Head of Global Events and Travel

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in Italy.

📋 Description

• Spearhead the strategy, governance, and execution of the global events and corporate travel division.

• Guide and cultivate the team, recruit for open positions, establish team rhythms, and enhance capabilities.

• Allocate resources across agencies, production vendors, and internal personnel.

• Execute flagship, VIP, high-complexity, and client/customer-focused events, such as conferences with 5,000 attendees, executive receptions, and regional customer summits.

• Direct venue selection, production, security, contract negotiations, and attendee experience management.

• Supervise internal meetings, company events, leadership retreats, and standardized event playbooks.

• Lead the implementation and transition to the improved global travel operating model, encompassing TMC RFPs, contracts, policies, expense frameworks, approvals, reconciliation, and phased migrations.

• Own the global travel strategy, master agreements, and significant operational escalations.

• Manage travel fulfillment, group flights, hotel reservations, rebooking, and high-touch support for executives, clients, and guest speakers.

• Oversee the consolidated events and travel budget, revenue/cost recovery models, forecasts, ROI, and cost-reduction initiatives.

• Handle vendor deposits, event financial ledgers, client billing, invoice reconciliation, post-event financial reviews, VAT/GST recovery, and approval controls.

• Direct major supplier RFPs and negotiations with TMCs, airlines, hotel chains, venues, registration platforms, and production partners.

• Manage global events and travel policies, traveler assistance, emergency response, data privacy, and incident escalation frameworks.

• Collaborate with Marketing, Sales, Customer Success, Finance, Legal, People Ops, IT, Security, C-Level executives, clients, sponsors, and external partners.

⛳️ Requirements

• A minimum of 8 years of experience leading corporate events and managed travel programs.

• At least 3 years of experience managing a global function in a rapidly expanding international setting.

• Demonstrated experience organizing internal company meetings/offsites and high-impact client or customer-facing events.

• Proven track record of directing large conferences with over 5,000 attendees from start to finish.

• Familiarity with budgets, venue sourcing, registration technology, production, speaker/VIP management, and vendor teams.

• Practical experience in implementing or re-platforming corporate travel frameworks, including TMC selections, booking/expense integrations, phased migrations, and duty-of-care implementations.

• Strong understanding of airline and hotel distribution economics, including GDS, NDC, dynamic pricing, and corporate direct programs.

• Experience in commercial contracting for high-value event venues and suppliers.

• Demonstrated ownership of budgets, financial forecasting, ROI tracking, vendor negotiations, and client event billing/cost recovery.

• Outstanding communication and presentation skills; adept at engaging with C-Suite executives, enterprise clients, sponsors, and key industry partners.

• Comprehensive understanding of global travel safety protocols, crisis management, GDPR compliance, vendor DPAs, and attendee data privacy standards.

• Professional proficiency in English.

• Willingness to travel internationally up to 40% and operate across European, Middle Eastern, and Americas time zones.

• Proficiency in Spanish and/or Italian is a strong advantage.

• Familiarity with virtual-card systems or modern payment settlements is a plus.

• Experience with multi-TMC or hybrid models is preferred.

🏝️ Benefits

• 100% remote work arrangement.

• Opportunities for international travel, up to 40%.

• Collaborate across European, Middle Eastern, and Americas time zones.