Secure and manage speakers for business conferences and online programs. Responsibilities include researching and contacting executives, writing pitches, managing booking deadlines, coordinating with event producers, nurturing speaker relationships, collecting presentation materials, conducting speaker preparation calls, and using attendee feedback to identify future speakers. The role requires strong communication, organization, outreach, and relationship-building skills, along with domestic travel three to five times annually.
Title: Talent Speaker Acquisition Specialist, Events
Job Type: Full-time, remote (U.S.-based) with some travel
Pay Range: $$70,000 - $75,000 per year
Ragan Communications is looking for an experienced Speaker Acquisition Specialist to secure speakers for our best-in-class business conferences and online programs. Our events are attended by communicators, marketers and HR professionals – your interest in these markets is a plus. Candidate must have at least three years of experience booking speakers for business events. This is an outstanding opportunity to be a part of an award-winning team and to help us grow our event business. Our speakers include chief communications officers, VPs and directors of communications and marketing and HR professionals from leading brands, agencies, universities and agencies plus authors and other speakers with outstanding stories to tell on stage. Candidates must have the ability to engage in conversation and relay interest, passion and excitement when securing engagements.
Core responsibilities:
Our core values – Connection, Curiosity, Innovation, and Integrity – guide all we do and help define what's important to us at Ragan.
About Ragan
Ragan Communications is the leading media brand, and for more than 50 years, we’ve been serving communicators, marketers, and PR professionals at all stages of their career. We’re proud to have landed on the Inc. 5000 list of Fastest Growing Private Companies in the U.S. for the second year in a row! Everything we do at Ragan is in the service of giving communicators ideas, intelligence, resources, connections, and inspiration to help them advance their brand’s mission and goals. Want to get to know us better? Check out The Ragan Look Book for a peek at our team, culture, and what it’s like to work here. Ragan Communications is an equal opportunity employer committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace.
How to Apply
We're looking for someone who can make a compelling ask – the kind of person who gets a busy executive to say yes.
Job Type: Full-time, remote (U.S.-based) with some travel
Pay Range: $$70,000 - $75,000 per year
Ragan Communications is looking for an experienced Speaker Acquisition Specialist to secure speakers for our best-in-class business conferences and online programs. Our events are attended by communicators, marketers and HR professionals – your interest in these markets is a plus. Candidate must have at least three years of experience booking speakers for business events. This is an outstanding opportunity to be a part of an award-winning team and to help us grow our event business. Our speakers include chief communications officers, VPs and directors of communications and marketing and HR professionals from leading brands, agencies, universities and agencies plus authors and other speakers with outstanding stories to tell on stage. Candidates must have the ability to engage in conversation and relay interest, passion and excitement when securing engagements.
Core responsibilities:
- Research, contact and secure quality speakers on deadline.
- Write compelling pitches and find the right contact channels for busy and high-profile executives.
- Own each event’s speaker deadlines and collaborate with our in-house event producers.
- Build and nurture ongoing relationships with speakers, publicists, agents and corporate communications teams.
- Manage the speaker prep process – collect bios, headshots and presentations, and conduct speaker prep calls to ensure high-quality presentations.
- Look for practitioners who bring real-world case studies and practical strategies rather than high-level theory.
- Use session ratings and attendee feedback to decide who we invite back.
- Stay close to who's doing notable work across internal and external communications, marketing, PR and AI.
- Bachelor's degree, preferably in communications, journalism, marketing, media or a related field.
- A minimum of three years of full-time professional experience booking speakers for conferences, podcasts, other events or related experience, such as working in a high-volume outreach environment, such as sales development or media pitching.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Exceptional organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple bookings and schedules simultaneously.
- Ability to travel domestically 3-5 per year to work with speakers during our events.
Our core values – Connection, Curiosity, Innovation, and Integrity – guide all we do and help define what's important to us at Ragan.
- Comprehensive health benefits
- 401(k) with strong employer match
- Employer-paid life and disability insurance
- Flexible work environment
- Generous PTO and paid holidays
- Professional development support
- Early close Fridays all year
About Ragan
Ragan Communications is the leading media brand, and for more than 50 years, we’ve been serving communicators, marketers, and PR professionals at all stages of their career. We’re proud to have landed on the Inc. 5000 list of Fastest Growing Private Companies in the U.S. for the second year in a row! Everything we do at Ragan is in the service of giving communicators ideas, intelligence, resources, connections, and inspiration to help them advance their brand’s mission and goals. Want to get to know us better? Check out The Ragan Look Book for a peek at our team, culture, and what it’s like to work here. Ragan Communications is an equal opportunity employer committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace.
How to Apply
We're looking for someone who can make a compelling ask – the kind of person who gets a busy executive to say yes.
- To show us that, please include a brief cover letter answering this: name one communications leader (not a celebrity) you'd go after as a speaker for a Ragan conference, tell us why they're right for our audience, and walk us through how you'd get them to say yes. We don't typically pay our speakers, so tell us what you'd offer them instead.
Ragan Communications Chicago, Illinois, USA Office
Chicago, IL, United States
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