than senior-level senior event managers.
    • Certifications. A senior event manager with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
    • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a senior event manager's salary.

    Average senior event manager salary

    $91,373yearly

    $43.93 hourly rate

    Entry-level senior event manager salary
    $61,000 yearly salary
    Updated January 21, 2026

    Average senior event manager salary by state

    RankStateAvg. salaryHourly rate
    1Washington$119,753$58
    2Connecticut$110,844$53
    3Massachusetts$106,770$51
    4New York$106,436$51
    5New Jersey$104,585$50
    6California$98,346$47
    7Pennsylvania$97,265$47
    8Maryland$95,572$46
    9District of Columbia$94,013$45
    10Nevada$89,489$43
    11Illinois$85,988$41
    12Alaska$85,504$41
    13Ohio$78,581$38
    14Indiana$74,581$36
    15Wisconsin$73,618$35
    16Arizona$69,865$34
    17Texas$64,130$31
    18North Carolina$63,881$31
    19Utah$62,611$30
    20Florida$58,089$28

    Average senior event manager salary by company

    RankCompanyAverage salaryHourly rateJob openings
    1National Governors Association$155,512$74.77
    2CrowdStrike$155,331$74.683
    3Hitachi Vantara$144,710$69.57
    4Intuit$138,346$66.513
    5Intel$137,759$66.23
    6Amazon$136,581$65.6621
    7Synopsys$132,583$63.74
    8Bloomberg$128,977$62.011
    9Salesforce$126,638$60.8810
    10Forrester$121,978$58.64
    11Fortinet$121,613$58.47
    12Boston Scientific$117,752$56.612
    13CoreLogic$110,625$53.19
    14AppFolio$102,330$49.204
    15Splunk$98,897$47.55
    16HollyFrontier$96,927$46.60
    17SiriusXM$96,859$46.57
    18New York City Independent Budget Office$96,454$46.37
    19Snap$95,047$45.701
    20Jhpiego$95,044$45.69
  4. Writing a senior event manager job description

    A good senior event manager job description should include a few things:

    • Summary of the role
    • List of responsibilities
    • Required skills and experience

    Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a senior event manager job description:

    Senior event manager job description example

    The Job

    OwnBackup is one of the fastest growing global SaaS companies. With nearly 5,000 customers, we are ranked on the Forbes Cloud 100 as one of the world's top private cloud companies and have raised over $500 million in funding from AIkeon Capital, B Capital Group, BlackRock Private Equity Partners, Insight Partners and others.

    We are looking for an experienced Marketing events expert to join our high-performing team.

    At OwnBackup, you'll join a high-energy, cohesive team and have the opportunity to make a huge impact and accelerate growth. You will work collaboratively with multiple groups to drive success through key marketing events.

    We believe that every employee in the company can and should make an impact every day, and we empower them to do so. If you are self-motivated, like to take initiative and are a great team player you will love working here.

    As Senior Manager of Event Marketing you will promote OwnBackup across the globe. The role requires a strong understanding of event planning processes, campaign planning and tactical execution. You will coordinate and contribute to the planning and execution of company attendance at both external events and select internal events.

    Your Day-to-Day Role
    • Plan and coordinate all aspects of company attendance at tradeshows and conferences of varying size and scale, from research and planning to logistics, execution and promotion
    • Manage company-hosted events, including seminars, thought-leadership events, client events, and product road-shows
    • Manage the Marketing Events Calendar, which includes coordinating and communicating with relevant stakeholders within the company
    • Coordinate the distribution of new leads from events to the appropriate sales teams
    • Track and manage deliverables to ensure all event deadlines are met across all departments
    • Manage budget for all Marketing-led events
    • Gather and track ROI, engagement analytics and feedback to consistently assess opportunities for improvement
    Your Work Experience
    • Experience using Salesforce to track campaign performance and measure ROI
    • Experience using Microsoft Excel to manipulate and analyze data
    • Ability to travel up to 30% for onsite event management
    • Experience using project management tools is a plus
    I mportant Details

    This is a full-time position. The ideal candidate will work out of our Englewood Cliffs, NJ office to maximize collaboration and interaction with the business. Or we are open to candidates from Austin, TX area as well.

    OwnBackup is dedicated to creating an environment where employees thrive. It's why we provide every employee with unlimited PTO, generous medical benefits, and a 401(k) savings plan with a 4% employer match. We also offer catered lunches in the office five days a week, a full fitness center, and free shuttle bus service to and from New York City.

    New employees also have the opportunity to attend our award-winning new hire bootcamp, which customizes the onboarding experience by role, provides new employees with invaluable hands-on training within their first few weeks at the company, and gives employees the chance to meet their new colleagues.

    Creating an environment where employees thrive also means making sure every employee feels accepted. As we scale to help all types of companies protect precious data, our team must reflect the diversity we serve. OwnBackup is an Equal Opportunity Employer and we believe that every employee in the company brings a unique perspective that they can and should contribute in order to make an impact every day. We strive to be one team and one culture that builds trust through transparency. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, protected veteran status or disability status.

    A Bit About Us

    OwnBackup is a leading SaaS data protection platform for some of the largest SaaS ecosystems in the world, including Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics 365, and ServiceNow. Through capabilities like data security, backup and recovery, archiving, and sandbox seeding, OwnBackup empowers thousands of organizations worldwide to manage and protect the mission-critical data that drives their business.

    #LI-Hybrid

  5. Post your job

    To find senior event managers for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

    • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
    • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any senior event managers they would recommend.
    • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level senior event managers with the right educational background.
    • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.
    Post your job online:
    • Post your senior event manager job on Zippia to find and recruit senior event manager candidates who meet your exact specifications.
    • Use field-specific websites.
    • Post a job on free websites.
  6. Interview candidates

    Your first interview with senior event manager candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

    It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

    The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

  7. Send a job offer and onboard your new senior event manager

    Once you've decided on a perfect senior event manager candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

    You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

    Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new senior event manager. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

  8. Go through the hiring process checklist

    • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
    • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
    • Define job responsibilities and requirements
    • Establish budget and timeline
    • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
    • Write job description
    • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
    • Promote the job internally
    • Process applications through applicant tracking system
    • Review resumes and cover letters
    • Shortlist candidates for screening
    • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
    • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
    • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
    • Conduct background checks on top candidates
    • Check references of top candidates
    • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
    • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
    • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
    • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
    • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
    • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)
    Sign up to download full list

How much does it cost to hire a senior event manager?

Before you start to hire senior event managers, it pays to consider both the one-off costs like recruitment, job promotion, and onboarding, as well as the ongoing costs of an employee's salary and benefits. While most companies that hire senior event managers pay close attention to the initial cost of hiring, ongoing costs are much more significant in the long run.

You can expect to pay around $91,373 per year for a senior event manager, as this is the median yearly salary nationally. This can vary depending on what state or city you're hiring in. If you're hiring for contract work or on a per-project basis, hourly rates for senior event managers in the US typically range between $29 and $65 an hour.

Find better senior event managers in less time
Post a job on Zippia and hire the best from over 7 million monthly job seekers.

Hiring senior event managers FAQs

Search for senior event manager jobs

Ready to start hiring?

Browse business and financial jobs