Role guide

Event manager jobs

Open event manager roles across the US, updated weekly, plus what the job involves, what employers ask for, and what it actually pays.

What event managers do

An event manager owns an event from brief to debrief: the objectives, the budget, the venue and supplier contracts, the production schedule, the on-site team and the post-event report. The title spans a wide range, a corporate in-house manager, an agency account manager and a venue events manager do noticeably different jobs, so read the listing rather than the title.

What it pays

BLS reports meeting, convention and event planners as a single occupation with a median of $59,440 a year; it publishes no separate figure for the event manager title. Manager postings generally sit around that median, above coordinator roles and below director roles, but the spread by industry and city is wide. The listings below show salaries published by employers.

$59,440 per year
median annual pay for meeting, convention and event planners (2024)
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook(opens in a new tab). Checked July 2026.

The occupation as a whole

155,800 jobs in 2024
5% growth projected 2024–2034
about 15,500 openings a year

Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook (opens in a new tab). Checked July 2026. Figures cover meeting, convention and event planners, the occupation this role sits inside.

What employers typically ask for

Two to five years running events, or a coordinator track record with proof you have owned deliverables
A bachelor’s degree is commonly listed; a professional certificate plus experience is frequently accepted instead
Demonstrable budget ownership. You have built one, defended it and reported against it
Supplier and venue contract negotiation
Experience briefing and running an on-site team
A recognized event management certification, which appears as preferred on the majority of postings

Where the job leads

Event coordinator
Executing to a plan. Two to three years here is the usual runway into a manager title.
Event manager
Full ownership of individual events, including the budget and the client or internal stakeholder.
Senior event manager
The larger and more complex events, plus responsibility for coordinators and junior managers.
Head of events or event director
A portfolio, a team and a commercial target rather than a set of individual events.

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