Event planners are known by many different titles in the corporate world, and these positions may not always be easily recognized. A review of the corporate structure finds many different satisfying event planning careers.
Regarless of internal or external focus, jobs in marketing and event management focus on the most common corporate events: seminars, conferences, trade shows and appreciation events.
Some less obvious event-related jobs exist also in communications, training and the corporate foundation. The following provides a brief introduction to each.
1. Meeting Management
For those who want to work 100% of the time in corporate event jobs, the meeting management department is the obvious route.Individuals in this area focus on the contracting of outside services, managing expense through lodging, food & beverage, transportation, A/V, etc. These jobs are often part of the purchasing department, so expense management drives many decisions. Popular job titles, salaries and currently available jobs include:
2. Office Support
Administrative support positions throughout the organization has event management responsibilities to plan and execute departmental meetings, client-specific meetings, travel arrangements, etc. They also work with outside hospitality vendors, track outside services budgets, etc.
With the focus on strong organizational skills, many event planners start their path here and transfer into other event planning roles. Popular job titles, salaries and currently available jobs include:
3. Marketing and Sales
Whether an organization is sales driven or marketing focused, the business area of any company coordinates the bulk of events, especially smaller meetings. For marketers, the emphasis is on return on investment for the value of events rather than expense management.
Most organizations recognize the value of face-to-face activities, and this has led to an increased focus on client seminars, conferences, appreciation events and more. Popular marketing titles, salaries and currently available jobs in each category include:
4. Communications
The communications department of many corporations is responsible for the "brand" through business communications, internal communications, advertising, community relations, media relations, sponsorships and more.
Although event planning is not the primary focus, activities that involve events may include creating a presence for media events, trade shows, mobile marketing, sponsorships, employee meetings, etc. Entry level job titles, salaries and currently available jobs include:
5. Education and Training
The learning department in many corporations is responsible for planning and executing a range of educational meeting and tools.
This may include corporate training programs for new employees, field office training, employee development, annual employee trainings -- especially for the sales department and other key functional areas of the business. And the responsibilities for planning and executing such programs have all the trappings that would appeal to any event planner. Popular job titles, salaries and
6. Foundation
The corporate foundation is a great source for event jobs, and possibly one of the more overlooked areas. But a corporate foundation job could be a paradise for an event planner.
Positions will allow you to represent the business while working closely with non-profit organizations and others involved in the grant requested community education, awareness and research programs; representatives from the foundation will participate in the planning process for those events. For salaries, see related job titles above. Popular titles and currently available jobs include:
- Foundation Specialist: Job Search
- Program Manager: Job Search
- Foundaiton Assistant: Job Search
