Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
Industry: Events, Conferences & Exhibitions
ESMOS Recruitment is looking for a Conference Manager on behalf of one of our clients in the events industry, based in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Job Overview
As a Conference Manager, you will be responsible for developing, managing and delivering high-quality conference content for B2B events.
Working closely with internal teams and key industry stakeholders, you will play a key role in shaping the strategic direction, content development and successful delivery of conferences, ensuring they remain commercially relevant, engaging and aligned with industry trends.
You will oversee the end-to-end conference production process, from market research and programme development to speaker acquisition, stakeholder engagement and onsite delivery.
This role requires strong research and communication skills, creativity, commercial awareness and the ability to develop compelling conference programmes that attract senior industry leaders, sponsors and delegates.
Key Responsibilities
- Conduct market research to identify industry trends, relevant topics and commercial opportunities.
- Develop and manage conference programmes, agendas and content strategies.
- Identify, invite and secure senior-level speakers, moderators and industry experts.
- Build and maintain relationships with industry leaders, associations and key stakeholders.
- Develop engaging conference topics, panel discussions and industry-focused sessions.
- Collaborate with sales and marketing teams to support sponsorship, delegate acquisition and promotional activities.
- Manage speaker communications, briefings and conference content delivery.
- Work closely with internal teams to ensure successful conference planning and execution.
- Oversee onsite conference delivery to ensure a high-quality experience for speakers, delegates and sponsors.
- Monitor conference performance, provide progress reports and identify opportunities for improvement.
Requirements
- Proven experience as a Conference Manager, Senior Conference Producer or in a similar role.
- Experience within the B2B conferences, exhibitions, summits or events industry.
- Strong background in conference research, agenda development, content production and senior-level speaker acquisition.
- Ability to research industry trends and develop commercially relevant conference programmes.
- Excellent communication, stakeholder management and relationship-building skills.
- Strong commercial awareness, organisational skills and attention to detail.
- Experience engaging senior executives, industry experts, associations and key stakeholders.
- Ability to manage multiple projects, deadlines and stakeholders effectively.
- Proactive, creative and results-driven, with strong research and content development skills.