Director, Special Events

vineyard vines•Stamford, CT

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

At vineyard vines, Every Day Should Feel This Good® is more than our tagline—it's the experience we strive to create in every interaction with our customers, partners, and communities. As Director, Special Events, you will lead the strategy, development, and execution of the brand's event portfolio, creating immersive experiences that bring the vineyard vines lifestyle to life. From iconic consumer activations and retail grand openings to influencer experiences, wholesale events, brand partnerships, philanthropic initiatives, executive engagements, and experiential marketing campaigns, you will shape the moments that strengthen emotional connections with our customers and elevate our premium lifestyle positioning. Reporting to the Chief Marketing Officer, this role requires a visionary leader with exceptional organizational skills, creative storytelling abilities, and expertise in delivering best-in-class experiences that generate measurable brand and business impact.

Requirements

10+ years of progressive experience leading experiential marketing, special events, hospitality, or brand activations for premium lifestyle, fashion, luxury retail, hospitality, or consumer brands.
Proven success developing signature brand experiences that generate consumer engagement, earned media, and measurable business results.
Extensive experience managing complex, multi-market event programs and large-scale experiential campaigns.
Strong relationships with event production agencies, hospitality partners, luxury venues, vendors, and creative collaborators.
Exceptional project management, budgeting, negotiation, and operational leadership skills.
Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams and influence stakeholders across all levels of the organization.
Creative thinker with exceptional attention to detail and a passion for delivering elevated customer experiences.
Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment while managing multiple high-profile projects simultaneously.
Willingness to travel extensively and work evenings and weekends as business needs require.

Responsibilities

Define and execute a comprehensive experiential marketing and special events strategy that supports vineyard vines' long-term brand vision and business objectives.
Create a cohesive annual events calendar aligned with seasonal campaigns, product launches, retail initiatives, collaborations, wholesale priorities, and community partnerships.
Develop signature brand experiences that celebrate the vineyard vines lifestyle and create lasting emotional connections with customers.
Oversee the planning and execution of high-profile events, including: Collection launches, Retail store openings and anniversaries, Brand partnership activations, Influencer and creator experiences, Press previews, Wholesale customer events, Executive and leadership engagements, Community and philanthropic initiatives, Hospitality experiences, Consumer-facing lifestyle activations.
Ensure every event reflects vineyard vines' elevated brand standards while delivering memorable guest experiences.
Partner closely with Marketing, Public Relations, Talent & Influencer, Creative, Social Media, Retail, Ecommerce, Merchandising, Wholesale, Product Design, and Visual Merchandising teams to develop fully integrated event strategies.
Collaborate with cross-functional partners to transform campaigns into immersive experiences that amplify storytelling across earned, owned, shared, and paid media.
Identify emerging trends in luxury retail, hospitality, sports, travel, entertainment, food, wellness, and lifestyle experiences to continually evolve vineyard vines' experiential strategy.
Develop innovative partnerships that expand brand reach while maintaining authenticity and premium positioning.
Leverage consumer insights and cultural moments to create experiences that resonate with existing and new audiences.
Direct all aspects of event production, including creative concept development, venue selection, logistics, hospitality, production schedules, staffing, guest experience, transportation, gifting, and post-event execution.
Build strong relationships with production agencies, vendors, venues, hospitality partners, and event suppliers to ensure flawless execution and cost efficiency.
Establish operational processes that enable scalable, repeatable excellence across all events.
Develop and manage annual experiential marketing budgets while optimizing investments across the event portfolio.
Establish KPIs to measure attendance, engagement, earned media, social amplification, customer acquisition, brand sentiment, sales impact, and return on investment.
Deliver executive-level reporting and recommendations to continuously improve event performance and business outcomes.
Build, mentor, and inspire a high-performing events team while fostering a culture of creativity, collaboration, accountability, and operational excellence.
Manage agency relationships, freelance resources, and external production partners.
Champion innovation while maintaining rigorous attention to detail and flawless execution.