Senior Manager, Events & Industry Engagement

Founded in 1989 and headquartered in Reston, Virginia, SOSi is a private defense and government solutions business specializing in advanced technology systems and mission support. Its capabilities include data science, software development, network engineering, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), and logistics.  Overview SOSi is seeking a Senior Events Manager to lead the company’s strategic event marketing and industry engagement program from our operational headquarters in Reston, Virginia. This is a senior-level role responsible for developing and executing an integrated events strategy that strengthens SOSi’s position within the government contracting, national security, defense, and federal technology markets. The Senior Events Manager will serve as a strategic advisor to Marketing & Communications, Business Development, Business Units, and Executive Leadership, translating business priorities into high-impact industry events, association engagement, executive visibility opportunities, sponsorships, and customer-facing experiences. This role will have significant ownership of SOSi’s presence at industry associations, trade shows, conferences, executive forums, customer engagements, and other strategic external events. The Senior Events Manager will also lead select internal corporate events, including employee summits and leadership engagements that support company culture and organizational priorities. The ideal candidate is an experienced B2B event marketing professional with demonstrated experience in the government contracting industry. Success requires an understanding of the federal contracting ecosystem, industry associations, government and defense conferences, executive-level engagement, sponsorship strategy, and the business objectives behind corporate events. Key Responsibilities Strategic Event Marketing & Leadership Develop and own SOSi’s annual strategic event marketing plan, aligning event investments with corporate priorities, business development objectives, brand strategy, and executive engagement goals. Establish event priorities, participation strategies, sponsorship levels, budgets, and success metrics across SOSi’s event portfolio. Advise senior leaders and business stakeholders on event strategy, audience engagement, sponsorship opportunities, speaking opportunities, and executive visibility. Serve as the strategic owner for event planning and execution, providing direction across programming, logistics, creative, communications, staffing, vendors, and on-site execution. Build repeatable processes, standards, and best practices that elevate the quality, consistency, and effectiveness of SOSi’s event presence. Manage multiple complex events and competing priorities simultaneously while maintaining a high level of organization, accountability, and attention to detail. Government Contracting Industry & Association Engagement Serve as a primary point of contact for SOSi’s key government contracting, defense, national security, technology, and professional industry associations. Develop and maintain relationships with association executives, conference organizers, industry leaders, and other strategic external stakeholders. Evaluate association memberships and sponsorship opportunities based on strategic business value, audience alignment, executive engagement, thought leadership, and return on investment. Identify opportunities to leverage association memberships for speaking engagements, executive leadership roles, panels, thought leadership, customer engagement, networking, and brand visibility. Manage the association calendar and ensure SOSi maximizes the value of its memberships and sponsorship investments. Trade Shows, Conferences & External Events Lead SOSi’s participation in major industry conferences, trade shows, symposiums, customer events, and other strategic external engagements. Develop event-specific strategies and activation plans based on business objectives, target audiences, customer priorities, and executive participation. Oversee sponsorship selection and fulfillment, exhibit strategy, booth design and production, meeting spaces, branding, promotional assets, collateral, staffing, registration, hospitality, and on-site logistics. Coordinate executive participation, including speaking engagements, panels, keynote opportunities, customer meetings, receptions, and other high-value engagements. Prepare and coach executives and subject-matter experts to ensure they are well positioned to represent SOSi and communicate key messages effectively. Conduct post-event evaluations and develop recommendations for future participation, investment, and strategy. Internal Corporate Events Lead the strategy, planning, and execution of select internal corporate events, including employee summits, leadership meetings, company-wide gatherings, and other high-impact employee experiences. Ensure internal events reflect SOSi’s brand, culture, leadership priorities, and employee communications strategy. Establish consistent standards for event experience, production, communications, branding, and execution. Budget, Contract & Vendor Management Own event budgets and manage expenditures across the event portfolio, ensuring investments align with approved business objectives. Negotiate contracts and manage relationships with event agencies, production companies, venues, exhibit houses, association partners, and other strategic vendors. Review scopes of work, contracts, proposals, and invoices to ensure accuracy, appropriate pricing, and fulfillment of contractual obligations. Manage vendor performance and hold external partners accountable to deadlines, quality standards, and agreed deliverables. Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, negotiate cost savings, and maximize the value of event investments. Measurement, Analytics & Optimization Establish and track event performance metrics, including attenda