Senior Director, Event Operations & Program Management

Location: Home-based, United States

Position Summary:

Bentley is seeking a senior event operations leader to define and lead how our global events are planned, managed, and delivered at scale.

This role will own the operational strategy and execution for Bentley’s event portfolio, including flagship events, hosted regional programs, and marquee industry events, ensuring that every program is delivered with rigor, efficiency, and consistency. The right person will bring structure to a growing function, establishing the frameworks, financial discipline, and delivery models required to support high-quality, complex events globally.

This is a critical leadership role within the Global Events team, partnering closely with Experience Design, Audience Engagement, Creative, Sales, and Product and Industry Marketing to ensure Bentley’s events are not only compelling, but operationally sound and scalable.

Responsibilities:

Operational Strategy & Delivery

• Own the end-to-end operational model for Bentley’s flagship events, from early planning through onsite execution and post-event wrap
• Define and implement planning frameworks, timelines, and delivery standards across the event portfolio
• Ensure all events are executed with consistency, quality, and operational discipline

Program Leadership & Delivery Ownership

• Serve as the operational lead for flagship events, with accountability for overall program delivery from planning through execution
• Own the integrated event plan, ensuring all workstreams, timelines, and dependencies are clearly defined and actively managed
• Partner with Experience Design and Audience Engagement leads to translate strategy into coordinated, executable plans
• Drive cross-functional alignment across all contributing teams, ensuring clarity on roles, responsibilities, and deliverables
• Identify risks early, resolve dependencies, and ensure teams stay on track to deliver against key milestones
• Act as the central point of coordination across internal teams and external partners to ensure a cohesive, well-executed program

Financial Management & Governance

• Lead event budgeting, forecasting, and financial tracking across programs
• Establish clear processes for budget management, reporting, and accountability
• Identify opportunities for cost optimization, scale efficiencies, and vendor consolidation

Vendor & Partner Management

• Oversee the Global Event team’s ecosystem of agencies, production partners, and suppliers
• Lead sourcing, contract strategy, negotiation, and performance management
• Ensure partners are aligned to Bentley’s standards, timelines, and expectations
• Build a strong, scalable partner model that supports global delivery

Team Leadership & Operating Model

• Build and lead a high-performing event operations team, setting clear roles, expectations, and ways of working
• Establish best practices across planning, project management, and execution
• Create structure and consistency across a function that is evolving and scaling
• Act as a key partner across the events organization, ensuring alignment between operations, experience, and audience strategy

Execution Excellence

• Oversee all core operational elements, including venue strategy, registration, housing, transportation, and onsite logistics
• Ensure strong coordination across internal teams and external partners to support seamless delivery
• Maintain a high bar for quality while balancing complexity, timelines, and budget constraints

Post-Event Evaluation & Continuous Improvement

• Lead post-event operational reviews, capturing insights, challenges, and opportunities
• Translate learnings into clear improvements and repeatable best practices
• Drive year-over-year gains in efficiency, quality, and execution
• Requires sitting or standing at will while performing work on a computer (or any other physical requirements).

Qualifications:

• 15+ years of experience in event operations, production management, or large-scale program delivery
• Proven track record managing complex, global events (10,000+ attendees) within the enterprise technology space
• Deep experience with event budgeting, financial planning, and cost management
• Strong expertise in vendor management, contract negotiation, and partner strategy
• Experience building and leading teams and operational frameworks in evolving environments
• Excellent project management and organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple large-scale programs simultaneously
• Strong communication skills and ability to work across cross-functional, matrixed organizations
• High level of attention to detail and commitment to execution quality
• Familiarity with event technologies, registration systems, and operational tools
• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing or equivalent experience

What Success Looks Like:

• Events are delivered with strong operational discipline, consistency, and predictability
• Budgets are well-managed, with clear visibility and minimal variance
• Vendor and partner relationships are efficient, scalable, and high performing
• Internal teams experience a clear, structured, and reliable planning process
• Operational improvements are visible year-over-year across cost, quality, and execution

What We Offer:

• A great Team and culture – please see our colleague video. 
• An exciting career as an integral part of a world-leading software company providing solutions for architecture, engineering, and construction - watch this short documentary about how we got our start. 
• An attractive salary and benefits package. 
• A commitment to inclusion, belonging and colleague wellbeing through global initiatives and resource groups. 
• A company committed to making a real difference by advancing the world’s infrastructure for better quality of life, where your contributions help build a more sustainable, connected, and resilient world. Discover our latest user success stories for an insight into our global impact. 

About Bentley Systems

Around the world, infrastructure professionals rely on software from Bentley Systems to help them design, build, and operate better and more resilient infrastructure for transportation, water, energy, cities, and more. Founded in 1984 by engineers for engineers, Bentley is the partner of choice for engineering firms and owner-operators worldwide, with software that spans engineering disciplines, industry sectors, and all phases of the infrastructure lifecycle. Through our digital twin solutions, we help infrastructure professionals unlock the value of their data to transform project delivery and asset performance. www.bentley.com

Equal Opportunity Employer:

Bentley is an equal opportunity employer and considers all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, pregnancy, protected veteran status, religion, national origin, age, genetic information or any other protected characteristic.  This commitment extends to all aspects of employment, including, but not limited to, hiring, placement, promotion, compensation, and training. Know Your Rights as an applicant under the law.

Bentley Policy on EEO, Affirmative Action and Pay Transparency Non-Discrimination

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Request an Accommodation:

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, Bentley is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. We encourage you to request a reasonable accommodation if you are not able to fully use or access our online application system.   You can make an accommodation request by calling 610-458-5000 or sending us an email at disabilityrequest@bentley.com