Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Digital Event Producer

🎯 Role Definition

The Digital Event Producer is the end-to-end owner of virtual and hybrid event production, responsible for strategy, platform operations, technical production, content workflow and audience experience. This role coordinates creative, technical, and operational teams to deliver live webinars, multi-track virtual conferences, hybrid experiences (studio + remote participants), on-demand content, and sponsor integrations. The ideal candidate combines event production craft (run-of-show, speaker management, rehearsals) with technical expertise (streaming, encoding, platform integrations) and metrics-driven optimization (registrations, attendance, engagement, on-demand conversions).

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Event Coordinator (with virtual/hybrid experience)
Broadcast/Technical Producer or Live Streaming Operator
Webinar or Webinar Studio Coordinator

Advancement To:

Senior Digital Event Producer / Lead Producer
Director of Virtual & Hybrid Events
Head of Global Events / VP of Events

Lateral Moves:

Event Marketing Manager (virtual-first)
Content Producer / Creative Producer
AV & Broadcast Technical Lead

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Own end-to-end production of virtual and hybrid events, including pre-production planning, technical setup, run-of-show creation, live execution and post-event on-demand publishing to meet attendance and engagement KPIs.
Produce and run multi-track virtual conferences and webinars across major platforms (Zoom/Webinar, ON24, Hopin, vFairs, Swapcard), ensuring seamless transitions, session timing, and speaker handoffs.
Create detailed run-of-show documents, timing scripts, cue lists and contingency plans for all live sessions and pre-records to ensure predictable and repeatable execution.
Coordinate speaker management and rehearsal scheduling: brief speakers on technical requirements, record pre-briefs, host dry runs, and provide feedback to ensure broadcast-ready presentations.
Lead technical production including encoder configuration, RTMP stream management, encoder redundancy, bitrate optimization, CDN selection and monitoring for stable live streams.
Operate or direct live production switcher workflows (OBS, vMix, Wirecast, TriCaster), including camera switching, graphics playback, lower-thirds, remote feeds, and ISO recording of sessions.
Manage AV, studio and remote contributors: book studios or local crew, specify camera, audio, lighting, and remote contribution kits, and supervise on-site and remote technical teams.
Integrate event platforms with marketing and CRM systems (Marketo, HubSpot, Salesforce) to automate registrant flows, tracking, lead capture, and post-event workflows.
Design and implement interactive attendee experiences: Q&A moderation, polling, chat moderation, networking lounges, matchmaking, and sponsor/expo engagement.
Coordinate sponsorship integrations and deliverables (branded sessions, video spots, product demos, booth buildouts), ensuring technical feasibility and sponsor satisfaction.
Produce pre-recorded content and polished on-demand assets: edit session recordings, assemble highlight reels, add captions and graphics, and publish to CMS or video portals.
Ensure accessibility and localization: closed captioning, live captioning workflows, multi-language interpretation, and transcripts to meet compliance and audience needs.
Monitor live event telemetry and real-time analytics (concurrent viewers, engagement metrics, error rates) to detect issues and make production decisions during events.
Troubleshoot live technical issues in high-pressure environments, escalate to vendors when needed, and execute backup plans to minimize downtime and negative attendee impact.
Manage budgets, vendor contracts and invoices for streaming platforms, studios, equipment rental and freelance production staff, optimizing cost-for-quality tradeoffs.
Document standard operating procedures (SOPs), runbooks, post-mortem reports and production templates to scale production quality and knowledge across teams.
Lead and coordinate cross-functional teams including marketing, content, design, engineering and sales to align event content, promotion and commercial objectives.
Define KPIs and measurement frameworks for virtual and hybrid events — registrations, attendance, engagement rate, lead quality and on-demand consumption — and deliver post-event performance reports with actionable insights.
Configure and manage event registration pages, landing pages and single sign-on authentication, ensuring smooth attendee onboarding and secure session access.
Oversee media asset management: ingest, encode, transcode, store, and distribute video assets, ensuring correct metadata, tagging and taxonomy for repurposing.
Coach and train internal stakeholders and external partners on best practices for virtual presentation delivery, technical setups and speaker on-camera presence.
Lead vendor selection and management for streaming/CDN services, captioning providers, remote contributor platforms, and hardware rental partners; negotiate SLAs and pricing.
Implement and test security, privacy, and compliance measures for events (data handling, recording consent, watermarking, DRM) in partnership with legal and IT teams.
Plan and execute hybrid venue technical production: coordinate on-site AV crews with virtual production teams, manage camera rigs, vision mixing, IFB and intercom systems for synchronized delivery.
Optimize production workflows by evaluating new streaming technologies, platforms, and automation tools to increase efficiency and reduce manual run-time tasks.

Secondary Functions

Support marketing campaign planning and content calendars to maximize event promotion and attendee conversion.
Contribute to event strategy by advising on format, monetization, pricing, sponsor packages and audience segmentation to improve ROI.
Maintain vendor and equipment inventory lists and recommend capital investments for in-house streaming studios.
Participate in weekly sprint planning, status meetings and post-event retrospectives to continuously improve production processes.
Collaborate with analytics teams to create dashboards tracking event funnel performance, engagement heatmaps and revenue impact.
Provide occasional on-site event support for hybrid or in-person productions, acting as technical lead or producer when needed.
Mentor junior producers, coordinators and freelance staff by developing training materials and shadowing programs.
Research and document emerging virtual event trends, platform updates and industry best practices to inform long-term strategy.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Live streaming and webcast production: RTMP, HLS, CDN selection, bitrate tuning, encoder (hardware/software) configuration.
Production switching and graphics: experience with OBS, vMix, Wirecast, NewTek TriCaster or similar switchers and live graphics systems.
Virtual event platforms: hands-on experience with ON24, Hopin, Zoom Events/Webinar, vFairs, Brazen, Swapcard, Socio, Brella and platform APIs or SDKs.
Audio/video engineering fundamentals: mixer operation, signal flow, microphone types, camera setups, PTZ control, and lighting basics.
Video asset management and editing: Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut, or other NLEs for editing session recordings and highlight reels.
Stream monitoring and troubleshooting: experience with stream health tools, network diagnostics, and fallback/backup stream configurations.
Integrations and automation: connecting event platforms to CRM (Salesforce), MAPs (Marketo, HubSpot), web analytics (Google Analytics) and single-sign-on providers.
Captioning and accessibility: working with live captioning providers, ASR/AI caption workflows and producing transcripts.
Scripting/run-of-show authoring and teleprompter operation for live hosts and presenters.
Project and budget management: Asana, Trello, Jira or similar tools; experience managing production budgets and vendor invoices.
Basic web embedding and media delivery: HTML/CSS familiarity for embedding players, CDN links and tracking pixels.
Familiarity with recording standards, codecs, container formats (MP4, MOV), and quality control checks for on-demand publishing.

Soft Skills

Exceptional verbal and written communication, able to brief technical and non-technical stakeholders clearly and persuasively.
Calm, decisive problem-solver who performs under pressure during live broadcasts and time-sensitive events.
Strong stakeholder management and diplomacy: balancing sponsor needs, leadership priorities and speaker readiness.
Attention to detail and process-oriented mindset; creates checklists, SOPs and runbooks that reduce human error.
Proven project management and organizational skills overseeing multiple concurrent events and deliverables.
Creative storyteller instincts to shape session flow, content sequencing and visual branding for better audience engagement.
Leadership and team coaching to mentor producers, freelancers and cross-functional collaborators.
Customer-obsessed focus on attendee experience, accessibility and usability across global audiences and time zones.
Analytical mindset: interprets event metrics and engagement signals to inform continuous improvement and content decisions.
Adaptability and willingness to test new platforms, tools and production techniques in a fast-evolving space.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree OR equivalent professional experience in events, media production, broadcasting, communications or related fields.

Preferred Education:

Bachelor's or Master's in Broadcasting, Film/Media Production, Communications, Theater Production, Event Management or Marketing.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Film, Television & Digital Media Production
Communications and Public Relations
Marketing, Digital Marketing or Event Management
Theatre Production and Technical Direction
Computer Science or Engineering (for streaming infrastructure roles)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3–7 years producing virtual, hybrid or livestream events; demonstrated record of progressively senior production roles.

Preferred:

5+ years experience producing large-scale virtual conferences, webinars and hybrid events with cross-functional leadership responsibilities.
Proven experience managing full production lifecycles, vendor relationships, budgets and platform integrations.
Portfolio of produced events, recorded showreels, or case studies demonstrating audience engagement improvements and technical problem-solving.