Senior Associate, Event Marketing (SMB Tradeshows)

At Toast, we believe showing up for restaurant operators where they are is one of the most powerful ways to build trust, deepen relationships, and grow our brand. SMB tradeshows are some of Toast’s highest-performing external events, driving meaningful new business and upsell impact while reinforcing our commitment to local restaurant communities.

We’re looking for a highly organized, detail-obsessed, relationship-driven Senior Associate of External Events to own the planning and execution of our SMB regional tradeshows—end to end. This role is ideal for someone who thrives in fast-paced environments, loves managing logistics, and knows how to activate cross-functional teams to hit ambitious goals.

This person will run our SMB regional tradeshows, support the team with execution across key events like the National Restaurant Association (NRA) show, and collaborate closely with sales, partner marketing, and creative to ensure Toast shows up consistently, effectively, and on brand.

About this Roll* (Responsibilities):

• Own SMB regional tradeshows end-to-end — from initial scoping and planning through onsite execution and final performance readout.
• Manage all logistics including booth builds, shipping, vendor/venue coordination, travel, collateral, giveaways, and onsite attendee experience.
• Manage the budget for assigned tradeshows, from planning and forecasting to expense tracking and post-event ROI analysis.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for show organizers, venue teams, and external vendors.
• Ensure all booth designs, signage, demos, and materials reflect Toast’s brand standards and consistent messaging.
• Partner closely with SMB Sales, Restaurant Success, Solutions Engineering, and Growth teams to align each show with regional priorities and ensure proper staffing.
• Build staffing schedules, assign booth roles, and provide onsite expectations and enablement for attending Toasters.
• Manage pre-event registration pacing and share weekly Slack updates with regional leaders to drive attendance and visibility.
• Coordinate pre- and post-show outreach with sales teams to support localized goals and follow-up.
• Track leads, MQLs, and booth engagement metrics; deliver clear post-event readouts with insights, wins, and recommendations.
• Proactively identify operational gaps and recommend improvements to strengthen future SMB tradeshow execution.
• Support NRA with vendor coordination, staffing schedules, and onsite logistics, and assist with occasional VIP/prospect dinners tied to external events.
• Maintain event timelines, checklists, invoices/POs, and documentation; contribute to scalable playbooks and repeatable SMB tradeshow processes.

Do you have the right ingredients?* (Requirements):

• 5+  years of tradeshow or external event planning experience, ideally in a high-growth or field marketing environment.
• Proven track record managing end-to-end event execution with strong onsite presence.
• Experience partnering with sales teams or field organizations strongly preferred.
• Exceptionally organized, resourceful, and able to handle multiple events simultaneously.
• Previous experience working with vendors, venue teams, show organizers, and partners.
• Demonstrated ability to track MQLs, leads, and event KPIs and summarize performance insights.
• Experience with registration platforms (Cvent/Bizzabo), CRM tools (Salesforce), and project management tools is a plus.
• Strong understanding of brand experience, booth flow, visual consistency, and audience engagement at tradeshows.
• Willingness to travel 25%, including some weekends.
• Team player with a positive, solutions-oriented mindset.
• Self-directed and motivated to continually improve event quality, efficiency, and impact.

AI at Toast

At Toast, one of our company values is that we're hungry to build and learn. We believe learning new AI tools empowers us to build for our customers faster, more independently, and with higher quality. We provide these tools across all disciplines, from Engineering and Product to Sales and Support, and are inspired by how our Toasters are already driving real value with them. The people who thrive here are those who embrace changes that let us build more for our customers; it’s a core part of our culture.

Our Total Rewards Philosophy

We strive to provide competitive compensation and benefits programs that help to attract, retain, and motivate the best and brightest people in our industry. Our total rewards package goes beyond great earnings potential and provides the means to a healthy lifestyle with the flexibility to meet Toasters’ changing needs. Learn more about our benefits at https://careers.toasttab.com/toast-benefits.