What are the responsibilities and job description for the Events Manager – Away From Home position at The J. M. Smucker Company?
Your Opportunity as the Events Manager – Away From Home
We are seeking a highly organized and strategic Events Manager to lead the planning, development, and execution of all events for our Away From Home (AFH) business. This role oversees both internal events (sales meetings, leadership conferences, AFH employee engagement events) and external events (trade shows, customer forums, distributor meetings, and industry conferences).
The Events Manager will be responsible for setting the overall events strategy, managing the annual events budget, and ensuring that every event—large or small—delivers measurable impact, strengthens relationships, and elevates our brand in the marketplace.
Location: Orrville, Corporate Offices
Work Arrangements: Hybrid - onsite a minimum of 9 days a month primarily during core weeks as determined by the Company; maybe more as business need requires
In this role you’ll be responsible for three key areas:
Strategy & Planning:
- Discovery:
- Continuously review best-in-class Events strategies & activations across competitive landscape and beyond. Identify implications for AFH and form recommendations.
- Development:
- Create and socialize a progressively advancing, 3-yr Events strategy for AFH, defining clear goals, priorities, and success metrics.
- Gain alignment and enlistment across sales, marketing, and operations leaders and peers.
Management & Execution:
- Create & socialize the annual Events plan, encompassing all AFH events – internal & external.
- Develop & manage annual AFH Events budget - including forecasting, tracking, and reporting on spend.
- Negotiate vendor contracts to maximize investment and quality of service offering.
- Lead individual AFH event planning & execution:
- Coordinate with AFH Sales & Marketing peer group to define goals, objectives, priorities, and communications plan.
- Coordinate cross-functional vendors and agency partners to develop & execute event logistics, content development, booth/asset design, in-show activations, pre-/post-show activities, and more.
- Ensure events are on-brand, deliver a seamless experience, and engage target audiences based on event objectives.
- Measure and analyze event performance, providing insights and recommendations for continuous improvement.
Collaboration & Leadership
- Serve as the central point of contact for all event-related initiatives for AFH.
- Manage relationships with external partners – vendors, venues, agencies, & production companies.
- Coach and guide internal teams on event best practices to set clear expectations, ensure consistency, and maximize impact.
The Right Place for You
We are bold, kind, strive to do the right thing, we play to win, and we believe in a strong community that thrives together. Our culture is rooted in our
Basic Beliefs
, and we believe in supporting every employee by meeting their physical, emotional, and financial needs.What we are looking for:
Minimum Requirements:
- Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Communications, Business, or related field.
- 5 years of experience in corporate events, trade shows, or experiential marketing
- Strong project management skills with the ability to juggle multiple events simultaneously.
- Experience developing long-range event strategies as a part of broader marketing plans.
- Proven experience managing budgets and vendor relationships.
- Exceptional communication, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to travel as needed (20–30% depending on event schedule).
Additional skills and experience that we think would make someone successful in this role:
- CPG, B2B, or foodservice industry experience.
- Experience managing larger scale event budgets.
Learn more about working at Smucker:
- Helping our Employees Thrive
- Delivering on Our Purpose
- Our Continued Commitment to Ensuring a Workplace for All
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