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Salary: USD 145,000 - 165,000 / annual
Forerunner builds intelligent software that connects systems for government agencies and regulated industries managing critical infrastructure. The company helps these organizations turn fragmented data into actionable decisions that reduce liability, surface revenue, and prevent emergencies.
You will be Forerunner's first dedicated Senior Manager of Events and Field Marketing, owning the entire events channel end-to-end. Your market gathers in person at state conferences (floodplain, stormwater, asset management, construction, grant), association chapter meetings, lunch-and-learns, and client dinners. You'll define how Forerunner shows up at these venues and build long-term partnerships with the associations that host them.
Key responsibilities:
- Own the event portfolio and annual budget. Build the plan for which conferences and association meetings to attend, at what investment level, and which to skip. Present recommendations backed by data, not options.
- Run conferences end-to-end: booth presence, collateral, speaking submissions, pre-booked meetings, and on-site execution. Ensure nothing is left to chance.
- Manage vendors and physical footprint: booth, swag, print, shipping, and event services. Source, negotiate, manage quality and timelines, maintain inventory.
- Build smaller, higher-intent events: lunch-and-learns, association sessions, themed dinners, regional gatherings.
- Enable sales effectiveness at events. Create playbooks, pre-event briefs, meeting targets, and follow-up expectations with the demand generation team. Ensure pipeline built on-site gets followed up.
- Own association partnerships. Negotiate sponsorships, secure speaking slots, co-host webinars and training, and secure placement in member communications. Convert one-off sponsorships into standing partnerships.
- Own the metrics. Set targets for meetings booked and pipeline generated per event, report results, and reshape next year's plan based on data.
Expect 30–40% travel during conference season.
Success in year one means: an event portfolio built on evidence (cost, output, rationale for each event); credible presence at every event; standing relationships with key associations; sales teams walking into conferences with booked meetings and walking out with followed-up pipeline; and clear answers to sponsorship renewal decisions.
Requirements:
- 6+ years of marketing, B2B events, field marketing, or partnerships experience with a track record of hitting accountable goals. Govtech or public sector SaaS experience preferred but not required.
- Proven experience running events or partner programs where the goal was pipeline (not attendance). Ability to discuss what you cut when it didn't work.
- Strong point of view paired with hands-on execution. Clear vision for the channel direction and willingness to ship it yourself: booth setup, brief writing, follow-up.
- Experience working with associations or channel partners. Negotiated sponsorship or partnership agreements. Understand that organizer relationships drive event ROI, not booth location.
- Strong writing and project management skills. Events require both judgment and follow-through.
- Comfort with travel. Conference season is real; you prefer being on the floor to watching over Slack.
- Interest in selling to government or existing public sector experience. Genuine curiosity about the people doing this work matters most.
- Fluent use of AI tools in day-to-day work. Point of view on where AI accelerates field marketing and where it doesn't.
- Comfort with ambiguity. Small, fast-moving team. You'll set direction with limited precedent and take on responsibility beyond the job description.
