Corporate Events & Experiences Lead

Responsibilities:

Corporate Events & Experiences

- Own end-to-end planning and execution of Harrison Street’s corporate events and experiences across North America, from initial concept through on-site execution and follow-up.

- Plan and execute firmwide employee events and experiences, including town halls, offsites, celebrations, social programming and other culture-building events.

- Partner closely with the Global Chief People Officer to develop events and experiences that support firm priorities, relationships and culture.

- Bring fresh concepts and creative ideas to events, with a focus on evolving and improving recurring experiences over time.

- Curate all aspects of the experience, including venues, hospitality, programming, food and beverage, entertainment, gifting, branded materials and other touchpoints.

- Oversee employee-facing branded materials, swag and gifting programs, ensuring they are thoughtful, elevated and consistent with the Harrison Street brand.

- Manage high-profile, confidential and time-sensitive events and initiatives with discretion and sound judgment.

- Ensure seamless execution and a consistently high-touch experience for employees, clients, executives and guests.

- Stay current on emerging event, hospitality and experiential trends and bring relevant ideas and best practices to Harrison Street.

Annual Events Calendar & Talent & Culture Partnership

- Own and maintain the firmwide annual events calendar, bringing together corporate, employee and other relevant events across Harrison Street.

- Meet with Talent & Culture subcommittees as part of the annual planning process to understand their proposed events, timing and objectives.

- Provide event-planning expertise, guidance and recommendations to subcommittees as they develop annual programming, while subcommittees retain responsibility for owning and executing their respective events unless otherwise agreed.

- Bring a firmwide perspective to the calendar, identifying scheduling conflicts, gaps, duplication and opportunities to better coordinate programming across groups

- Help create a thoughtful cadence and mix of events and experiences throughout the year

- Serve as a resource to Talent & Culture committees on event concepts, venues, vendors, budgets and planning best practices

Event Operations & Vendor Management

- Own event budgets, timelines, logistics and execution plans with a strong focus on quality, efficiency and cost management.

- Source, evaluate and manage venues, agencies and vendors across North America; negotiate contracts and pricing as appropriate.

- Build and maintain strong relationships with preferred venues and vendors.

- Identify opportunities to consolidate vendors, leverage firmwide relationships and drive efficiencies.

- Develop scalable event-planning processes, tools, templates and best practices to support consistent execution.

- Track event feedback and conduct post-event reviews to identify learnings and improve future programming.

Requirements:

- 5–8+ years of progressive experience in corporate event planning, experiential events, hospitality or a related field, preferably in a high-touch professional services, financial services or client-service environment.

- Demonstrated ability to independently own complex events from initial concept through execution.

- Experience working directly with executive-level stakeholders and managing high-visibility events and experiences.

- Proven ability to manage multiple events, timelines and priorities simultaneously with exceptional attention to detail.

- Strong project management, organizational and follow-through skills.

- Strong creative instincts paired with practical, disciplined execution.

- Experience managing event budgets, vendor relationships and contract negotiations

- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build strong relationships across an organization and with external partners.

- High level of discretion, judgment and professionalism.

- Ability and willingness to travel as needed throughout North America to support key events and on-site execution.

- Flexibility to support events outside of standard business hours, including evenings and occasional weekends.

Key Attributes

- Strong taste, aesthetic judgment and attention to detail.

- Creative thinker who brings original ideas and a clear point of view.

- Thinks like a host, not simply an organizer.

- Anticipates needs and thinks several steps ahead.

- Balances creativity with budgets, timelines and practical execution.

- Calm under pressure and solutions-focused.

- Polished, professional and comfortable working with senior stakeholders.

- Proactive, resourceful, accountable and able to operate independently.

Why This Role Matters

- Opportunity to own and shape Harrison Street’s corporate events and experiences program across North America.

- Broad exposure across employee, client and executive experiences.

- High degree of ownership and creative autonomy.

- Opportunity to strengthen how Harrison Street brings its culture, relationships and brand to life through experiences.

For Illinois Only: The expected base salary range for this position is $90,000 - $110,000. Actual salaries may vary based on a number of factors, including skills, experience, and qualifications.
 
In addition to base salary, total compensation at Harrison Street includes a generous discretionary bonus, along with a comprehensive range of benefits — including medical, financial, and wellness programs — designed to support our employees both professionally and personally.