Director of Events & Sponsorships — ESG News (full-time: Remote / Hybrid)

ESG News is gearing up to launch v3.0 of our media platform and is seeking a Director of Events & Sponsorships to own its live-event calendar and the sponsorship revenue behind it, as well as sponsorship programs across our platforms. The ideal candidate will lead business development, and package and deliver events that put sustainability, business and finance leaders together, in the room and digitally, backed by multi-format, multi-channel coverage and visibility programs.

About ESG News. ESG News is a global media and intelligence platform for sustainable business and finance leaders. We deliver daily news, research and trend analysis through a growing network of contributors and syndication partners, and are looking to expand our event coverage, curate our own events, and monetize general sponsorship around our daily sustainable business and finance news coverage. Our network reaches CEOs, CFOs, CSOs, sustainability professionals, chief investment officers, chief impact officers, heads of ESG and sustainable finance, portfolio managers and asset owners, investor relations and communications leaders, policymakers, and sustainability leaders at many of the world's largest companies and financial institutions.

At a glance

Reports to: Matt Bird, CEO & Editor-in-Chief

Type: Full-time

Travel: 10–15%, including international (e.g. Davos, Climate Week events abroad - optional)

Team: Small, senior team; you build vendor and freelance support as programs grow

What you'll do

Sponsorship sales and revenue

• Own an annual sponsorship revenue target across events, awards and NYSE desk programming.
• Build and work a pipeline of corporate, financial-services and sustainability-tech sponsors, from prospecting to signed contract.
• Design sponsor packages: title and presenting sponsorships, panels, video segments, dinners, awards categories and multi-event bundles.
• Write proposals and decks, negotiate terms, and work with the CEO on enterprise and multi-year deals.
• Grow renewals by delivering measurable results and reporting them back to sponsors.

Event strategy and production

• Plan and run the ESG News event calendar, including:
• Climate Week NYC programming and side events
• Awards programs, micro events and roundtables
• Executive sustainability dinner series (20–30 senior leaders per dinner)
• Davos / WEF week activations and international summits
• Featured virtual event webcasts and executive conferences
• Own budgets, venues, run-of-show, speakers, guest lists and vendor contracts.
• Recruit senior speakers and attendees, chiefly CSOs, sustainability VPs, investors and policymakers.
• Make sure every event produces editorial and video content for the ESG News platform.

Partnerships and marketing

• Work with editorial and audience teams on event promotion, registration and email campaigns.
• Keep sponsor deliverables on track across editorial, video, digital ad and on-site placements.

Operations and reporting

• Run the CRM pipeline, forecasts and post-event reports (attendance, leads, sponsor ROI, content reach).
• Build repeatable playbooks, templates and pricing so each event costs less effort than the last.
• Hire and manage freelancers, producers and agencies as the calendar grows.

What you bring

Required

• 5+ years in event sponsorship sales, B2B events or media partnerships, with 3+ years at director or senior manager level.
• A record of closing six-figure sponsorships and hitting annual revenue targets.
• End-to-end production experience on executive events: conferences, awards, dinners or summits.
• Relationships with corporate marketing, sustainability or communications buyers.
• Strong proposal writing, negotiation and budget management.
• Comfort in a small, fast-moving company where you both sell and deliver.

Preferred

• Background in ESG, sustainability, climate, finance or business media.
• Experience with Climate Week, Davos, UN or exchange-hosted (NYSE, Nasdaq) events.
• Working knowledge of CRM tools (HubSpot or Salesforce) and event platforms.
• An existing network of CSOs and sustainability executives.

Ideal background

The ideal candidate has worked for or with (as staff, sponsor or agency partner) organizations such as:

• Business and finance media events: Financial Times Live, Economist Impact, Reuters Events, Bloomberg Live, CNBC Events, Fortune, Forbes, Axios, Semafor
• Sustainability events and media: Climate Group (Climate Week NYC), Trellis Group (formerly GreenBiz), Sustainable Brands, Responsible Investor
• Event companies: Informa, Clarion Events, RX (formerly Reed Exhibitions), Emerald
• Or equivalent experience.

This is a performance-evaluated role. A proven track record in deal origination and commercial relationships is required.

Compensation

• Base salary: $80,000–$150,000, based on experience.
• Alternative contractor option: commission only, 25% of net revenue collected.
• Commission: 10% of net sponsorship revenue collected, rising to 15% above annual quota; uncapped.
• On-target earnings: about $200,000–$250,000 at plan.
• Performance bonus: up to 10–15% of base for hitting sponsor renewal and new-event launch targets.
• Equity: stock option package available after three months of proven performance.
• Benefits: available after 45 days, based on the company benefits package.

How to apply

Submit your application here on LinkedIn. For a quicker response, also email your resume and a short note on past performance and relationship network to matt.bird@esgnews.com. Include one event you produced that you are proud of, with its size and sponsor results.

ESG News is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applicants of every background.