Director of Events Management

OpenAI•San Francisco, CA

1d•$272,000 - $302,000•Hybrid

About The Position

OpenAI is seeking a Director of Events Management to lead the event management arm of its Global Events & Experiences team. Reporting to the Global Head of Events, this role oversees a diverse portfolio of flagship conferences, developer programs, executive gatherings, research events, and policy and media engagements. The Director leads an approximately 10-person team and is responsible for developing team members, establishing effective operations, and supporting sustainable workloads. The role translates business priorities into event experiences that tell compelling stories through OpenAI’s products and partners, working closely with Creative Production and Technical Production leaders to connect planning and delivery. The position partners with the Global Head of Events to prioritize work, assess requests, and allocate capacity. It builds consistent operational practices and manages agency relationships, while aligning cross-functional teams on event goals, audiences, messaging, and decisions. The Director maintains oversight of budgets, timelines, dependencies, and risks; establishes measures of event outcomes and operational health; and uses feedback and post-event reviews to improve the team’s work. The role is based hybrid in San Francisco, with occasional travel required.

Requirements

14+ years of experience in event management, including leading complex event portfolios and managing teams.
Substantial experience leading complex event portfolios across audiences and formats, with a track record of building capable teams and delivering through others.
People leadership skills, including building trust, coaching with care and candor, handling difficult conversations constructively, and fostering a collaborative, low-ego team culture.
Systems-oriented operational approach and judgment about which processes create clarity and efficiency and where flexibility is appropriate.
Experience building agency relationships and managing scopes, budgets, and performance while protecting quality and using resources responsibly.
Clear communication and ability to influence across functions and seniority levels, exercising calm judgment amid ambiguity, competing priorities, and high-visibility work.
Curiosity about AI and motivation by OpenAI’s mission, with an instinct for storytelling, hospitality, and experiences that respect different audiences.

Responsibilities

Lead, mentor, and develop the team through clear goals, candid feedback, career support, and company context; make decisions on priorities and performance while maintaining trust, agency, and high standards.
Partner with the Global Head of Events to prioritize projects, assess new requests, allocate capacity, surface tradeoffs, and recommend what to pursue, sequence, or defer.
Build efficient and consistent operations, including intake processes, briefs, project plans, approval paths, reusable tools, and playbooks.
Manage agency partnerships, including selection, scopes of work, onboarding, and performance reviews; set expectations for quality, cost, and accountability with Procurement, Legal, and production leads.
Develop understanding of audience needs and guide the team in creating thoughtful hospitality, accessible experiences, and relevant content.
Build expertise in OpenAI’s brand and define the intended audience takeaways and qualities OpenAI should be known for at events.
Align partners across Marketing, GTM, Product, Research, Global Affairs, Communications, and executive teams on event goals, audiences, messaging, and decisions.
Partner with Creative Production and Technical Production leaders to clarify responsibilities and handoffs and integrate event management needs into delivery.
Maintain visibility into portfolio budgets, timelines, dependencies, and risks; help resolve issues early, navigate competing needs, and escalate consequential decisions with recommendations.
Establish practical measures of event outcomes and operational health, share progress and learnings with leadership, and use audience feedback and post-event reviews to improve the team.