EMEA Events Manager

The Opportunity:

As our EMEA Events Manager, you'll independently own and deliver Grafana's regional events across EMEA and, over time, APJ, from our ObservabilityCON on the Road conferences to our third-party sponsorship portfolio. This is a hands-on role for an experienced event manager who has run their own conferences end-to-end: sourced and contracted the venue, managed the budget, managed the vendors, and been on-site when something goes wrong. You'll work across marketing, sales, product, and regional teams, and you'll own the outcome of your events, not just their execution. We move fast, we expect high standards, and we're building an AI-first marketing team , so curiosity about new tools and rigor about their output both matter here.

What You’ll Be Doing:

• Independently manage and execute a portfolio of in-person events, including owned regional user conferences and third-party sponsorships, across EMEA and eventually APJ
• Lead end-to-end event logistics, including venue sourcing, negotiating, and contracting, vendor coordination, booth design and setup, and on-site execution.
• Own event project management, maintaining detailed timelines, budgets, contracts, and vendor communications while ensuring alignment and visibility across stakeholders.
• Define and track event success metrics; deliver post-event analysis and translate insights into actionable improvements that increase performance and ROI.
• Create, review, and approve event assets such as signage, collateral, presentations, and registration experiences to ensure brand consistency and high-quality execution.
• Leverage and build AI and automation tools to improve planning efficiency, execution accuracy, and reporting processes.
• Identify risks early and resolve issues proactively, leading real-time problem-solving and on-site decision-making.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with marketing, sales, product, and regional teams to align event strategy with broader business objectives.
• Provide guidance to junior team members, contractors, and agency partners while remaining hands-on in execution.

What Makes You a Great Fit:

• Located in the UK, Netherlands, Sweden, or Germany
• 4+ years of direct event management experience, including hosted conferences you personally owned end to end and third-party conference sponsorships you ran independently.
• Demonstrated ownership of the full event lifecycle: venue sourcing, negotiating, and contracting, budget ownership and reconciliation, vendor management, registration build, on-site delivery as the lead, and post-event analysis.
• Experience as the primary on-site lead for in-person events, making real-time decisions on vendors, staffing, run of show, and unforeseen problems without escalation.
• Willingness to travel by plane, approximately 40 percent . This includes long-haul travel to APJ and occasional work across APJ/AMER time zones, and flexibility during peak event seasons, when travel may be frequent and involve back-to-back trips over extended periods.
• Curiosity and adaptability in adopting new marketing technologies, including AI-driven tools such as Claude Code
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with demonstrated ability to collaborate across global, cross-functional teams.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced environment.
• Proven ability to manage multiple concurrent events with competing deadlines and shifting priorities while maintaining quality.
• Proven track record of managing complex, multi-stakeholder events with exceptional attention to detail and follow-through.
• Strong organizational and time management skills, with the ability to anticipate needs and identify gaps.
• Demonstrated problem-solving and sound decision-making skills in fast-paced, ambiguous situations.
• Proficiency in Zuddl or similar registration platforms and familiarity with Salesforce and Monday.com preferred.

What Success Looks Like in This Role:

• Deep event management craft, including the judgment that comes from having run events that didn't go to plan.
• A positive, solutions-oriented mindset in high-pressure situations.
• Exceptional attention to detail and commitment to quality.
• Intellectual curiosity and a drive for continuous improvement.
• Initiative, ownership, and accountability for outcomes.
• Strong analytical and project management capabilities.
• Ability to assess results and recommend data-driven improvements.
• Comfort working across different business cultures, regions, and time zones.
• Strong stakeholder communication, with the ability to bring cross-functional partners along from early planning through execution.
• Sound budget and commercial judgment, including negotiating with vendors and knowing where to invest versus where to pull back.
• Flexibility and resilience in an evolving environment with competing priorities.
• A service-oriented approach and the ability to build strong, collaborative relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Practical experience applying AI tools to enhance research, analysis, and operational efficiency while maintaining rigorous quality control.