Associate Director, Experiential

Join BDG’s Experiential team, where we create elevated, high-impact, award-winning events at the country’s biggest cultural tentpoles - NYFW, Art Basel, Coachella, F1, and more. We’re looking for a strategic, creative, highly organized leader ready to own branded experiences from ideation through on-site execution, someone who thrives on the adrenaline of bringing big ideas to life in real time, and wants to help shape what’s next for experiential.

Key Responsibilities

Pre-Sale

• Lead ideation, scoping, and pitch strategy for custom events and brand activations across our stable of proprietary properties.

• Write and revise compelling pitch decks and RFP responses, shaping direction rather than just contributing to it.

• Partner with Creative, Sales, and Editorial to ground concepts in audience insight and brand strategy.

Post-Sale / Execution

• Own budgeting for assigned activations: building budgets, onboarding and managing vendors, tracking spend, approving invoices, and reconciling final costs.

• Lead vendor negotiation, contracting, and production timelines as primary point of accountability for delivery.

• Interface with clients throughout the process - refining concepts, managing expectations, and solving creatively in real time, including on-site.

• Manage logistics for tentpole events (room blocks, travel, staffing) and ensure proper team resourcing.

• Oversee recaps and event materials, guiding junior team members on quality and brand alignment.

• Present strategic recommendations and recaps to leadership and clients.

• Refine best practices and templates to improve team efficiency over time.

Qualifications

• 5-8+ years in experiential marketing, brand activations, or events, with a track record of leading complex activations independently and successfully.
• A fast-paced go-getter with an out-of-the-box, marketing-minded approach - genuinely passionate about where experiential is headed.
• Skilled negotiator with proven budget and vendor management experience.
• Strategic thinker with strong creative instincts and excellent writing and visual storytelling skills.
• Strong client-facing communication and presentation skills.
• Highly dependable and collaborative across cross-functional teams.
• Highly organized, able to manage multiple high-stakes projects under tight deadlines.
• Proficient in Canva, Keynote, PowerPoint, MS Office, and Monday.com (or similar).
• Willing to travel and work nights/weekends as needed.