Senior Events Specialist

Position Summary:

The Senior Events Specialist is responsible for the planning, strategy, and execution of complex Community Food Bank (CFB) events, including fundraising, cultivation, and community engagement activities. This role develops event goals, implements plans, and evaluates outcomes to ensure success and continuous improvement. The position may also provide supervision to Event Specialists and the Outreach Coordinator. Evening, weekend, and off-site work is occasionally required.

Key Responsibilities:

Acts as primary relationship manager for corporate sponsors and donors.

Builds long-term donor relationships and closes gifts in support of fundraising goals.

Leads the planning and execution of special, community, and third-party events, including kickoff meetings, coordination, and event wrap-ups.

Coordinates all event operations and logistics, including fundraising and sponsorship activities, while collaborating with internal teams (i.e. Volunteer Services, Operations, Marketing, Finance, and Donor Services) to optimize engagement, recruitment, and marketing tools.

Develops and implements cultivation and retention activities for sponsors, teams, and participants.

Responsible for tracking and evaluating events annually against Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as attendance, fundraising outcomes, and participant satisfaction, identifying opportunities for continuous improvement.

Responsible for utilizing CRM to track community engagement activities and identify future opportunities

Partners with the Community Events Manager (CEM) to cultivate and maintain corporate sponsor and donor relationships, including solicitation and closing of gifts.

Supports the CEM with community outreach, public speaking, and other engagement methods to strengthen visibility and relationships.

Coordinates venue selection, site visits, and vendor communications to ensure alignment with organizational mission and event goals.

Responsible for reviewing contracts for all special, community, and third-party events, involving the CEM as needed.

Collaborate with the CEM to manage and track event budgets, ensuring financial accountability and identifying cost-saving opportunities.

Collaborates with Finance and the CEM on the events billing, invoicing, and reconciliation processes.

Collaborates with Marketing to develop event themes, logos, and collateral materials, ensuring timely delivery

Conduct post-event evaluations to assess Return on Investment (ROI) and drive future event growth.

Performs other duties as assigned.

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the staff member for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.

Qualifications:

An equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered if applicable and must be directly related to the functions and body of knowledge required to successfully perform the job.

Minimum Qualifications:

Three (3) – Five (5) years of experience in project management, events planning, fundraising, donor and sponsorship solicitation role and a proven record of engaging with prospective corporate donors and solicitating/closing major gifts.

Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Sales, Event management or a related field.

Intermediate proficiency in Microsoft Office Applications (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, SharePoint, etc.).For company insurance purposes, at least 21 years of age; possess a current Arizona Driver’s License with a safe driving record.

Preferred Qualifications:

Experience working or volunteering at a nonprofit and/or food bank.

Bilingual in English and Spanish.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

Knowledge of project management and event planning with the ability to manage multiple projects.

Skills in innovation, problem solving, and creative problem solving.

Skills in effective and respectful communication with appropriate individuals to relay the details and status of upcoming…