Portfolio Director, Event & Training

We’re part of Informa, a global business with a network of trusted brands in specialist markets across more than 30 countries, and a member of the FTSE 100. Our purpose is to connect our customers to information and people that help them know more, do more and be more. No other company in the world helps more people share professional knowledge or make business connections. We run around 800 events each year, create digital platforms based on engaging news and information content, and operate professional development programs for individuals and businesses.

HDI has been serving the IT service and support community for nearly 40 years through industry events, certification and training, community, organizational certification, and informational resources like research, forums, articles and blogs. It also partners with a network of local chapters.

ICMI has been serving the contact center market for over 35 years as well – through industry events, professional training, organizational consulting, and informational resources like research, articles, forums, and blogs. Both organizations are 100% focused on improving support and contact centers.

Informa is seeking a strategic, driven, and dynamic professional to manage HDI and ICMI’s events, certification, and training businesses as well as the brands’ content. As the Portfolio Director you will be responsible for the strategy and day-to-day operations of HDI and ICMI’s market-leading professional development services – including certification and training. You will also manage the group’s market-leading events and content strategy, ensuring our approach supports robust community engagement and thought leadership and that our content is used consistently across the business to grow our products and empower our marketing efforts.

In partnership with a highly motivated and skilled team of content, marketing, sales, instructional design, and operations professionals, as the Portfolio Director you will:

• Product Strategy and Management – 40%:
  • Drive the events and certification and training product strategy to include: establishing annual goals, tracking to these goals, operationalizing the goals, and communicating the goals to the larger team in a way that motivates and engages them to achieve said goals.
  • You will also drive the group content strategy with a primary focus on best practice and performance improvement for the professional communities we serve. The bulk of the content appears on our community websites: thinkhdi.com and icmi.com. While the Senior Manager, Content and Community will be driving the day to day on this front – including the editorial calendars, content operations, and community outreach –  you will push the team to cover trending topics and market shifts.
• Financial Management – 20%: In collaboration with the Senior Director and Finance team, you will budget, forecast and track product 9 P&Ls (6 for training; 3 for events) in accordance with Informa’s financial guidelines to include intensive monthly and annual forecasting.
• Team Management – 15%: Manage a cross functional team of event, instructional design, operations, and content/community professionals – tracking performance, mentoring and motivating their career growth, and guiding their priorities, which will mainly align with achieving commercial targets.
• Market Alignment and Quality Assurance – 10%: Ensure that the strategic direction for the events and training businesses meets the educational and professional development needs of and complements market trends for both the IT service and support industry (HDI) and the contact center industry (ICMI).
  • Events:
    • Ensure each conference agenda reflects industry trends and best practices and features senior level practitioners from known organizations.
    • Revisit and redesign the customer experience for each event to ensure these events stay fresh and offer new experiences to engage and retain attendees
    • Support activities and content on the show floor that attracts qualified buyers and keeps them engaged with exhibitors and sponsors
  • Training:
    • Update and develop content in line with brand strategic priorities.
    • Ensure course updates align with the brands’ high-quality standards. 
    • Monitor course and trainer performance, and adjust approach based on data analysis.
    • Drive innovation in the way we deliver our training whether it be integrating more interactive approaches and/or employing more enabled technology resources
• Content Strategy Consult Across Business – 10%: You will collaborate with teams across the business to inform content best practice and strategy and how we integrate content into our products and through our marketing efforts more effectively. Know that you will not be responsible for managing and/or delivering on this content. Specifically, you will collaborate with product and functional leaders across the business to develop:
  • content at our industry events
  • content marketing programs to drive audience growth
  • the infusion of our content into our training curriculum
  • content as a foundation for audience growth and community engagement
• Influencer Networks – 5%: HDI and ICMI partners with industry experts and influencers in varying capacities. Establish stronger relationships with these stakeholders so that we can partner to grow the business in more nimble and effective ways. You will collaborate with the team to manage the following stakeholders:
  • Business Associates: HDI and ICMI supports a network of highly experienced and qualified certified trainers who deliver our training services. They are the face of the brands. Lead the vetting of new qualified trainers/consultants and track this group’s performance at a high level.
  • Conference Advisory Boards: Our conference advisory boards inform the topics and content for our events and are critical in producing compelling conference agendas that drive paid attendance. Collaborate with the team to ensure the board’s composition
  • Contributing Writers: HDI and ICMI lean on a network of contributing writers to generate our newsletter and best practice content. You will collaborate with the team to ensure their submissions are driving traffic and audience engagement.
  • Top 25 Influencers: This program has the opportunity to drive more thought leader/expert level connection to our brands – and in turn, us making more of these connections for driving brand awareness and audience growth. You will work with the team to ensure the program is meeting this objective.
  • Awards Programs: We support an awards program for each brand that generates strong community engagement and brand promotion. You will collaborate with the team to tie the activities aligned with awards more directly to growing our events and training business.

HDI has been serving the IT service and support community for nearly 40 years through industry events, certification and training, community, organizational certification, and informational resources like research, forums, articles and blogs. It also partners with a network of local chapters.

ICMI has been serving the contact center market for over 35 years as well – through industry events, professional training, organizational consulting, and informational resources like research, articles, forums, and blogs. Both organizations are 100% focused on improving support and contact centers.

We look forward to welcoming a new Senior Portfolio Manager who will partner with a passionate and engaged team committed to growing these professional communities.

Experience/Skills Required:

• Proven experience at the management level or higher.
• Proven experience as a product manager over events, training, certification, and/or related professional services.
• Experience working in the IT service and support and/or contact center management industries preferred, not required.
• Proven experience and high comfort level managing P&Ls, budgeting and forecasting.
• Dynamic leader with excellent people management skills, including active performance management and improvement skills. Informa supports a management culture centered on active engagement, consistent and direct communication, and goal-oriented performance management and career development. Your leadership style should complement this approach.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Strong relationship-building skills with internal team/stakeholders, industry thought leaders and stakeholders, and customers.
• Strong appreciation for instructional design including the timing of design cycles and the production process.
• Technology savvy and open to adapting to new approaches and methodologies.
• Ability to navigate complex environments and diplomatically push initiatives forward.
• Travel requirement: 15%

The pay range for this position is $100,000.00 - $135,000.00 depending on experience.
Job advertisement will expire on January 10, 2025

You can make a real impact at Informa Tech, because what we do matters – and we do it at scale. Informa Tech is a division of Informa, where no two days are the same and you’ll find the freedom, opportunity and support of a fantastic community.

Employee experience is very important to us. On top of joining a supportive, diverse and ambitious team that welcomes all types of candidates. We are also flexible with different working patterns and prioritize promotions internally.

Our benefits include:

• Freedom & flexibility: colleagues rate us highly for the flexibility and trust they receive, and we support a range of working patterns
• Great community: a welcoming culture with in-person and online social events, our fantastic Walk the World charity day and active diversity and inclusion networks
• Broader impact: take up to four days per year to volunteer, with charity match funding available too
• Career opportunity: the opportunity to develop your career with bespoke training and learning, mentoring platforms and on-demand access to thousands of courses on LinkedIn Learning. When it’s time for the next step, we encourage and support internal job moves
• Time out: 15 days PTO rising to 20 after three years and 25 after six years, plus 10 national holidays, a birthday leave day and the chance to work from (almost!) anywhere for up to four weeks a year
• Competitive benefits, including a 401k match, health, vision and dental insurance, parental leave and an ESPP offering company shares at a minimum 15% discount
• Strong wellbeing support through EAP assistance, mental health first aiders, free access to a wellness app and more
• Recognition for great work, with global awards and kudos programs
• As an international company, the chance to collaborate with teams around the world

We know that sometimes the 'perfect candidate' doesn't exist, and that people can be put off applying for a job if they don't fit all the requirements. If you're excited about working for us and have most of the skills or experience we're looking for, please go ahead and apply. You could be just what we need! We believe strongly in the value of diversity and creating supportive, inclusive environments where our colleagues can succeed.  As such, Informa is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer.  We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, or religious creed, mental or physical disability, medical condition, genetic information, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, military or veteran status, citizenship, or other protected characteristics under federal, state or local law.

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