Protocol & Events, Associate Manager

Protocol & Events, Associate Manager | Lockheed Martin

The mission matters. So do the people behind it. With advancing defense technology at our core, what sets us apart is a culture of collaboration, purpose, and impact.

What does this role look like?

The Associate Manager, Protocol & Events, reports to the Senior Protocol & Events Manager and will serve as the primary contact for a line of business. This role is responsible for owning the event and engagement portfolio and will lead team members who currently support the line of business. The candidate will blend deep individual contributor expertise with emerging people management responsibilities.

Working in close partnership with the Senior Protocol & Events Manager, the Associate Manager leverages senior level guidance and escalation channels while applying extensive protocol knowledge, event-execution skill-sets, and stakeholder engagement experience to deliver high visibility events, trade-show participation, and sponsorship programs. Success in this role requires a confident, organized, relationship-driven professional who can navigate complex organizational dynamics, balance competing priorities across a busy events calendar, develop talent, and represent the Protocol & Events function with credibility and professionalism.

In this role you will have the following daily key responsibilities:

• Serve as the main protocol & events contact for the division while liaising with the Senior Protocol & Events Manager on strategic decisions.
• Build trusted relationships with senior leadership, program directors, and key stakeholders to understand priorities, milestones, and event requirements.
• Maintain a comprehensive division event calendar, identifying conflicts, dependencies, and resource needs.
• Attend leadership and planning meetings as the Protocol & Events representative; provide updates on event status, upcoming activities, and team capacity.
• Advise stakeholders on precedence, etiquette, military customs, and diplomatic courtesies relevant to the division's customer and government partner base.
• People Management:
• Directly manage a group of Protocol & Events team members who are currently supporting the line of business, providing day-to-day direction, support, and development.
• Set clear expectations, assign work, and ensure resources are available.
• Partner with the Senior Protocol & Events Manager on workforce planning.
• Event Planning & Protocol Execution:
• Support and personally lead select high visibility events (customer visits, executive briefings, program ceremonies, receptions).
• Review and quality assure event plans, run of show documents, briefing materials, and collateral produced by team members.
• Oversee planning, execution, and reporting of sponsorship activities for the division, ensuring alignment with organizational priorities and brand standards.
• Lead coordination for division participation in 4- 5 major annual trade shows, managing logistics and B2B meeting scheduling for key members of the executive team. Serve as the onsite point of contact, managing day of scheduling, VIP movements, and real time adjustments.
• Lead post-event evaluations; synthesize feedback into actionable improvements.
• Identify process gaps and propose solutions to improve team efficiency, event quality, and stakeholder experience.
• Ensure all events meet the highest standards of protocol, professionalism, and stakeholder experience.

This position does not support teleworking; the preferred candidate will be located near our Lockheed Martin Space facility one of the Coolest places to work:
Denver, Colorado, and be expected to work in the office.

To be effective, ideally, you should also have:

• Experience in defense/aerospace or government adjacent environments.
• Excellent organization, multitasking, and communication skills.
• History of mentoring junior staff or volunteers.
• Sponsorship or external engagement program experience.
• Background in B2B meeting scheduling.
• Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) or comparable certification.
• Multi-task in a fast-paced team environment and work well under pressure.
• Possess effective relationship-building skills with peers, leadership and suppliers.
• You bring positivity and enthusiasm to every project you touch. In addition to the work, you love being part of a team and working collaboratively through the process.
• Demonstrated exceptional strategic communication skills, including written, verbal, and presentation, to effectively communicate business cases to all levels of peers, suppliers, and stakeholders, as well as program executives, with an ability to persuade and motivate action.
• Active TS/SCI Clearance.
• By applying to this role, you are expressing interest in this position and could be considered for other career opportunities, within Lockheed Martin, where similar skills and requirements have been identified as a match.
• Applicants selected will be subject to a government security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified…