Events & Sponsorship Manager – One Social District

About the Role

The Events & Sponsorships Manager is a revenue-generating role responsible for building and monetizing the One Social District as a premier and unique Madison destination. The position's primary mandate is driving private-dining, event, group-dining, and catering sales across the District, including One Prime, One Social Food Hall, Blue Jack, and the One Social Promenade; it also secures sponsorship and partnership revenue and coordinates the programming that makes the District a place guests return to season after season. This is a hybrid sales-and-execution role. It pairs proactive, outbound sales with hands-on event detailing, client service, and District activation. The person in this seat is comfortable both detailing an intimate private dinner and closing a corporate sponsorship — treating the bookings that fill the venues as the priority, with sponsorship as an additive stream on top.

Key Responsibilities

• Event, Private-Dining & Catering Sales (primary Mandate)
  • Serve as the primary point of contact for private dining, buyout, event, and catering inquiries across One Prime and One Social; respond to all inquiries within 24 hours.
  • Proactively solicit corporate clients, associations, nonprofits, university partners, wedding and social planners, and community groups to generate new event, dining, and catering bookings.
  • Sell One Prime's private dining and buyout capacity (corporate dinners, holiday parties, milestone occasions) and One Social's event spaces and group dining.
  • Develop the District's catering business — on-site private events, drop-off, and off-site catering — partnering with the culinary teams on custom menu planning for corporate, social, and community clients.
  • Maintain an active sales pipeline; represent One Social District at networking events and in industry organizations such as Destination Madison and NACE.
• Sponsorship Sales & Partnership Development (secondary stream)
  • Identify, pitch, and close corporate sponsors, activation partners, and brand collaborations for One Social District spaces, programming, and signature events.
  • Develop tiered sponsorship packages and custom proposals (naming, presenting, activation, in-kind) with clear deliverables, inventory, and pricing.
  • Build a pipeline of local and regional corporate partners through proactive outreach, presentations, and site visits; carry the relationship from first contact through signature.
  • Manage sponsor activations end-to-end — pre-event logistics, on-site delivery, and post-event recap — and drive renewals into multi-year commitments.
  • Track sponsorship revenue against annual targets and report pipeline, bookings, and renewal rate on a regular cadence.
• District Programming & Activation
  • Plan and coordinate a calendar of recurring District programming — live music, seasonal events, vendor spotlights, and community activations — that drives traffic and, in turn, creates sellable sponsorship inventory.
  • Partner with One Social vendors and tenants on co-marketing and joint programming that lifts the whole District.
  • Work with onsite Marketing and Events Specialist to position One Social as a year-round destination, not a pit stop — building the kind of programmed, branded District experience that anchors both sponsor value and repeat visitation.
• Event Planning, Detailing & Execution Support
  • Lead menu detailing, timelines, and production planning for private dining, catering, and District events.
  • Act as the liaison between clients and operations teams, clearly communicating all event details, updates, and changes.
  • Coordinate menus, rentals, AV, room setups, and staffing requirements with managers, front- and back-of-house depending on guest counts and specific needs.
  • Provide on-site oversight for high-complexity or large-scale events and activations.
• Administration, Systems & Documentation
  • Maintain accurate, up-to-date documentation in event/CRM software — proposals, contracts, BEOs, timelines, sponsorship agreements, and event orders.
  • Coordinate with general managers on deposits, payments, and invoicing; manage accounts receivable and follow up on outstanding balances per company policy.
  • Record all client and sponsor communication; maintain organized files, histories, and documentation workflows.
  • Follow standardized SOPs for inquiries, billing, contracts, detailing, payment processing, and communication; propose improvements that enhance efficiency and accuracy.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
  • Work in close alignment with the incumbent One Social Marketing & Events Manager — this role generates and books business; marketing amplifies and supports execution. Define and honor clean handoffs from sale to activation.
  • Partner with the onsite General Managers, Executive Chefs and frontline staff to ensure operational readiness for private dining, catering, and District events.
  • Align and coordinate with Main Street Ventures leadership on sales strategy, District positioning, and process improvement.
  • Supply marketing with updated offerings, photography, and promotional details for campaigns and sponsor recaps.

Qualifications & Skills

• Revenue track record. 5+ years in event sales, catering/events management, private-dining or group sales, or hospitality business development, with a demonstrated record of closing against targets — not just executing booked business.
• Relationships. Established local/regional relationships, or the proven ability to build them quickly; credible representing the brand across Madison's corporate, hospitality, and event community.
• Range. Equally convincing in detailing a private dinner and selling a sponsorship package; comfortable with both the production and the pitch.
• Entrepreneurial. Self-directed; able to build a program and a pipeline rather than work an inbox.
• Hospitality mindset. Warm, polished communication and a service ethic that aims to "wow" clients and partners.
• Operator's discipline. Manages multiple events and accounts simultaneously with accuracy and composure; strong administrative, organizational, and attention-to-detail skills.
• Portfolio collaboration. Partners with the onsite ONE 09 residential property-management team to develop mutually beneficial resident programming for 340 luxury apartments and promote cross-District synergies.
• Tools. Experience with CRM/BEO software (Total Party Planner, Reserve, Tripleseat, or similar) preferred.
• Availability. Comfortable working some evenings and weekends for events and activations; able to lift ~25 lbs. and navigate event spaces on-site.

Benefits

• Paid time off, which begins accumulating immediately
• Medical and Dental benefits for full time employees
• Flexible Schedules
• Meal Benefits
• Holiday Pay
• Employee Meal Discounts
• Professional Advancement
• Life Insurance Policy and 401K participation