Event & Conference Specalist

Noblis•Reston, VA

8d•Hybrid

About The Position

At Noblis, we operate at the intersection of science, technology, and mission, solving some of the nation's most complex challenges. Our Marketing & Communications team creates high-impact experiences that strengthen our brand, engage customers and employees, and support strategic business objectives. This role leads the planning, coordination, and execution of a diverse portfolio of enterprise events across two primary areas of focus: external industry engagement and internal corporate programs. The ideal candidate is an experienced GovCon event professional with exceptional organizational skills, deep knowledge of the federal marketplace, strong vendor management capabilities, and the ability to independently deliver complex, high-visibility events with excellence, creativity, and attention to detail.

Requirements

US Citizenship required.
Bachelor's degree with 5+ years of experience OR Master's Degree with 3 years of experience OR PhD with 1 year of experience OR Associate's degree with 8 years of experience OR High-School with 11 years of experience.
Degrees must be in Marketing, Communications, Hospitality Management, Business Administration, or a related field.
5+ years of progressive experience in event planning and execution, with a strong emphasis on trade shows, industry conferences, and customer-facing engagements within the Government Contracting (GovCon) or federal services environment.
Demonstrated ability to independently manage complex, multi-faceted event portfolios from concept through execution with minimal oversight, including full accountability for budgets, timelines, vendor negotiations, and risk mitigation.
Deep knowledge of the federal marketplace, including familiarity with major industry conferences, government customer engagement protocols, and compliance considerations for event participation.
Proven experience coordinating across geographically dispersed teams and managing multiple concurrent events with competing priorities and tight deadlines.
Strong vendor management skills with a track record of negotiating contracts, managing exhibit houses, AV production companies, venues, and logistics providers to deliver high-quality outcomes within budget.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to engage and coordinate effectively with executive leadership, mission area leaders, subject matter experts, and external partners.
Proficiency in event management tools and platforms (e.g., Cvent, Eventbrite, project management software) and standard business applications (Microsoft Office Suite).
Willingness to travel up to 30–40% to support on-site event execution across multiple locations.

Nice To Haves

Experience managing exhibit programs, sponsorships, memberships, and industry engagement for major federal conferences and professional associations.
Knowledge of experiential marketing, executive events, and brand activation strategies that elevate customer and employee experiences.
Experience partnering with executive leadership, business development, marketing, and communications teams to support strategic business objectives.
Professional certification such as Certified Meeting Professional (CMP), Certified Special Events Professional (CSEP), Project Management Professional (PMP), or equivalent.
PMP, CMP (Certified Meeting Professional), or similar certification preferred but not required.
Active U.S. government security clearance, or the ability to obtain one.

Responsibilities

Lead end-to-end planning, logistics, and on-site execution of trade shows, industry conferences, customer engagements, and executive-hosted experiences across geographically dispersed locations, ensuring timelines, budgets, staffing, risk mitigation, and deliverables are successfully managed.
Serve as the primary coordination point with Mission Area leaders, subject matter experts, and technical staff to align event participation with strategic business development priorities, ensuring the right expertise is represented at the right venues with appropriate briefing materials, talking points, and presentation support.
Manage all aspects of industry exhibitions and event operations, including exhibit strategy, booth logistics, floorplans, shipping, labor, installation/dismantle, show services, audiovisual production, promotional materials, lead retrieval, registration, attendee experience, signage, branded collateral, digital content, and on-site execution.
Build and manage relationships with venues, hotels, exhibit houses, decorators, production companies, transportation providers, audiovisual vendors, and other external partners; negotiate contracts, oversee budgets, evaluate proposals, and maximize return on investment while delivering exceptional event experiences.
Partner with Corporate Development, Customer Experience Officer, Chief Technology Officer, Mission Areas, Executive Leadership (CEO, CFO, CPO), external agencies, and industry associations to manage corporate memberships, sponsorships, and executive participation, including speaker logistics, travel coordination, dry-runs, hosting duties, and VIP experiences.
Coordinate with geographically dispersed teams and external vendors to ensure consistent brand representation, messaging alignment, and seamless execution regardless of event location or scale.
Engage and partner with executive leaders and HR for internal corporate programs including leadership offsites, employee engagement events, all-hands meetings, and executive meetings, ensuring alignment with organizational culture and enterprise priorities.
Partner with Shared Services, Human Resources, and Executive Leadership to deliver internal experiences that reinforce employee engagement, organizational values, and leadership visibility.
Develop and implement event standards, playbooks, templates, checklists, and best practices to improve consistency, operational efficiency, and scalability across both internal and external event portfolios.
Measure event success through KPIs, attendee feedback, budget performance, and business outcomes; provide post-event reporting and recommendations for continuous improvement.
Travel as required to support event execution across multiple locations.