Event Lead

Guidebook•Raleigh, NC

3d•Remote

About The Position

Guidebook is seeking an Event Lead to manage its presence at over 10 major higher education trade shows and conferences annually. This role is for an individual passionate about events, capable of handling the dynamic environment of a three-day conference, and meticulous about details. The Event Lead will be the operational core of every Guidebook event, from initial sponsorship commitment through post-event reporting. This position involves close collaboration with the Director of Marketing, sales team, and customer success leaders to create impactful event experiences that foster relationships with university partners. While the role is primarily executional, it also carries strategic responsibilities, encompassing the entire event ecosystem, attendee journey, booth engagement, follow-up processes, and pipeline contribution. The role requires travel to events, on-site representation of Guidebook, and the ability to gather data and insights for future strategies. The ideal candidate is excited by event timelines, the energy of event launches, sees travel as a positive aspect of the role, and aims to build a career in shaping how universities connect with students.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required.
1–2 years of event experience, ideally in b2b, working in higher education or an EdTech.
Genuine enthusiasm for events and a willingness to travel for 10+ events a year (typically 2–4 nights per show).
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Comfortable working with a manager based in a remote office and collaborating across multiple time zones.
Detail-oriented, with a strong ability to track timelines, deliverables, and logistics.
Comfortable with public-facing tasks (running a booth, hosting a webinar, producing video content).
Proactive problem-solver who stays calm under pressure and finds creative solutions when plans change.
Curiosity about how technology can improve event experiences and willingness to experiment with new tools and processes.

Nice To Haves

Tooling experience is a plus, but not required, we will train.
Useful exposure includes Salesforce, Canva, LinkedIn Campaign Manager, YouTube Studio, Wistia, and email marketing platforms (we use Conversion AI).

Responsibilities

Own the full event lifecycle for Guidebook's 10+ annual higher education trade shows and conferences, from sponsorship strategy through post-event analysis.
Manage end-to-end logistics: shipping, receiving, AV coordination, electrical, signage, vendor management, booth design and setup, breakdown, and storage.
Be on-site at every sponsored event, representing Guidebook, managing the booth, coordinating internal staff, troubleshooting problems, and ensuring flawless execution.
Lead pre-event planning and promotion: coordinate email campaigns, social media announcements, targeted ads, and internal briefings to maximize attendance and engagement before each show.
Drive demand generation at events: support the meeting booking process, follow-up sequences, and lead capture workflow to maximize pipeline impact.
Manage event timelines and logistics calendars so that sales, customer success, and product teams know exactly where to be, when, and what to prepare.
Coordinate vendor and partner relationships day-to-day, including AV companies, freight shippers, print vendors, exhibition partners, and creative agencies.
Manage event budgets in partnership with the Director of Marketing, tracking spend against allocation, identifying variance, and ensuring ROI.
Execute post-event follow-up: own the lead nurture workflow, ensure timely outreach to qualified prospects, and brief relevant teams on handoffs.
Create comprehensive post-event recap reports within one week of every event, capturing leads, pipeline influenced, costs, attendance, booth traffic, feedback, and key learnings to inform strategy.
Serve as the central point of contact for all event-related coordination across sales, customer success, product, creative, vendors, and the Director of Marketing.
Create clear, actionable briefing documents for all booth staff and internal travelers ahead of each event, including schedules, talking points, logistics, and success metrics.
Negotiate and manage vendor contracts and relationships, ensuring quality delivery, on-time performance, and cost control.
Anticipate and surface issues early, giving stakeholders visibility into timelines, blockers, and necessary decisions.
Build strong working relationships with key partners, vendors, and attendees at recurring conferences.
Own event performance analytics, pulling data on leads captured, pipeline influenced, cost per lead, ARR influenced, and other metrics that matter.
Maintain accurate lead source attribution in Salesforce, ensuring sales and customer success teams have clean data for follow-up and forecasting.
Create a monthly or quarterly event performance dashboard showing momentum, win rates, and ROI across the event portfolio.
Share qualitative insights from on-site interactions: what are universities asking about? What objections do we hear? What moments resonated? How should our messaging evolve?
Track budget performance and alert the Director of Marketing to variances so we can adjust future planning.