Special Events Manager Jobs

Position Title: Special Events Manager

General Information:

Washington Performing Arts Payroll Title: Special Events Manager

Department: Advancement

Title of Immediate Supervisor: Vice President of Strategic Planning & Chief Advancement Officer Hours: Full Time, Exempt

Pay Range: $57,000 - $62,000

Best Consideration Date: August 2, 2023

Position Information

The Washington Performing Arts Advancement team—a creative, lean, and collaborative collective of arts professionals—seeks an experienced and dynamic Special Events Manager (SEM). The SEM carries primary responsibility for managing Washington Performing Arts’s special events that generate revenue, steward and cultivate donors and patrons, and enhance performance activities as well as the organization’s institutional brand. This is an exciting role offering excellent opportunities to work with a collaborative, supportive, and passionate team while working to engage our diverse community through vibrant gatherings that embody our mission: to champion the performing arts as a unifying force.

The ideal applicant would be adept in the planning, management and implementation of all special events at Washington Performing Arts, both within Advancement and for the larger organization. This person plans, coordinates, and executes 40-50 special events per year, ranging from small private dinners and Friends benefit gatherings, to coordinating our Music in the Country series and the organization's signature fundraising Gala and auction. Washington Performing Arts offers a generous benefits package, where we value our staff and strive for an inclusive culture. Candidates are sought that embrace Washington Performing Arts’s commitment to DEIAB.

Reporting to the Chief Advancement Officer, this individual also works closely with the Director of Individual Giving (Member events), Major Gifts Officer (Corporate and Diplomatic events), and Manager of Advancement Operations and Analytics (Music in the Country, Gala). This is a key member of the Advancement Team, but this role also serves and collaborates with other departments as project manager in all special events.

Essential Duty #1: Event Logistics and Administration

Percentage: 80%

• Conduct site visits to assess fit for required event activities
• Manage vendor relationships and contracts such as: catering, décor, A/V, lighting, valet, auctioneer, emcee, auction vendor, instrument rentals, performers, hotels and transportation, graphic designer, teleprompter, venue, video, voiceover
• Prepare post-event summary reports and final wrap-up documents.
• Create and communicate staffing roles between yourself, the wider team, and volunteers (if applicable) for staffing Special Events
• Assist with related event paperwork such as RFPs, contract requests, procurement requests, and follow through on vendor payments, working in partnership with finance department, Advancement, etc.
• Design minute-by-minute logistics of the event such load in/out, guest check-in, set up and tear down, deliveries, vendor time management and the run of show
• Project manage events from start to finish, to include budget, vendor, team, and production elements
• Supervise event setup and all services during the event.

Gala - Specific

• Oversee auction inventory, and participate in OneCause data entry, cleanup, copywriting for package descriptions.
• Manage coordination with volunteers such as Co-Chairs, the Auction Chair, and the Women’s Committee
• Schedule meetings for all facets of the planning process: marketing, scripting, programming, video concepting, etc.
• Oversee seating preferences, including dietary restrictions and premium placements.

Essential Duty #2: Budgeting and General Administrative

Percentage: 10%

• Participate in regular team meetings, and coordinate and plan meetings as they relate to special events needs.
• Facilitate contract and RFP review, feedback, and recommendations.
• Prepare a budget for each event for approval, and manage all budget progress, vendor contracts, and payments associated with each event.
• Maintain the staff-wide calendar with special events.
• Assist in developing the annual budget for special events.

Essential Duty #3: Marketing

Percentage: 5%

• Write copy for special event advertising, press releases, website, and social media.
• Write copy for and design structure of event-related email blasts (Wordfly)
• Take pictures at events and organize/upload to the Digital Asset Management System
• Design flyers and other basic marketing materials and collaborate with the marketing department on graphic design needs, print and digital collateral.
• Oversee the design, printing, and mailing of special event collateral, including invitations and programs.

Essential Duty #4: Guest Management

Percentage: 5%

• Respond to inquiries about event specifics, particularly for the Gala
• Interact with constituents kindly and professionally at events and in the planning process
• Work with the Manager of Advancement Operations & Analytics to define guest list criteria and create mailing lists.
• Track RSVPs in Tessitura, tailored in a way that it can be shared externally.

Qualifications and Requirements

• Proficient in all Microsoft Office applications.
• Commitment to Washington Performing Arts’s “Everybody In, Nobody Out” ethos.
• 3+ years of experience in planning, managing, and supervising events, from intimate to large scale (over 300 attendees).
• Available and willing to work evenings and weekends.

Required Skills

• Good judgment, tact, patience, and sense of humor
• Affinity for the performing arts and commitment to REDI (Racial Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) a must
• Employ problem solving and critical thinking skills to make decisions daily and on-site at events, with management, as needed.
• Strong project management skills
• Strong communications skills, both verbal and written
• Meticulous attention to detail
• Excellent organizational skills and commitment to accuracy
• Strong budget management
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to take the initiative, multi-task, adapt to shifting priorities and be flexible.
• Proven ability to meet critical project deadlines.
• Ability to multitask in a fast-paced environment both day to day and at events.
• Ability to think and work independently.

Preferred Skills

• Experience building or directing design for emails and social media for event promotion.
• Strong visual and aesthetic sensibility or experience creating graphics for events, such as flyers, brochures, thumbnails, and banner images, using tools such as the Adobe Creative Suite, Canva, or similar programs a plus
• Strong aesthetic sensibility and ability to conceive experiential events with impact
• Relationships/knowledge of venues and vendors in the local hospitality and event industry
• Experience with project management software platform (such as AirTable, Asana, etc.); CRM software (such as Tessitura, Raiser’s Edge, etc.); and/or auction platform software (OneCause, Classy, etc.)

Application Instructions

• Please note: Applications without a cover letter will not be considered.
• Send cover letter and resume attachment to [email protected] with position title in subject line

Benefits

• This position is eligible for full-time employee benefits. Washington Performing Arts offers a generous benefits package which includes employer paid contributions to Health, Dental, Life & Long-Term Disability Insurance, 403(b) Retirement Savings plan, and paid Holiday, Vacation, Sick, and Personal time off.

About Washington Performing Arts

https://www.washingtonperformingarts.org/aboutus/index

One of the most established and honored performing arts institutions in America, Washington Performing Arts has engaged for more than half a century with artists, audiences, students, and civic life. The city is truly our stage: for decades, in venues ranging from concert halls and clubs to public parks, we have presented a tremendous range of artists and art forms, from the most distinguished symphony orchestras to both renowned and emerging artists in classical music, gospel music, jazz, culturally specific genres, dance, and more. We also have an ever-expanding artistic and educational presence on the internet, envisioning ongoing opportunities for online connection and community.

Our achievements have been recognized with a National Medal of Arts and with three Mayor’s Arts Awards from the DC Government. We have now embarked upon our second half-century, ever inspired by the motto of our founder, Patrick Hayes: “Everybody in, nobody out.”

Organizational Diversity & Inclusion

Washington Performing Arts is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and access in all aspects of our work. In keeping with our mission and guiding principles, we seek, represent, and welcome a multiplicity of voices in everything we do from programmatic content to the composition of our board and staff. Hiring a diverse workforce is but one component — we strive to make Washington Performing Arts ever more inclusive, and true to our founder’s guiding ethos of “everybody in, nobody out.” To gain the maximum benefit from our increasingly diverse team, we wish to make every employee feel welcome and motivated to do their best work. We know that we work better together in service of Washington Performing Arts’ mission, because of our differences, not despite them.

Washington Performing Arts subscribes to a policy of Equal Employment Opportunity and will not discriminate against any employee or applicant because of race, age, sex, color, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, protected veteran status, religion, ancestry or national origin, marital status, genetic information, political affiliation, and gender identity or expression. In addition, the District of Columbia adds protection for marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, family responsibilities, matriculation, or political affiliation. Washington Performing Arts’ employment decisions are made based on the needs of the organization and qualifications of the applicants and employees.