Event Planner (St Louis) - $60000 to $70000 per YEAR

Utopia Experience is a leading event planning company based in St. Louis, Missouri, with over 23 years of industry expertise. Renowned for designing and executing high-stakes, high-visibility events, this company has produced more than 2,000 events that have shaped industries, supported life-changing missions, and redefined company cultures. Utopia Experience specializes in orchestrating conferences, nonprofit galas, and corporate events that go beyond logistical coordination to become transformative experiences for clients and attendees alike. With a unique blend of strategic planning, creativity, and operational excellence, Utopia Experience maintains the innovative spirit and agility of a startup while delivering exceptional results for high-profile clients.

The open Event Planner role is a full-time position located in St. Louis that requires extensive travel across the United States and increasingly on an international level. This role offers an opportunity to take complete ownership of the event planning lifecycle, managing everything from initial strategy and budgeting through execution to post-event growth. Planners will often work with substantial budgets ranging from $100,000 to more than $1 million for events hosting between 500 and 2,000 attendees. This requires a strong combination of financial discipline, strategic vision, logistical expertise, and excellent interpersonal skills.

Daily responsibilities include negotiating contracts with hotels to ensure company profitability while meeting finance team standards, designing sponsorship packages that foster partnership opportunities, and developing attendee-friendly registration platforms. Candidates will manage vendor relationships, including audiovisual service providers, and handle intricate event logistics such as multi-track conferences and complex run-of-shows. The role involves frequent on-site event presence to oversee flawless execution and collaboration with cross-functional teams, including operations, creative, production, and business development departments.

As Utopia Experience expands its reach into markets like Kansas City, Canada, Europe, California, and Nashville, this position plays a vital role in refining and scaling the company’s processes for continued growth and innovation. The ideal candidate possesses 3 to 5 or more years of experience in corporate event planning, nonprofit galas, or large-scale conferences, excluding weddings or social events. They exhibit strong financial acumen, real hotel negotiation experience, comfort with audiovisual and production logistics, and proficiency with registration platforms like Cvent, Stova, and Whova. Moreover, the planner should be a natural relationship builder, an anticipatory problem solver, capable of performing well under pressure while maintaining attention to detail and proactive communication.

The company culture at Utopia Experience is collaborative and supportive, emphasizing a zero-tolerance policy toward ego, unnecessary meetings, or corporate fluff. The team shares a unifying mission to create meaningful events that matter, working alongside seasoned leadership and professionals including the President, VP of Operations, Head of Marketing & Growth, Director of Production, Creative Director, and a dedicated business development team. Employees enjoy flexible paid time off, hybrid work arrangements, 401(k) matching, and the rewarding opportunity to contribute to nonprofit causes that improve communities.

The role offers a competitive base salary range of $60,000 to $70,000, augmented with performance-based discretionary bonuses. Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the U.S., have reliable transportation, a valid passport or willingness to obtain one, and flexible availability for evening and weekend event schedules. Proficiency with contemporary software platforms such as Cvent, Hubspot, Monday.com, and Google Sheets is required, and candidates should be based in or open to relocating to the St. Louis area. Utopia Experience values event planning as a craft and encourages applicants to submit a short video explaining their motivation to join the team, highlighting their most complex event experiences and passion for the field. This thorough selection process underscores Utopia Experience's commitment to hiring driven, thoughtful professionals eager to make a lasting impact through their craft.