Director, Enterprise Project Management & Event Execution

Major League Soccer•New York, NY

5d•$115,000 - $140,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Events & Hospitality Department leads the strategic planning and execution of Major League Soccer and Soccer United Marketing’s event portfolio, delivering hundreds of enterprise-wide events annually. The portfolio includes marquee tentpole moments such as MLS All-Star Week, MLS Cup, MLS NEXT tournaments, Leagues Cup, the Mexican National Team U.S. Tour, Concacaf competitions, MLS Rivalry Week, Michelob Ultra Campeones Cup, and additional SUM/international properties. Beyond event execution, the department drives cross-functional initiatives including B2B and hospitality programming, executive meetings, press announcements, competition events, and enterprise-level strategic projects that advance league growth, commercial performance, and brand positioning.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree required
8+ years of progressive project management or event operations
Minimum 5+ years of experience managing complex projects from planning through execution, coordinating cross-functional teams, and overseeing agency and partner relationships to ensure successful delivery.
Demonstrated experience leading leaders and overseeing complex, cross-functional initiatives
Proven track record building operational systems, governance models, or scalable planning processes
Advanced project management expertise with demonstrated success building scalable systems
Experience overseeing large-scale, high-visibility project management portfolios
Exceptional organizational and operational planning skills
Strong financial acumen with experience managing multimillion-dollar budgets
Ability to operate at both strategic and tactical levels
Excellent executive communication and presentation skills
Proven ability to drive cross-functional alignment in complex organizational environments
Strong decision-making capabilities in high-pressure, high-visibility settings
Willingness to travel (6–10 days for marquee events) and work long hours, including weekends, during events and peak periods.
Proficiency in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.

Nice To Haves

Experience overseeing high profile recognized programs or events
Experience building or scaling event operations within a growing organization
Expert ability to manage multiple complex projects simultaneously with competing priorities and deadlines.
Strong knowledge of project management methodologies, governance, and workflow optimization.
Ability to develop comprehensive project plans, timelines, resource plans, and risk mitigation strategies.
Knowledge of Soccer or sports

Responsibilities

Lead enterprise-level initiatives from planning through execution, ensuring alignment across MLS, SUM, and external stakeholders.
Build and manage integrated project plans that include timelines, milestones, dependencies, resource allocation, budgets, and risk mitigation strategies.
Establish governance structures for cross-functional initiatives, ensuring clarity ownership, deliverables, and decision-making pathways.
Develop and maintain standardized project management processes, tools, templates, and governance models that improve consistency, visibility, and execution across the organization.
Create integrated project plans that proactively manage timelines, milestones, dependencies, resources, and project risks.
Build executive dashboards and reporting frameworks that provide leadership with visibility into project status, budget performance, resource allocation, and organizational priorities.
Develop and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure project success, operational efficiency, and overall organizational effectiveness.
Lead recurring project reviews, status meetings, and executive updates, ensuring stakeholders remain informed and aligned.
Drive continuous process improvement by identifying operational gaps and implementing best practices that enhance collaboration, accountability, and execution.
Lead the planning of MLS/SUM marquee events (MLS All Star, MLS Cup) and strategic marketing activations from concept through post-event evaluation.
Develop comprehensive event plans including timelines, budgets, production schedules, staffing plans, vendor management, logistics, and risk mitigation strategies.
Serve as the primary project lead for assigned events, ensuring seamless cross-functional coordination and exceptional attendee experiences.
Manage event budgets, contract negotiations, vendor relationships, and procurement processes while maintaining fiscal responsibility.
Establish event success metrics and develop post-event reporting that measures operational performance, attendee engagement, ROI, and key business outcomes.
Identify opportunities to enhance event operations, improve efficiencies, and elevate the overall event experience.
Lead complex cross-functional initiatives beyond project management and event execution, ensuring alignment, accountability, and milestone delivery.
Ensure commercial partner activations and league initiatives are operationally integrated across all major events.
Oversee portfolio-level budget strategy, including forecasting, financial tracking, reconciliation and cost-efficiency planning.
Review and approve major vendor engagements, contracts, and agency scopes of work.
Ensure financial accountability across managed events.
Drive operational consistency in vendor selection, contracting processes, and payment.
Provide onsite oversight at marquee events, serving as strategic lead and escalation point for critical operational decisions.
Support Event Managers in maintaining cross-functional alignment during live event execution.
Lead special enterprise initiatives as assigned by the Vice President, Events.
Contribute to long-term departmental strategy and organizational design.