Senior Manager - Events and Field Marketing

Forerunner•Portland, ME

3d•$145,000 - $165,000•Hybrid

About The Position

We're looking for our first dedicated Sr Manager - Events. Our market gathers in person: state floodplain, stormwater, asset management, construction, and grant conferences; association chapter meetings; lunch and learns; client dinners. That's where the people we serve learn, compare notes, and decide who to trust. We're hiring someone to own that channel end to end: the strategy, the budget, and the execution. Most of these events are run by associations we want long-term relationships with, so the role is part events and part partner management. You'll own how we show up at each event and how we work with the organizations that host them, year over year.

Requirements

Have 6+ years of marketing, B2B events, field marketing, or partnerships experience with a record of hitting goals you were accountable for.
Have run events or partner programs where the goal was pipeline, not attendance — and you can talk about what you cut after it didn't work.
Pair a strong point of view with hands-on execution. You have a clear view of where the channel should go, and you're just as happy bringing it to life: shipping the booth, writing the brief, running the follow-up yourself.
Know how to work with associations or channel partners. You've negotiated sponsorship or partnership agreements and you understand that the relationship with the organizer is what makes the event pay off, not the booth location.
Are a strong writer and a strong project manager. Events are equal parts judgment and follow-through, and this role calls for both.
Like the travel. Conference season is real, and you'd rather be on the floor than watching it happen over Slack.
Are interested in selling to the government — or already do. Public sector experience helps, but what matters more is genuine curiosity about the people doing this work.
Work fluently with AI. You use AI tools in your day-to-day work and have a point of view on where they accelerate field marketing and where they don't.
Are comfortable with ambiguity. We're a small, fast-moving team. Much of this program will be built by you — you'll set direction with limited precedent and take on responsibility beyond your job description.

Nice To Haves

Experience in govtech or public sector SaaS is preferred, though not required.

Responsibilities

Own the event portfolio and its budget. You'll build the annual plan — which conferences and association meetings we attend, at what level of investment, and which ones we walk away from. You'll bring the recommendation and the numbers behind it, not a list of options.
Run conferences end to end. Booth presence, collateral, speaking and panel submissions, pre-booked meetings, and on-site execution. You'll be the person who makes sure nothing about our presence is left to chance.
Manage the vendors and the physical footprint. Booth, swag, print, shipping, and event-services vendors — sourcing, negotiating, managing quality and timelines, and keeping inventory ready for the next show.
Build our smaller, higher-intent events. Lunch and learns, association sessions, themed dinners, and regional gatherings.
Make our sales team effective at events. Playbooks, pre-event briefs, meeting targets, and follow-up expectations, built with our demand generation team — so the pipeline our AEs and BDRs build on-site gets followed up.
Build our association partnerships. You'll own the relationships with the state and national associations whose members we serve: sponsorship negotiations, speaking slots, co-hosted webinars and training, and placement in their member communications. The goal is to turn one-off sponsorships into standing partnerships that keep us in front of their members between conferences.
Own the number. You'll set targets for meetings booked and pipeline generated per event, report against them, and use the results to reshape next year's plan.
Expect to travel 30–40% of the time.