Senior Director, Event Operations

Please Note: Applications for this position are being managed through an external recruiting partner. We are not accepting applications through ACP's career portal. To be considered for this opportunity, please submit your application using the following link: Senior Director, Event Operations Application Portal

The American Clean Power Association (ACP) delivers world-class conferences & events, bringing together clean energy industry leaders spanning energy storage, wind, utility-scale solar, and transmission companies. Over the past several years, ACP’s event portfolio has grown significantly and now includes eight in-person events, including CLEANPOWER, the clean energy industry’s premier event with over 8,000 attendees and 500 exhibitors. As Senior Director, Event Operations, you will own portfolio-wide operations, translating strategic objectives into repeatable processes and workflows that enable the team to execute at a high level as ACP grows.

Building on momentum with a new event strategy in place, ACP is positioned to grow event-related revenue, increase attendance, and deepen engagement within the portfolio. You will help turn that strategy into an operational infrastructure built to scale. As the clean power industry evolves and attendee needs and behaviors change, you’ll ensure ACP maintains the capacity to innovate while delivering consistently excellent experiences across the portfolio.

Reporting to the Vice President, Conferences & Events, you will lead three direct reports and partner with colleagues across operations, sales, and education to formalize how teams work together to plan and execute events. This includes taking a holistic view of the full portfolio to establish a coordinated planning approach that aligns deadlines, dependencies, deliverables, and responsibilities. You’ll establish systems that give staff and leadership visibility into progress across the portfolio, helping them anticipate challenges and adjust as needed. You’ll evaluate the event technology ecosystem, identifying how tools can support efficient operations and the attendee experience. You’ll also oversee select portfolio-wide initiatives that strengthen attendee engagement and community-building across ACP’s events.

How You’ll Make an Impact

You will serve as a force multiplier to take the events team to the next strategic level. You will remove obstacles and introduce consistent practices that extend planning cycles, reduce last-minute stress, and empower a high-performing team to do what they do even better. Success in your first 1-2 years will be demonstrated by:

• Contributing to the evolution of ACP’s event strategy and translating it into coordinated portfolio-wide execution, ensuring the strategy is applied consistently across every event while helping the team anticipate needs beyond the immediate planning cycle
• Establishing a cohesive operating infrastructure across the portfolio, with documented procedures, shared planning tools, and workflows that improve efficiency and support seamless coordination.
• Improving financial management across the portfolio by establishing consistent expense-tracking practices, monitoring spending against budgets, and providing regular reporting that surfaces potential issues early.
• Leading a long-tenured team through change by listening, building trust, helping team members understand how their work contributes to ACP’s overall goals, establishing performance expectations and accountability, and identifying opportunities for professional development.

Work Environment, Salary, and Benefits

• This role offers a hybrid work environment with 3 days in our Washington, DC, headquarters and 2 days remote each week. Regular travel across the country for meetings or events may be required.
• The budgeted salary range for this position is $145K – $185K. Benefits include generous PTO; medical, dental, and vision insurance; 401(k) with employer contribution; tuition assistance and professional development; flexible spending account and health savings account options; short- and long-term disability; life and AD&D insurance; wellness reimbursement; and more.
• You’ll be joining a fast-paced, high-energy organization with a very ambitious agenda and a staff that is highly motivated.

Responsibilities

Operational Excellence & Portfolio Support

• Translate ACP’s event portfolio strategy into operational standards, processes, SOPs, tools, templates, and governance frameworks that support consistent execution of event experiences and scalable delivery across the portfolio.
• Partner with Business Development and Marketing to develop creative, revenue-generating event experiences and coordinate their timely execution across the portfolio.
• Monitor operational performance and adherence to standards, identifying gaps and leading improvements that strengthen efficiency, accountability, and cross-functional coordination.
• Develop event staffing models and operational support plans that enable effective deployment of staff, consultants, and resources across the portfolio.
• Provide onsite operational leadership, logistical and troubleshooting support, and serve as lead planner for select events, pilot programs, or new event launches, developing effective approaches that can be applied across the portfolio.
• Provide senior counsel on site sourcing and site selection and lead coordination of team travel and site visit logistics.

Financial Management

• Lead logistics budgeting, forecasting, expense management, reconciliation, and weekly financial reporting across ACP’s event portfolio, in partnership with event leads and department leadership.
• Establish financial controls, purchasing procedures, budget management practices, and reporting standards that support accountability and profitability goals.
• Ensure invoices, commitments, accruals, contracts, and event expenses are accurately tracked and reconciled in a timely manner.
• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, optimize spending, mitigate financial risk, and maximize return on operational investments

Vendor & Venue Management

• Negotiate and manage venue and vendor contracts, ensuring alignment with ACP’s operational and financial priorities.
• Evaluate and manage relationships with consultants, venues, and vendor partners, establishing portfolio-wide service standards that support consistency and accountability.

Event Technology & Innovation

• Execute ACP’s event technology strategy, including the evaluation, implementation, optimization, and governance of event technology platforms.
• Oversee the effective use and adoption of project management platforms, mobile applications, attendee engagement tools, AI tools, and other technologies supporting event planning and execution.
• Leverage automation, systems integration, data, and analytics to improve workflows, operational performance, decision-making, and the attendee experience.
• Partner with internal stakeholders and technology providers to drive adoption, address operational needs, and maximize the value of event technology investments.

Attendee Experience, Community Programs & Health & Safety

• Utilize attendee feedback, engagement data, and industry trends to guide program development and experience improvements.
• Develop and support community-building programs for affinity groups, micro communities, students, and other attendee segments to foster engagement and year-round participation.
• Lead ACP’s awards programs and awardee experiences in partnership with the Marketing & Communications team, overseeing project management, recipient engagement, and presentations at ACP events.
• Develop and ensure adherence to ACP’s event health, safety, security, accessibility, and risk management standards.
• Establish emergency preparedness, incident response, and crisis management practices across the event portfolio.

Qualifications

• 10+ years leading conference, tradeshow, convention, or event operations within a trade association, membership organization, or comparable environment.
• Experience leading complex operational initiatives across an event portfolio and translating event strategy into successful execution across multiple teams and stakeholders.
• Demonstrated experience establishing operational standards, processes, and systems across multiple events or programs, rather than managing individual events in isolation.
• Experience managing event budgets of $5M+, forecasting expenses, negotiating vendor agreements, and maintaining financial controls for large-scale events or event portfolios.
• Experience leading and developing teams through change, with the ability to build trust and establish clear expectations and accountability.