Director of Special Events

Job Title: Director of Special Events

Supervisor: Chief of Strategic Philanthropy

Job Status: Exempt/ Full Time

Job Hours: 35 hours per week

Location: Hybrid schedule 4 days in the office (Midtown Manhattan) and 1 days at home

Salary: $80,000-$95,000 annually

About Encore: Known widely as Broadways longest running act of loving care, Encore’s mission is to improve the quality of life for older New Yorkers so they are not just surviving, but thriving. Through a robust array of programming, Encore takes a “no wrong door approach” to ensure older adults are able to age in place comfortably for as long as possible. Encore is recognized as one of the most respected and trusted nonprofit organizations providing services for older New Yorkers in New York City. Encore is on the cutting edge in the human service field and is a staunch advocate not only for older New Yorkers but also for the essential human service employees who serve as the City’s safety net. Do not miss this chance to work for a mission-oriented organization, which centers employees as its number one resource.

About Position: Special events are an important component of an effective development program and serve to inspire and educate an organization’s key constituencies while providing critical unrestricted funds. The Director of Special Events will formulate and implement strategies to raise the profile of Encore; convey the organization’s priorities, values, and brand; attract new supporters/partners; and provide opportunities for meaningful cultivation, engagement, and stewardship of new and existing supporters. The Director works collaboratively with organizational leadership; which includes the Executive Director (ED) the Chief of Strategic Philanthropy (CSP), Development leadership, and community stakeholders.

Job Responsibilities:

Fundraising:

• Generate, plan, and execute special event plans, budgets, and calendars annually as part of the budget planning process with a focus on revenue growth, awareness building, and brand promotion;
• Works with the Executive Director (ED), Chief of Strategic Philanthropy (CSP), Development team, Board, and community stakeholders to create a vision for Encore’s event platform (existing events like Encore Ovation: A Celebration of Aging Through Arts and A Bite of New York) and new unique events with a focus on setting Encore apart from other organizations – plans should be both short and long term;
• Build out fundraising/planning committees to help drive our event-related objectives;
• In partnership with the Chief of Strategic Philanthropy create an event sponsorship strategy and program that grows our individual and corporate support of our special events;
• For assigned event relationship portfolio, collaborates with CSP to manage corporate and individual prospects, developing sponsorship packages in collaboration with colleagues tailored to meet the needs of prospective donors and partners;
• Interface with the Board of Directors and other members of the Encore network to leverage their corporate contacts and major donors, securing introductions for event sponsorship and activation;
• Create and implement a strategic vision of how to grow Encore’s key events;

Planning:

• Responsible for all event-related revenue and expense budgets including reporting;
• Lead the managing of venues, vendor coordination, program theme, development of event program and activities, and marketing of the event;
• Manage all logistics such as timelines, run of show, AV, registration, and coordinating with event venue, staff, and other stakeholders;
• Supervise the creation and production of invitations and all other printed materials and sponsor lists and fulfillment of sponsorship packages (e.g., ensure accurate name/logo recognition, appropriate table placement, etc.)
• Oversee invitation and RSVP process, including invitation lists, invitation design, registration, seating, etc.

Cultivation & Stewardship Events:

• In consultation with the Chief of Strategic Philanthropy, ED, board, development team, program staff and other community stakeholders to implement in-person or virtual cultivation/stewardship events;
• Plan, develop and execute donor events/salons in support of growing our major donor pool;

Additional Duties:

• Maintain strong internal and external relationships and communications with all event stakeholders;
• Oversee development of research profiles and look-book for attendees;
• Learn and utilize donor database to track information about special event donors;
• Create metrics to measure the success of special events, return on investment, and progress towards established goals; share data with leadership and development staff;
• Oversee acknowledgment letters and recognition programs for special events;
• Partner with the Communications consultant to raise awareness of Encore events and activities; determine the most effective ways to communicate to external audiences through print, electronic, and other media; evaluate and utilize new technologies and opportunities offered by social media to target various constituencies and enrich communication.
• Collaborate with the finance department to ensure timely invoicing, payment of invoices and financial reconciliations.

Qualifications:

• At least 5 or more years’ experience in a related field such as nonprofit fundraising, special event planning, marketing, PR, or brand management with demonstrated success and increasing professional responsivities;
• Bachelor’s degree is required; event management, business administration, or a related field is a plus;
• Highly generative and organized leader with the ability to spearhead and manage multiple high-stakes projects;
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills;
• Excellent interpersonal and facilitation skills; with the ability to build and maintain relationships with diverse clients and stakeholders, as well as internal teams
• Proficiency with MS-Office, video conferencing tools and fundraising databases
• Must be present for most events, which may require work on weekends and evenings;

Bi-lingual: Ability to speak, read and write in English and Spanish strongly preferred;