The Optica Events and Corporate Engagement marketing team is responsible for a comprehensive promotion program that supports three large conferences, approximately 30 “topical” meetings and many industry-focused reports and events.

The Marketing Operations Manager is responsible for both project management and operational support to ensure that organizational goals for meetings attendance and revenue are achieved. The project management role ensures that all promotion campaigns from marketing services flow efficiently to creative and production partners and that efforts are completed on schedule and on budget. The operations part of the position provides critical support on budgeting, list prospect management and fulfillment of graphics inventories for meetings and corporate engagement events.

The position relies heavily on sustaining strong relationships between the marketing team, designers and production vendors, as well as meetings volunteers and staff members from other Optica teams.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Collaborates with marketing managers to construct then manage detailed project and production schedules, and sets deadlines for various stages of each project – all to ensure successful outcomes
• Manages the annual email calendar for events and corporate engagement  – works with internal stakeholders to schedule (or re-schedule) emails, then meets with team members and external vendors on a weekly basis to confirm distribution dates remain accurate
• Project manager for a high-volume email marketing effort for events and corporate engagement programs – confirms availability from marketers of all assets (i.e., content, images and list segments), then works with third-party vendors on HTML production, testing and email distribution
• Distributes assignments to creative teams and other production vendors, depending on their availability and priorities; monitors projects and workloads, adjusting assignments and deadlines accordingly
• Manages the fulfillment of annual graphics requirements to support Optica meetings and corporate engagement events — specifically, maintaining an inventory of graphics needs, collaborating with graphic designers and managing the production schedule to ensure completion before campaigns begin
• Collaborates with marketing managers to develop overarching audience segmentation strategies including in-person and virtual; builds prospect lists from multiple internal and external sources; and manages processes to ensure data quality and integrity. Primary liaison with Information Technology team on list management. 
• Manages marketing budgets and tracks expenses for all Optica meetings (including exhibit sales) and corporate engagement events to ensure financial integrity of the marketing program.
• Holds key responsibilities on websites for Optica meetings and conferences, including the “changeover” process after an event has concluded; archiving of programmatic content for past events; ensuring content freshness through home page placements; and general quality assurance

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

• Bachelor’s degree
• Minimum of 5 - 6 years professional expertise working across a comprehensive suite of marketing and design disciplines
• Experience with and understanding of best practices in traditional direct marketing, digital marketing and prospect demand generation
• Familiarity with fundamental concepts of sound project management, including Gantt charts, schedules and work management applications

SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• Top-notch project management skills with keen attention to detail and ability to multi-task to meet competing deadlines in a high-volume, fast-paced work environment
• Sound judgment and decision-making skills — ability to monitor and prioritize production schedules to adjust resources and deadlines as necessary
• Effective collaborative skills to work proactively with other marketers; understands their service-provider role and proceeds with quick, efficient and customer-centric interactions
• Excellent written communication and oral communication skills to support efficiencies between clients, team members and vendors; ability to respectfully push back when necessary
• Knowledge of complete marketing cycle — from plan to production; experience producing multi-format marketing collateral (digital, print and multimedia), and managing prospect lists
• Ability to conceptualize, develop and manage budgets

TECHNOLOGIES:

• Experienced user of Microsoft Office Suite applications and/or Google Workspace. You must have advanced capabilities in Excel (e.g., formulas and pivot tables) or Google Sheets.
• Familiarity and facility with website content management systems (e.g., Kentico)

Located in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, DC, Optica, formerly OSA, offers a competitive salary and excellent benefits. Send resume, cover letter, and salary requirements to resumes@optica.org.

About Optica

Optica (formerly OSA) is dedicated to promoting the generation, application, archiving, and dissemination of knowledge in optics and photonics worldwide. Founded in 1916, it is the leading organization for scientists, engineers, business professionals, students, and others interested in the science of light. Optica’s renowned publications, meetings, online resources, and in-person activities fuel discoveries, shape real-life applications and accelerate scientific, technical, and educational achievement.

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