Sr Manager, Global Housing & Venue Strategy

Role Purpose: The Senior Manager is responsible for leading the global housing contract strategy and venue selection for Gartner's client-facing conference portfolio. This role manages the end-to-end overflow rooms contract funnel (120+ contracts/year), balancing performance data, feedback and growth projections to deliver strategic venue selection, multi-year contract negotiation, and cost optimization that supports business objectives. This role also is the strategic leader responsible for analyzing and interpreting complex data sets to drive housing and venue strategy for the global portfolio, leveraging advanced data analysis and visualization to forecast demand, optimize inventory and communicate actionable insights to senior leadership for all venues. They will drive process automation to deliver at scale and ensure housing needs are met efficiently and effectively.

What you will do:

• Strategic Venue & Housing Management:

• Develop and execute the global housing and overflow venue strategy for Gartner's conference portfolio, ensuring alignment with business objectives and attendee satisfaction.

• Analyze historical, projected, and real-time data to forecast housing demand, identify overflow requirements, and optimize room block patterns for 55+ conferences annually, balancing attendee experience with financial risk mitigation.

• Build dynamic dashboards and advanced reports to visualize housing and venue performance, enabling data-driven decision-making and strategic recommendations for leadership.

• Lead the venue sourcing process, evaluating and selecting properties that maximize value, minimize risk, and support cost optimization initiatives.

• Partner with internal teams to design and implement scalable, automated processes for housing and inventory management, driving operational efficiency and supporting business growth.

• Contract Negotiation & Lifecycle Management:

• Oversee the contracting strategy for 120+ overflow hotel agreements per year, ensuring contract terms support data integrity and business reporting needs.

• Collaborate with the VSS team to ensure accurate contract documentation and integration with data analysis workflows.

• Negotiate rates, concessions, and contract terms with hotel partners to secure the most favorable outcomes for Gartner, leveraging data insights to inform negotiation strategy.

• Ensure all contracts are compliant with internal policies and maintain accurate documentation in relevant systems.

• Collaborate with Source-to-Contract and Legal for high-value contracts, and oversee post-event contract audits and amendments, integrating findings into future strategies.

• Stakeholder Relationship Management:

• Build and maintain strategic relationships with hotel partners, CVBs, and key internal stakeholders (Conference Leadership, Housing Operations, Logistics, Source-to-Contract).

• Present data-driven insights and strategic recommendations to internal and external stakeholders, influencing business decisions and operational improvements.

• Serve as the escalation point for contract, inventory, and relationship issues, driving timely resolution and continuous improvement.

• Facilitate cross-functional collaboration to align housing strategy with operational needs, financial planning, and attendee experience goals.

• Directly manage one Planner and provide dotted-line with the Housing team, fostering a culture of strategic thinking, change management, and data-driven decision-making.

• Inventory & Risk Management:

• Monitor live demand and registration pace using advanced analytical tools, recommending and executing inventory adjustments to maximize sell-through and minimize attrition risk.

• Oversee hotel room releases, amendments, and inventory corrections in partnership with Housing and third-party providers, integrating data analysis to guide decisions.

• Analyze post-event audit data and registration dashboards to inform future housing strategies and contract negotiations, communicating actionable insights into leadership.

• Identify areas of contract or inventory risk through quantitative analysis, proactively develop mitigation strategies, and communicate potential exposures to leadership.

• Financial Oversight & Reporting:

• Contribute to budget planning, forecasting, and reconciliation for housing and venue contracts, leveraging data to support financial decisions.

• Track, analyze, and report on key metrics - such as contract cycle time, cost savings, attrition risk mitigation, and housing strategy success.

• Review and approve commission calculations, invoice payments, and accruals, ensuring financial accuracy and timely completion.

• Communicate the financial implications of venue or portfolio changes, date moves, cancellations, or attrition/shortfall to minimize fees and maximize value.

What you will need:

• Bachelor's degree preferred; advanced degree or certifications (CMP, hospitality management, project management) a plus.

• 7+ years' experience in hotel sales, hospitality, revenue or inventory management, or related fields.

• Proven track record in contract negotiation, venue selection, and strategic partnership management. A plus if familiar with CVB's and citywide event sourcing.

• Experience driving process automation and digital transformation.

• Experience working in a complex multi-layered environment with multiple stakeholders.

• Ability to build and leverage relationships, think strategically, and adapt to priority shifts.

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with a strong executive presence.

• Strong analytical, communication, and leadership skills; ability to influence without authority in a matrix environment and tell a compelling story with data.

• Fully competent in Microsoft office.

• Willingness to travel approximately 10% to attend Gartner Conferences, both domestic and regional.

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Who are we?
At Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT), we guide the leaders who shape the world.

Our mission relies on expert analysis and bold ideas to deliver actionable, objective business and technology insights, helping enterprise leaders and their teams succeed with their mission-critical priorities.

Since our founding in 1979, we've grown to 21,000 associates globally who support ~14,000 client enterprises in ~90 countries and territories. We do important, interesting and substantive work that matters. That's why we hire associates with the intellectual curiosity, energy and drive to want to make a difference. The bar is unapologetically high. So is the impact you can have here.

What makes Gartner a great place to work?

Our vast, virtually untapped market potential offers limitless opportunities - opportunities that may not even exist right now - for you to grow professionally and flourish personally. How far you go is driven by your passion and performance.

We hire remarkable people who collaborate and win as a team. Together, our singular, unifying goal is to deliver results for our clients.

Our teams are inclusive and composed of individuals from different geographies, cultures, religions, ethnicities, races, genders, sexual orientations, abilities and generations.

We invest in great leaders who bring out the best in you and the company, enabling us to multiply our impact and results. This is why, year after year, we are recognized worldwide as a great place to work.

What do we offer?

Gartner offers world-class benefits, highly competitive compensation and disproportionate rewards for top performers.

In our hybrid work environment, we provide the flexibility and support for you to thrive - working virtually when it's productive to do so and getting together with colleagues in a vibrant community that is purposeful, engaging and inspiring.

Ready to grow your career with Gartner? Join us.

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