Director of Events

State Affairs is the nation’s leading news and policy intelligence platform focused on state governments. We combine nonpartisan coverage of Statehouses across the country alongside state government data and AI-native tools into a singular platform. 

We inform and empower decision makers, policy professionals and citizens through our award-winning journalism and data – delivering profound insights to help our customers decode and act on state politics and  policy. We’re building a category-defining business that will reshape America as we strengthen visibility into what’s happening and why at the state level.

We are hiring a Director of Events to join our team located in Washington, DC. This role owns the strategy and execution of State Affairs’ event program. Events are a core part of how we build relationships with customers, generate enterprise pipeline, and bring our community together. This role is ideal for someone who combines strategic thinking with hands-on execution. You will be responsible for shaping the event strategy while also handling the day-to-day work required to make events successful. Approximately 80% of this role focuses on commercial and pipeline-generating events, and 20% focuses on internal company events and gatherings.

As the Director of Events, you will:

• Design and execute a portfolio of events that support enterprise pipeline generation and customer engagement.
• Plan and run a wide range of event formats, including industry conference participation, executive dinners, roundtables, hosted briefings, and other curated gatherings.
• Experiment with new event formats and programs to determine which drive the strongest engagement and commercial outcomes.
• Partner with Sales leadership to identify high-value events, coordinate planning, and conduct post-event retrospectives.
• Own the logistics and execution of events end-to-end, including venue selection, vendor coordination, budgets, timelines, invitations, and on-site operations.
• Collaborate with marketing to ensure events are integrated with broader campaigns, messaging, and customer outreach.
• Support State Affairs’ participation in major industry events and conferences, including planning meetings, booths, and supporting programming.
• Coordinate closely with the editorial and newsroom teams on legacy State Affairs events and programs.
• Gather event performance inputs including attendance, engagement, and follow-up outcomes to support pipeline attribution and post-event analysis.
• Plan and execute internal company events including company-wide gatherings, leadership offsites, and other key internal programs.
• Travel to support and run events as needed.

Essential Qualifications for this position include:

• Bachelor’s degree in relevant field 
• 5+ years of professional experience in event marketing, event strategy, or event production.
• Prior professional work experience planning and executing B2B events that support commercial or pipeline outcomes.
• Prior professional work experience working with vendors, venues, and external partners.
• Prior professional work experience coordinating across multiple internal teams including marketing, sales, and leadership stakeholders.
• Ability to manage events end-to-end, from concept and planning through execution and follow-up.
• Ability to balance strategic thinking with hands-on operational execution.
• Organizational and project management skills with the ability to manage multiple events simultaneously.
• Ability to travel to support events as needed.

Preferred Qualifications for this position include:

• Prior professional work experience running events in B2B SaaS, media, or policy/government affairs environments.
• Prior professional work experience supporting conference participation and industry event strategy.
• Prior professional work experience designing curated executive gatherings such as dinners or roundtables.
• Prior professional work experience working in a fast-growing organization where event strategy is still evolving.
• Prior professional work experience collaborating with editorial or media teams on events.
• Ability to experiment with new event formats and measuring outcomes.

This is an in office work opportunity and our teams operate from the Washington, DC office located at L and 15th St. NW five days per week. State Affairs offers a competitive salary and a comprehensive benefits package to employees.

The annual salary range for this role as it is posted is $120,000 to $150,000 for candidates working from the State Affairs office in Washington, DC. The final job level and annual salary will be determined based on the education, qualification, knowledge, skills, ability, and experience of the final candidate(s), and calibrated against relevant market data and internal team equity.  Benefits listed in this posting may vary depending on the nature of your employment with State Affairs.

Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States without the need for current or future company sponsorship.

State Affairs is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions on the basis of merit and business needs.  State Affairs does not discriminate against applicants on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, disability, or any other protected characteristic in accordance with federal, state, and local law.

State Affairs is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities as they go through our job application and interview process. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, you may contact us at jobs@stateaffairs.com

By submitting your application, you affirm the content contained therein is true and accurate in all respects. Please note that prior to employment, State Affairs will obtain background checks for employment purposes that may include, where permitted by law, the following: identify verification, prior employment verification, personal and professional references, educational verification, and criminal history. For certain roles, further background checks covering additional information and activities may be initiated.

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