Arlington, VA
Within one hour of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area
Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, Austin, TX
United States - Nationwide
Alexandria, VA
North Carolina
Posted: 09-Jul-26
Location: Remote,
Type: Full Time (Remote Only)
Categories:
Salary Details:
Additional Information:
POSITION SUMMARY
Reporting directly to the Director of Education, the Senior Manager of Events & Programs leads the development, marketing, and execution of ISMA's events and professional development portfolio, including executive education programs, member conferences, virtual roundtables, leadership development initiatives, and strategic learning opportunities.
This highly visible role combines meeting and event planning, speaker and volunteer management, marketing and promotion, stakeholder engagement, budgeting, and performance measurement to deliver world-class learning experiences and exceptional value to ISMA's global membership.
The successful candidate will serve as both a strategic thinker and hands-on program leader, ensuring that ISMA's educational offerings remain innovative, relevant, financially sustainable, and aligned with member and organizational priorities.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Education Strategy Delivery
- Execute ISMA's education strategy and professional development portfolio, including executive education programs, conferences, webinars, leadership development initiatives, and peer-learning experiences.
- Identify emerging trends and member needs within security risk management and translate them into timely and impactful meeting and educational offerings.
- Collaborate with ISMA leadership, member volunteers, strategic partners, and subject matter experts to develop educational priorities and long-term learning strategies.
- Design innovative learning experiences that maximize engagement, knowledge sharing, and professional growth.
Meeting Planning & Event Management
- Lead planning and execution of ISMA's suite of educational conferences including, executive education programs, leadership forums, regional events, virtual programs, and member meetings.
- Develop conference agendas and educational programming aligned with strategic goals and member interests.
- Manage event timelines, production schedules, meeting logistics, registration processes, speaker coordination, room assignments, and onsite execution.
- Serve as the primary liaison with venues, hotels, audiovisual providers, meeting technology platforms, and other event vendors.
- Conduct post-event evaluations and identify opportunities to enhance attendee experience, engagement, and operational efficiency.
- Ensure educational programs and events consistently reflect ISMA's reputation for excellence and provide meaningful peer-to-peer networking opportunities.
Marketing & Communications
- Write compelling educational content, program descriptions, learning objectives, and speaker materials.
- Develop and execute event marketing strategies that drive program awareness, attendance, engagement, and revenue.
- Develop targeted promotional campaigns using email marketing, digital communications, social media, and member outreach channels.
- Create compelling messaging that clearly articulates program value and aligns with member interests and organizational objectives.
- Monitor registration trends, engagement metrics, and campaign performance, making recommendations to optimize participation and member satisfaction.
- Develop strategies to increase member participation, volunteer engagement, and retention through educational offerings.
Speaker, Faculty & Volunteer Management
- Recruit, cultivate, and support a diverse network of speakers, faculty, facilitators, and industry experts.
- Guide subject matter experts in developing content that aligns with adult learning principles and member expectations.
- Manage speaker communications, presentation reviews, session preparation, and program evaluations.
- Partner with volunteer leaders, committees, and advisory groups to support program development and content planning.
Operations, Budget & Performance
- Develop and manage conference and event budgets.
- Oversee vendor selection, contract negotiations, RFP processes, and partner relationships.
- Manage learning management systems, webinar platforms, conference technologies, and related program tools.
- Establish key performance indicators for educational programs and measure success through attendance, engagement, satisfaction, learning outcomes, and financial performance.
- Analyze program and event data to support strategic decision-making and continuous improvement.
WORK ENVIRONMENT & TRAVEL
- Remote work environment with periodic travel for conferences, meetings, and member events. The ability to operate on ET is required.
- Access to a reliable internet connection and dedicated workspace required.
- Ability to sit or stand for extended periods while performing standard office duties.
- Occasional lifting of materials and event supplies may be required.
- Domestic and occasional international travel approximately 4–8 times per year, including conferences, executive education programs, and member events. Some weekend travel may be required.
Why Apply?
Global Influence: Help shape educational experiences that impact some of the most respected security executives, who in turn, are responsible for protecting millions of employees, critical assets, and global operations across organizations worldwide.
A Collaborative Community: Join a highly engaged, mission-driven team and work alongside industry leaders, academic partners, and senior executives dedicated to advancing the profession.
Opportunity to Build Something Meaningful: This role offers the opportunity to influence the future of professional development within the global security community while helping ISMA expand its educational impact and member value.
ABOUT ISMA
The International Security Management Association (ISMA) is the world's most trusted network of senior security executives. Founded in 1983, ISMA is a premier global membership association representing Chief Security Officers and senior security leaders from multinational organizations across industries worldwide. Our members span six continents and represent many of the world's largest corporations, including organizations within the Fortune 100, Fortune Global 500, FTSE 100, DAX, and CAC 40.
At ISMA, we help security leaders navigate an increasingly complex global risk environment through trusted peer collaboration, executive education, benchmarking, and information sharing. Our members rely on ISMA to gain insights, build meaningful professional relationships, and advance security risk management as a strategic business function.
In-person connection of the trusted ISMA network is central to our mission. Through executive education programs, conferences, leadership development initiatives, and expert-led learning experiences, we equip current and future security leaders with the knowledge, skills, and strategic perspective they need to succeed. We're looking for an innovative meeting and events professional who will help shape the future of learning across our global membership community.
QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor's degree preferred; CMP (Certified Meeting Professional), CAE, or related certification preferred.
- 7+ years of experience in association education, professional development, meeting planning, conference management, or program leadership.
- Demonstrated experience planning and executing conferences, executive meetings, educational programs, and virtual events.
- Experience developing and implementing marketing and promotional strategies for educational programs, events, or membership organizations.
- Experience managing budgets, contracts, vendors, speakers, and volunteer leaders.
- Proficiency with Microsoft 365, CRM systems, learning management systems, event management platforms, virtual event technologies, project management tools, marketing platforms and tools, and AI tools.
- Excellent communication, writing, presentation, and stakeholder management.
- Possess a high-level of professionalism and confidentiality while remaining flexible, resourceful, and efficient.