Senior Accounts & Events Manager

Job Title: Senior Account & Events Manager - Client Experience

Location: Bristol

Salary: £42,000 - £48,000 base | £60,000 - £75,000 OTE

Contract: Full-time, permanent

About the Role

GDS is looking for an experienced Senior Account & Events Manager to own the end-to-end delivery of client events, while also leading the design and execution of high-impact executive events, dinners, and virtual and in-person meetups that support our sales team in building relationships with C-suite decision-makers.

This is a hybrid commercial and delivery role. You’ll act as a trusted partner to our clients, guiding them from initial event concept through run of show, rehearsals, and live delivery, while also curating memorable experiences that open doors and deepen relationships at the most senior levels.

What Yo'll do

Client Event Delivery

• Own a portfolio of GDS clients, acting as their senior point of contact for all event planning and delivery
• Lead clients through the full event lifecycle: scoping, run of show development, content and speaker preparation, rehearsals, and live event execution
• Provide consultative guidance on event format, production values, and audience engagement to ensure every client event lands brilliantly
• Coordinate internal teams (production, technical, product) to deliver a seamless client experience
• Identify opportunities to grow accounts through renewals, expansion, and advocacy

Executive Events & Hospitality

• Design and deliver a calendar of executive events, dinners, and virtual and in-person meetups that enable our sales team to engage and build relationships with CxO-level prospects and customers
• Own end-to-end logistics across both formats: venue selection, guest list curation, invitations, catering, platform setup, agenda design, and on-the-day delivery
• Partner closely with Sales and Marketing to align events with pipeline priorities and target accounts
• Measure and report on event impact (attendance, engagement, pipeline influence) and continuously refine the programme

What You’ll Bring

Essential

• Proven experience in account management, customer success, or client services within a B2B environment, ideally SaaS or events/media
• Demonstrable track record of planning and delivering events end-to-end across virtual, in-person, and hybrid formats, including run of show and rehearsal management
• Confidence operating at senior stakeholder level, both with clients and internally; comfortable hosting and engaging C-suite audiences
• Exceptional organisation and project management skills, with the ability to run multiple events and accounts in parallel
• Strong commercial instincts, with an eye for opportunities to grow accounts and connect events to business outcomes
• Calm under pressure with meticulous attention to detail, especially in live event environments

Desirable

• Experience with virtual event platforms or broadcast/production environments
• Background in executive hospitality, corporate dinners, virtual and in-person meetups, or ABM-style field events

What Success Looks Like

• Clients consistently rate their event experience highly and renew/expand their partnership with us
• Account expansion and account value KPIs are met or exceeded across your portfolio, with clear growth in renewals, upsell, and overall account revenue
• Sales-led executive events, dinners, and meetups (virtual and in-person) run smoothly, are well attended by target CxOs, and demonstrably influence pipeline
• You become the go-to internal expert for “how we do events”, both for clients and for our own brand moments

Working Pattern

Hybrid, based from our Bristol office. Flexibility to travel for client events, executive dinners, and in-person meetups (including occasional evenings) is essential, with time off in lieu where appropriate.

What We Offer

• £42,000 - £48,000 base salary, with a total package of £50,000 - £58,000 OTE including a performance bonus linked to account value KPIs
• The opportunity to shape a newly created role at the intersection of client success, events, and sales