Director, Meeting Experience (51636)

Job Details Job Location: AMERICAN GEOPHYSICAL UNION – WASHINGTON, DC 20009 Position Type: Full Time Education Level: 4 Year Degree Salary Range: $109,515.00 – $182,525.00 Salary/year Travel Percentage: Up to 25% Job Shift: Day Why Join AGU Work‑life balance: remote‑first organization, flexible work hours, unlimited PTO, Summer Flexible Fridays, paid holidays, military leave, parental leave. Benefits: Medical, dental, vision, life insurance, disability coverage, employee assistance program, wellness, tuition reimbursement, 403(b) retirement plan, FSA, HSA, theft protection, personal and professional development, and much more. Who We Are The American Geophysical Union (AGU) supports a global community of more than half a million professionals and advocates in the Earth and space sciences. Through broad and inclusive partnerships, AGU aims to advance discovery and solution science that accelerates knowledge and creates solutions that are ethical, unbiased, and respectful of communities and their values. Our programs include serving as a scholarly publisher, convening virtual and in‑person events, and providing career support. We live our values in everything we do, such as our net‑zero energy renovated building in Washington, D.C., and our Ethics and Equity Center, which fosters a diverse and inclusive geoscience community to ensure responsible conduct. This is an exciting time to work at AGU. Every day we approach our work with a sense of purpose, and we look for others who share that passion and desire for a career with impact. Who You Are As the Director of Meeting Experience you are responsible for shaping, advancing, and operationalizing a cohesive, data‑informed attendee experience across the organization’s meetings portfolio. You will ensure that innovation is properly implemented, intentional, scalable, and measurable—while delivering a seamless end‑to‑end experience for attendees, from registration through post‑event engagement. You will blend experience design, operational leadership, and analytics, translating attendee needs and organizational strategies into practical improvements that enhance satisfaction, efficiency, and value. Together with the Director, Meetings, you will form the core leadership for meeting delivery—combining experience design and innovation with operational execution. What You Will Do Experience Strategy & Design Coordinate across the AGU enterprise to develop the strategy and identify opportunities for continuous improvement of the attendee journey across all touchpoints, including registration, communications, onsite navigation, session flow, exhibitor engagement, and post‑event follow‑up. Ensure that meeting experiences align with the organizational strategy, brand standards, sustainability, accessibility commitments, and inclusion best practices. In partnership with the Director, Meetings, serve as the departmental champion for attendee‑centric design, balancing innovation with operational feasibility. Ensure AGU’s volunteers and committees are engaged as partners in crafting meeting innovations. Ensure AGU monitors and improves its sustainability efforts across all meetings. Innovation & Continuous Improvement Advance meeting innovations in a disciplined, test‑and‑learn manner—piloting new formats, technologies, and experience enhancements that can scale across meetings. Evaluate emerging trends in meetings, events, and experience design, recommending changes that improve engagement, efficiency, or value. Partner with internal stakeholders to sunset low‑value experiences and refine legacy processes. Work with the Director of Meetings and other AGU departments to ensure the AGU meetings portfolio as a whole evolves to meet member needs. Attendee Systems & Virtual Strategy Coordinate with other AGU departments to determine strategic direction for all attendee‑facing technologies—including registration and housing platforms, the event app, meeting website, AGU TV, matchmaking, and live captioning—and hold accountability for their overall performance and attendee impact. Work closely with the Manager, Meeting Experience (who owns platform implementation and technical delivery) to ensure systems are built, integrated, and launched in alignment with experience design goals. In collaboration with other departments, develop the virtual strategy for the overall meeting portfolio and ensure that any virtual components are well‑designed, appropriately resourced, and effectively implemented. Ensure seamless integration among registration, housing, badge data, mobile apps, and onsite systems, holding the Manager, Meeting Experience accountable for technical execution. Data, Metrics & Insights Define and track key attendee experience metrics (e.g., registration conversion, satisfaction, engagement, dwell time, friction points) and align data collection in coordination with other departments. Use quantitative and qualitative data to inform design decisions and prioritize improvements. Develop post‑event insights and reporting that translate data into actionable recommendations for future meetings. Produce experience‑focused metrics reports and presentations for staff and volunteer leadership throughout the lifecycle of each event. Cross‑Functional Leadership Collaborate closely with the Director, Meetings, Assistant Directors, and the Programs team to ensure experience design decisions are operationally feasible and integrated into event planning. Partner across AGU departments on attendee‑facing messaging, brand expression, and digital content that shapes the pre‑event and post‑event experience. Coordinate with AGU’s teams on technology strategy, platform investments, and data infrastructure that supports the attendee experience. Engage volunteer leadership as partners in experience innovation, ensuring their perspectives inform design decisions. Team & Vendor Management Manage staff and/or contractors supporting experience design, registration operations, and attendee systems. Oversee vendor relationships related to registration platforms, onsite technology, and experience‑related services, ensuring contract performance and accountability. Delegate day‑to‑day vendor management for technology platforms to the Manager, Meeting Experience while maintaining strategic oversight of vendor direction and performance. Perform other duties as required or assigned, which are reasonably within the scope of the duties in this job classification. What You Will Bring 10+ years with BS/BA; 8+ years with MS/MA; MBA preferred. Senior‑level management experience in a membership organization, with significant responsibility for strategy and innovation. Successful experience implementing new meeting strategies and event technologies. Experience developing and interpreting analytical reports showing the effectiveness of change management activities. Demonstrated experience designing and managing attendee registration and engagement systems for high‑volume meetings. Analytical skills with the ability to translate data into practical experience improvements and compelling presentations. Proven ability to lead cross‑functional initiatives and manage competing priorities in a matrixed environment. Comfort balancing innovation with operational discipline, budget constraints, and risk management. Professional and effective written and verbal communication and presentation skills. Professional interpersonal, relationship‑building, listening, and coaching skills. Attention to detail. Familiarity with event technology solutions (Maritz, M‑Events, EventPilot, Monday.com, etc.). PowerPoint and Excel skills are a must. Ability to exercise the highest level of discretion on confidential matters including strategic planning, contracts, budgeting, and personnel. Knowledge of Earth and space sciences preferred. Ability to travel. AGU Essential Values Accountability: Own it. Excellence: Give your all. Member & Customer Service: Members & Customers first. Teamwork: Together everyone achieves more. Respect: Earn it and give it. Integrity: Do the right thing. Hiring Specifics We understand that it is unrealistic for candidates to fulfill 100% of the criteria listed in a job posting. However, we encourage you to apply if you meet many of the requirements because we know that skills evolve. If you are willing to learn and evolve alongside us, join our team! Full Time, Exempt position. This remote role is open to candidates living in many U.S. states (excluding WA, OR, and CA at this time). The salary range for this position is Min $109,515, Mid $146,020, Maxx $182,525. AGU will make reasonable accommodations in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Work Authorization: We will not sponsor applicants for work visas in the US. We care deeply about fairness so you can be ensured that your application will never be judged based on religious belief, age, color, race, creed, marital status, gender, sexual orientation, political affiliation, ethnic origin, or disability. Veterans and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply. We are committed to providing an inclusive interview experience. If you require reasonable accommodation for any part of the interview process, please let us know and we will work with you to meet your needs. #J-18808-Ljbffr American Geophysical Union