The Association for association professionals in Chicagoland
Posted: 02-May-26
Location: D.C.
Type: Full Time (Remote Only)
Categories:
ARGENTUM is the leading national trade association serving companies that own, operate, and support professionally managed senior living communities in the United States. Our staff thrives on serving companies creating better living options for our country’s seniors.
Director, Event Programming and Experience Design
Argentum is looking for a creative, high-energy leader to shape the future of our live event portfolio and build experiences and programs people will remember long after they leave the room. This is an opportunity to reimagine flagship convenings, launch bold new event concepts, and create programming (live or virtual) that is fresh, engaging, and nationally relevant.
The Opportunity
This role leads the editorial vision, audience strategy, and programming design for a portfolio of events that are being rebuilt to set a new standard for convening in senior living. The work goes far beyond conference planning — it calls for someone who can design experiences that spark ideas, create energy in the room, and keep audiences actively engaged from opening session to closing remarks.
The ideal candidate is equal parts strategist, curator, and builder. This person knows how to turn a blank canvas into a compelling event, recruit speakers who bring fresh thinking, and create formats that move beyond the traditional panel-heavy agenda.
What You’ll Lead
- Shape the vision, programming strategy, and experience design across multiple distinct event franchises.
- Reimagine flagship events into must-attend gatherings for executive and professional audiences.
- Build dynamic agendas that balance substance, pacing, interaction, and energy.
- Recruit and curate high-impact speakers, including voices from outside the senior living sector.
- Design interactive session formats that create stronger participation and more meaningful connection.
- Launch new event and program concepts from the ground up, including audience definition, content strategy, and program structure.
- Partner with leadership, marketing, sponsorship, and operations teams to bring each event to life.
- Measure success through attendee engagement, relevance, speaker quality, and long-term impact — not just attendance.
Who Will Thrive Here
This role is a strong match for someone who loves building experiences, spotting compelling themes, and shaping the tone and flow of live events. The strongest candidates will bring strong editorial judgment, confidence working with senior leaders, and a clear point of view on what makes an event feel essential, memorable, and energizing.
Candidates should bring:
- 10+ years of experience programming live events, conferences, or large-scale convenings, including leadership of a flagship event or portfolio.
- A track record of designing differentiated programs for different audiences and objectives.
- Experience creating interactive, audience-centered sessions rather than relying only on standard panels and lectures.
- Success recruiting standout speakers and creating content that attendees talk about after the event ends.
- Experience launching new event concepts, brands, or franchises from the ground up.
- Executive presence and the ability to collaborate across internal teams, sponsors, and senior stakeholders.
- Experience in healthcare, hospitality, workforce development, labor, technology, or other mission-driven sectors is a plus, and senior living experience is welcome but not required.
Why This Role Stands Out
Argentum is not looking for incremental improvement. The organization is building a next-generation event portfolio designed to shape ideas, influence practice, and raise the bar for what industry gatherings can be.
For the right candidate, this is a chance to create live programming that feels smart, dynamic, and lasting — and to build event experiences that attendees genuinely want to come back for.
