Manager, Business Operations and Events

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You’ll work with Bain Chicago’s Business Operations and Events teams, partnering closely with office leadership, consulting teams, business functions, regional teams, external partners, and vendors to deliver exceptional experiences that strengthen Bain’s culture, enhance the employee experience, and support client and business priorities.

The Manager, Business Operations & Events leads Bain Chicago’s Events team and is responsible for setting the strategic direction, operational excellence, and execution of the office’s events portfolio. This role oversees the planning and delivery of events that strengthen Bain’s culture, enhance the employee experience, and support client and business priorities.

As the leader of a high‑performing team, the Manager develops event strategy, manages budgets and vendor partnerships, coaches team members, and partners closely with office leadership to create exceptional experiences while continuously improving operations and processes.

• Own the strategy, prioritization, and delivery of Bain Chicago’s annual events portfolio, ensuring alignment with office, client, and employee engagement priorities.
• Serve as an advisor to Office Heads and senior leadership on event strategy and employee engagement, while building trusted relationships across consulting, business functions, and regional teams.
• Establish annual priorities, service levels, goals, performance metrics, and resource allocation across the Chicago Events function.
• Oversee a portfolio of approximately 300 annual events, ranging from team meetings to large-scale office programs, including multiple and often-overlapping large-scale events of 500–1,000+ attendees from end-to-end design, execution, and wrap-up.
• Provide strategic oversight and guidance for event planning, ensuring appropriate project plans, governance, stakeholder engagement, executive-level communications, and messaging are in place for high-profile events.
• Lead strategic vendor relationships, major contract negotiations, and preferred vendor partnerships.
• Liaise as needed with Risk, Legal, and HR teams to minimize risk on-site at events.
• Oversee onsite teams for each event, including catering services and facilities managers, while leading on-site event management, making decisions within purview, and escalating issues when needed.
• Collect, analyze, and communicate event outcomes with stakeholders, identifying efficiency and performance gaps and recommending suggested upgrades to the event planning process.
• Debrief with individual team members, providing performance review and suggestions for future success, while documenting and sharing best demonstrated practices for future reference.
• Own the annual Chicago Events operating budget of approximately $2M, including forecasting, planning, financial reporting, and ongoing cost optimization.
• Monitor portfolio performance through KPIs and stakeholder feedback, while establishing standards, policies, and best practices for event…