Director of Events

KIPP TEAM & Family is our network office that includes support teams - such as Leadership Development, Recruitment, Advocacy, Facilities, Finance, HR and more - dedicated to empowering our schools and ensuring the success of KIPP students throughout New Jersey and Miami. Our schools are part of the nationally recognized “Knowledge Is Power Program” network of free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory public schools dedicated to preparing students for success in college and in life in our schools located in Newark, NJ, Camden,NJ, Paterson, NJ, and Miami, FL.

About the role

The Director of Events sets the vision and the bar for every event KTAF hosts across Newark, Camden, Paterson, and Miami and future regions. This is not a logistics role with a vision component bolted on. It is a role for someone who walks into a hotel ballroom and immediately sees three things nobody else noticed, who has strong opinions about what makes an experience feel considered rather than assembled, and who can then run the plan that gets us there. We use the phrase "7-star experience" internally. We want to push above a five-star experience to experiences that are truly meaningful and memorable: the run-of-show that never stalls, the room that feels right before anyone says why, the moment a staff member realizes someone thought about them specifically. This role owns that standard and holds the whole organization to it. Frequent travel between regions is a core feature of this job. Expect to be on the ground in each region regularly — scouting venues, walking spaces, building vendor relationships, and running events live.

Responsibilities

• Set the vision and the standard Define what a high quality event at our org t is and isn't — a clear, articulated point of view on experience, tone, and quality that others can design against.
• Build a criteria for success for all events.
• Build and maintain the event standards playbook.
• Raise the ceiling year over year. Each signature event should be measurably better than the last, with a specific thesis for what changed and why.
• Bring ideas from outside education. Study what hospitality, conferences, and consumer brands do well and translate it to our context and budget.
• Liaise with regional leaders and align overall vision with local context, constraints and regional vision.
• Set the pace Own the annual events calendar across all four regions — sequenced, resourced, and published far enough ahead that regions can plan around it.
• Build backwards-planned project plans with real milestones, and hold owners to them.
• Run the operating rhythm: planning kickoffs, design reviews, run-of-show walkthroughs, day-of command, and post-event debriefs that actually change the next event.
• Make the call when timelines slip. Decide fast, communicate clearly, and keep the work moving.
• Design and deliver signature events Lead end-to-end design and day of execution of KTAF's medium- to large-scale events, including staff recognition and network-wide professional development.
• Own every logistical layer: venue, vendors, AV, catering, transportation, guest experience, programming, gathering