Job at a glance
Job Title - Lead, Events DESCRIPTION Lead Pearson's global events strategy, portfolio and delivery capability, ensuring every event investment drives measurable commercial, customer, brand, partnership and thought leadership outcomes. Comparable market titles for this opportunity may include Head of Events, Global Head of Events, Director of Events, Senior Director of Events, Events Portfolio Director, Global Events Director, Experiential Marketing Director, Head of Event Marketing, Director of Corporate Events, Director of Strategic Events, Head of Conferences & Events, or Global Event Strategy Lead .
LOCATION & WORKING PATTERN Remote role based in the UK. No regular office requirement however you may utilise Pearson offices where practical. Flexibility is required to collaborate across US, UK and global time zones. Domestic and international travel will be required to support priority events, supplier partners, stakeholder engagement and team collaboration. Travel levels will vary throughout the year based on business priorities and portfolio requirements.
ABOUT THE ROLE Pearson is seeking a strategic and experienced Events leader to shape and deliver a large, complex global events portfolio across International Higher Education. As Lead, Events , you will own the strategy, governance, prioritisation and performance of Pearson's global events portfolio, with particular focus on the United States and United Kingdom markets. You will lead a team of event professionals while ensuring investment, resources and effort are directed toward the highest-value opportunities across conferences, exhibitions, sponsorships, executive engagements, customer events, partner activations and internal leadership programmes.
This role combines people leadership, portfolio management, commercial strategy and operational excellence. Working within a highly matrixed environment, you will align business units, commercial teams, marketing disciplines, executive stakeholders and external partners around a shared vision for event success. You will play a key role in ensuring every event contributes meaningfully to business growth, customer engagement, brand visibility, thought leadership and strategic partnership development while maintaining consistency, quality and efficiency across Pearson's global event activity.
WHAT YOU WILL DO Lead Global Event Strategy & Portfolio Management Own the strategy, prioritisation and performance of a large global events portfolio. Translate enterprise, marketing, commercial and customer priorities into an annual events roadmap. Define event objectives, audience strategies, investment levels and success measures. Apply portfolio tiering and investment frameworks to determine where Pearson should lead, sponsor, exhibit, partner or participate.
Identify opportunities to consolidate investments, reduce duplication and increase efficiency across regions and business units. Use market insight, portfolio data and performance metrics to recommend strategic investment decisions and future opportunities. Lead & Develop High-Performing Teams Lead, coach and develop a geographically dispersed team of event professionals. Establish clear priorities, expectations and performance standards.
Allocate team resources based on business impact, event complexity and strategic importance. Create an inclusive, collaborative and accountable culture. Build organisational capability through coaching, development planning and succession management. Establish operating rhythms that support planning, readiness reviews, learning and continuous improvement. Drive Exceptional Event Delivery Provide strategic oversight across all stages of event planning and execution.
Ensure excellence in event production, attendee experience, executive engagement and operational delivery. Develop playbooks, governance models, templates and quality standards that improve consistency and scalability. Lead readiness reviews for major events and criti