Director of Sponsorship Operations - ShopTalk

Hyve Group Ltd • New York, NY

1d • $120,000 - $130,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

Hyve is hiring a senior operational leader for its RetailTech portfolio, supporting Shoptalk and Groceryshop events in the USA. Reporting to the Head of Global Sponsor Operations, the Director leads the execution and delivery of sponsorship agreements, with a focus on project management, team leadership and development, and operational excellence. The role oversees sponsor operations from planning through onsite execution and post-event review, ensuring projects stay on track and events meet a high standard.

The Director builds and develops a high-performing US Event Operations team, establishes clear project plans and operating processes, and partners with Sales, Marketing, Content, Customer Experience, Finance and other functions. The role also supports event budget management and forecasting, develops profitable sponsor opportunities, and manages relationships with venues, contractors and other event partners. Success means sponsor commitments are delivered exceptionally well, teams and stakeholders understand their responsibilities, risks are managed early, and operational capabilities continue to improve as the events grow.

The position is based in New York and is hybrid. It requires travel within the US and onsite work at events, including weekends as required. The salary band is $120,000–$130,000 based on experience, with eligibility for a competitive bonus structure.

Requirements

• Significant experience in event operations, especially exhibition or trade show management, project management or a related field; experience in large-scale conferences, exhibitions or live events is preferred.
• Proven experience leading the planning and delivery of complex sponsor or partner projects involving multiple stakeholders and immovable deadlines.
• Strong people-management experience and a track record of developing individuals and building high-performing teams.
• Exceptional project-management skills, including the ability to create structure, set priorities and maintain momentum across complex projects.
• Strong commercial acumen and ability to identify and develop high-margin sponsorship opportunities.
• Strong leadership presence and ability to influence and align stakeholders across functions and levels of seniority.
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to make complex information clear and actionable.
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to remain calm, pragmatic and decisive in a fast-moving live-event environment.
• Proactive mindset with a strong sense of ownership and accountability.
• Commercial awareness and experience managing or contributing to significant event budgets.
• Continuous-improvement mindset and interest in developing smarter, more scalable ways of working.
• Flexibility and collaboration in an environment where priorities can change quickly.
• Ability to travel within the US and work onsite at events and over weekends as required.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in large-scale conferences, exhibitions or live events.

Responsibilities

• Lead Sponsor Operations for Shoptalk and Groceryshop events in the USA from initial planning through onsite execution and post-event review.
• Manage the sponsor operations budget and profit-margin reporting, and provide updates to relevant departments.
• Manage event floorplan development to help ensure revenue targets are achievable.
• Own and maintain integrated event project plans, defining and communicating milestones, dependencies, responsibilities and deadlines.
• Establish project management routines for planning meetings, status reporting, action tracking, risk management and escalation.
• Develop bespoke sponsor and client packages and opportunities within budget, and execute them onsite.
• Manage fulfillment of 121 meetings included in sponsor contracts and coordinate with the Attendee Experience team on timely sponsor communications.
• Balance attendee and customer experience, commercial objectives, budget, feasibility and delivery timelines in operational decisions.
• Lead onsite sponsorship operations, briefing teams, clarifying responsibilities and resolving issues effectively.
• Lead post-event reviews and incorporate lessons and actions into future planning.
• Lead, manage and develop US Event Operations team members, setting clear expectations and providing coaching, feedback and support.
• Build individual and team capabilities through development planning, stretch opportunities, knowledge sharing and structured feedback.
• Allocate workloads and responsibilities appropriately, identify resource needs and capacity risks, and support recruitment, onboarding and retention.
• Partner with the Director of Event Operations to build a cohesive Operations team across events.
• Build effective working relationships across the RetailTech portfolio and ensure stakeholders understand operational requirements, deadlines and dependencies.
• Facilitate cross-functional decisions and communicate progress, risks, priorities and required decisions to senior stakeholders.
• Develop and improve processes, tools, documentation, standards and ways of working to make event planning more efficient, scalable and consistent.
• Use event feedback, operational data and team insights to identify and implement continuous improvements.
• Support the Head of Sponsor Operations and Head of Growth in developing the longer-term operational strategy and capabilities for Shoptalk and Groceryshop.
• Partner with Sponsor Operations and Finance leaders on event budget management and forecasting, and apply strong commercial judgment and value-for-money considerations.
• Build productive relationships with venues, contractors and event partners; support supplier selection, negotiations and performance management; and communicate delivery expectations and standards.
• Identify, develop and execute profitable sponsor opportunities to meet sales targets.

Benefits

• Competitive bonus structure.
• Full medical, dental and vision package.
• Retirement plan with company match (401K).
• Competitive vacation policy.
• Hybrid work.
• Gym memberships, private medical care, season ticket loans and healthy pensions.
• An extra day off on the employee's birthday.
• Social events, inclusion workshops and professional development opportunities.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: No Education Listed