Senior Events Specialist

About the Role

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.

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.
• Tracks and evaluates events annually against Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as attendance, fundraising outcomes, and participant satisfaction, identifying opportunities for continuous improvement.
• Utilizes 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.
• Reviews contracts for all special, community, and third-party events, involving the CEM as needed.
• Collaborates 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.
• Conducts post-event evaluations to assess Return on Investment (ROI) and drive future event growth.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• 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 soliciting/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.

Skills and Abilities

• Knowledge of project management and event planning with the ability to manage multiple projects.
• Skills in innovation, problem-solving, and creative thinking.
• Effective and respectful communication with appropriate individuals to relay details and status of upcoming events.
• Ability to conduct tours of CFB (Tucson location) and comfort with public speaking.
• Ability to effectively communicate with employees, volunteers, donors, and partner organizations.
• Strong time and management skills, including long-range planning.
• Ability to work without a high level of direction.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated interest in learning internally and externally and incorporating new information into role.
• Ability to work with people from diverse economic, social, and political backgrounds.

Core Competencies

• Planning & Organizing
• Relationship Building
• Collaboration
• Judgment & Problem Solving
• Results Orientation
• Communication & Influence
• Initiative & Independence
• Adaptability

Physical Requirements

Light Work – ability to exert 20 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 10 pounds of force frequently, and/or a negligible amount of force constantly to move objects.