Exhibition & Sponsorship Operations Manager

About this role

Position Summary
The ISTH Manager, Exhibition & Sponsorship Operations is a key member of the ISTH Meetings Team, responsible for the operational management and flawless execution of all exhibition logistics and sponsorship fulfillment, including a wide range of educational, scientific and promotional activities, for ISTH's annual congresses, educational and highlight courses and other programs held in locations around the world.
The role requires strong exhibition and sponsorship technical expertise, including a working understanding of pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industry codes, congress vetting requirements, and the standards governing the independence of accredited education. It further requires exceptional attention to detail and relationship-building skill in a global setting and with some of the world's largest pharmaceutical and device manufacturers.
Working within the ISTH Meetings team, the Manager collaborates closely with the meetings team, the industry relations and business development function, marketing and communications, finance, and external partners (such as global and/or local exhibition management companies, destination management companies and other vendors) to deliver best-in-class exhibition and sponsorship experiences for our industry partners, protect the Society's scientific independence, and maximize the retention and renewal of industry support for ISTH's meetings.
Key Responsibilities:
Industry Partnership Management

Develop and maintain strong, ongoing and positive relationships with ISTH’s industry partners and act as the primary operational and fulfillment contact for exhibitors and sponsors for all the Society’s congresses, courses and other programs.

Participate in the identification of services and solutions and participate in the selection, and ultimately management of (global and local) vendors/partners that will support the exhibit and sponsorship fulfillment process

Maintain accurate exhibitor and sponsor records in the Society's CRM as the shared system of record with the industry relations and business development function, prepare regular updates, reports, statistics, trends, provide suggestions on improvements and innovations for attracting new and improving current exhibitor and sponsor ROI.

Provide best-in-class customer service to internal and external stakeholders.

Deliver structured post-congress reporting on exhibitor and sponsor participation, booth traffic, benefit utilization and satisfaction, and supply that analysis to the Manager, Industry Relations & Business Development to support renewal and account growth conversations.

Escalate promptly to the Director of Meetings and the Manager, Industry Relations & Business Development any partner request that would deviate from contracted terms, ISTH rules and regulations, or applicable industry codes.

Exhibition Operations and Sponsorship Fulfillment

Support the development of exhibition and sponsorship expense budgets; monitor expenses against budget, track fulfillment costs and margin, analyze trends and drive operational optimization. Revenue target-setting and forecasting rest with the Manager, Industry Relations & Business Development.

Develop, together with the meetings and business development teams as well as the (global and/or local) show management company, venue and other partners, and manage the show floor plan to maximize exhibitor-delegate interactions, satisfaction and ROI/ROO for industry partners and participants alike.

Produce the operational content of the exhibition and sponsorship prospectus, exhibitor kits and service documentation for each congress, in support of the Manager, Industry Relations & Business Development, and provide deliverability, cost and feasibility assessment for proposed new sponsorship offerings.

Establish and maintain effective operational communications with confirmed exhibitors and sponsors following contract execution; including, but not limited to booth space and sponsorship allocations, order confirmation, exhibitor kits, deadline management, onsite service delivery, post-congress correspondence and general communication.

Responsible for the implementation of all exhibit and sponsor contracts and agreements according to all applicable ISTH guidelines, legal requirements, etc.

Responsible for proper and timely reconciliation and payment of exhibition and sponsorship amounts deliverables with the support of the ISTH finance team.

Collaborate with the Director of Meetings to develop the technical manual, together with the selected vendors; while managing and executing all aspects of the day-to day implementation for exhibition and sponsorship services.

Assist in the selection, implementation, development and ultimately manage an online exhibition and sponsorship sales and exhibition/sponsorship services tool.

Inform the development of, and ultimately manage and enforce, exhibition and sponsorship rules and regulations in accordance with global and local requirements, including the applicable pharmaceutical and medical device industry codes and the MedTech Europe Conference Vetting System.

Fully prepare and independently manage industry site visits as well as industry post-congress feedback meetings, surveys and other structured feedback mechanisms.

Manage deadlines, deliverables and information flow for sponsorship recognition as well as fulfillment of sponsor/exhibitor benefits with the ISTH marketing and communications team, the registration, program and wider meetings team as well as other parties as necessary; to include, but not be limited to printed programs, website, congress app and other media, registrations, onsite benefits, etc.

Ensure the physical and programmatic separation of promotional industry activity from ISTH's independent scientific program and accredited education, including floor plan adjacency, signage, satellite symposia scheduling and labeling, and onsite compliance…