Community Engagement & Events Manager

Attention all mission-driven, party-planning, project-managing, people-persons! 

Alameda County Community Food Bank—the East Bay’s hub of hunger-relief efforts—is on the lookout for an outgoing, strategic, and creative rock star to join our organization as the NEW Community Engagement & Events Manager! 

The Community Engagement & Events Manager (CEEM) has a pivotal role in ACCFB’s ability to engage supporters, organizations, and other external community members in our mission. Events management makes up a substantial portion of this position’s duties, running the gamut—from ideation to project management to execution—for small- and large-scale events throughout the year.  The role is further responsible for additional key aspects of ACCFB’s external engagement including local cause marketing partnerships, speaking opportunities, and coordination with and participation in third-party events.

As engagement and events are crucial to the Food Bank’s efforts across the organization, the CEEM closely partners and collaborates with the entire Community Engagement & Marketing department to develop and drive campaigns that support all aspects of ACCFB’s work, including advocacy, volunteer engagement, fundraising, client outreach, and general awareness…to name a few. 

A candidate who will be successful in this position…

-       …is a consummate “project manager” who comes to this work with an existing and proven set of tools and skills to manage highly detailed timelines, task lists, etc.

-       …has a proven background in events management, having enthusiastically and successfully created and managed large-scale fundraising/engagement events with many moving parts.   

-       …is a seasoned team leader and people manager with a proven track record leading and collaborating with high functioning teams to carry out an organizational mission.

-       …is enthusiastic about nonprofits and fundraising, and comfortable with all aspects of a nonprofit business model.

The ideal candidate is also tremendously organized and able to simultaneously manage multiple projects with near- and long-term deadlines. They love being a team leader (the position has one direct report as well as seasonal temp support) and comfortably grasps the intricacies of delegation and prioritization. They can balance creativity and out-of-the-box thinking with strategic decision making to ensure our efforts have maximum impact. Most importantly, they know how to have fun with the work, even while it’s serious.

Required Qualifications:

•  Minimum 5-7 years’ experience ideating, planning, project managing, and executing multi-component, in-person special events. Experience with fundraising-focused events is strongly preferred.
• Minimum 3-4 years’ experience as a direct supervisor to full-time staff members. Additional experience leading cross-departmental staff on projects is a plus.
• Demonstrated experience in closely collaborating and engaging with executives, board members, high-level committee volunteers, colleagues, community stakeholders.
• Highly skilled project manager with demonstrable expertise using and leading from foundational tools for project management (e.g., detailed pre- and production timelines; venue order sheets, etc.). Able to create and manage large-scale (six figure) budgets.
• Exceptional attention to detail.
• Ability to plan for long term success, prioritize assignments, and focus on multiple large-scale projects in a deadline-driven environment. Simultaneously manage near- and long-term deadlines.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively delegate to- and motivate staff and others to achieve ambitious engagement and events calendar. Ability to train and coordinate event staff and volunteers.
•  Highly collaborative
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook); project management tools (Smartsheet, Asana, etc.); and customer relationship databases (Salesforce and Greater Giving a plus).
•  Highly proficient in vendor selection management, including assessment, contract review and negotiation. Knowledgeable and experience with permitting (ABC; fire codes, etc.), as relevant. An ideal candidate will already have a comprehensive list of contacts/potential partners for key event-related vendors.
• Creativity and resourcefulness to problem-solve and maximize available resources.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work both independently and as part of a team. Models grace under pressure.
• Ability to develop and maintain collaborative and professional relationships.
• Skilled public speaker; able to draft creative and compelling talking points; comfortable setting expectations and training executive staff, board members, and other even participants on speaking roles.
• Ability to think strategically and to communicate expectations and establish priorities for colleagues, external stakeholders, and volunteers.
•  Ability to regularly attend work functions outside of normal work hours, on weekends and evenings.
•  Valid California Driver’s License with insurable driving record and access to reliable transportation.

 Personal Attributes and Values

• Enthusiastic fundraiser and passionate about engaging community in all aspects of our work. Relishes asking for support of any kind.
• Creative thinker that is consistently identifying and pursuing new events, partnerships, and engagement opportunities 
• Agile and adaptable; comfortable quickly pivoting to meeting the needs of an event or engagement opportunity.
• Strong work ethic and self-starter. Innovative and entrepreneurial spirit; creative brainstormer who never runs out of ideas and is consistently pursuing improvement. 
• Passion, enthusiasm, focus, and creativity around Alameda County Community Food Bank’s vision, mission and values of Belonging, Accountability, Transparency, Community, and Hope. 
• Excellent judgment, impeccable integrity, and honesty, handles confidential information with discretion. 
• Service orientation and the ability to work independently and collaboratively with people of diverse backgrounds, skillsets, expertise, etc. 
• Passion for and drive toward a just and equitable society where all people are empowered. 
• Experience in a nonprofit or similar environment with a variety of stakeholders and deeply rooted community values is.

Physical Requirements

This work is located in an office and warehouse environment with substantial points throughout the year traveling to and working externally at events and other engagement opportunities. Physical activities necessary in the performance of this job include the abilities to: sit at a computer workstation for up to five hours at a time; operate computer and phone equipment; Talking, hearing, writing, reasoning, persuading, interpreting and prioritizing; moving throughout the 118,000 sq. ft. food bank facility in performance of duties; move up and down stairs and/or ramps; lifting, carrying, pushing, or pulling up to 30 lbs.; visiting community settings; conduct site visits including walking, bending and squatting. 

Compensation and Benefits

This is a full-time, exempt position working 37.5 hours per week. This role is able to work a partial-remote schedule but requires a minimum of two (2) days per week on-site at our 7900 Edgewater Drive facility in Oakland in addition to work in the field for events and cause marketing partnerships. Additional days onsite, up to five days a week, will be required during the orientation/introductory period and in the lead up to major events. The non-negotiable starting salary is $108,439 per year.

If you meet these qualifications and want to join our mission, please submit your resume and answer our application questions by clicking the apply button below.

Please read the following carefully: In addition to your resume – and in lieu of a cover letter – wow us with your answers to the following questions:

• As an events and engagement specialist, tell us what you find inspiring about this work. How do you see your passions for our mission and this type of work converging?
• Share with us a story about an event that you were personally responsible for managing. What was something about the event that went awry or not as planned. How did you both manage in real time, and how did you apply what you learned to a future event?
• How do you approach giving feedback? Tell us about a time when you needed to redirect or provide constructive feedback to someone you directly supervised. What was the result, and what did you (the supervisor) learn from providing the feedback?   

A Note about our hiring process

The Community Engagement & Events Manager position is a highly collaborative role that impacts many parts of our mission. In the spirit of our Transparency value, we want to ensure all candidate know that the hiring process for this position will require multiple interview rounds: 1) A phone screen with the hiring manager; 2) A panel interview with colleagues/peers within the Food Bank; 3) a final round interview with the hiring manager and Chief Development Officer. In the case of a highly-competitive process or additional vetting is required, we may further request additional discussion/information.  

Due to high interest in positions at ACCFB and our limited capacity, we are unable to accept phone inquiries at this time. We will do our best to respond to all applicants within 7 business days of submission, regardless of whether they are selected to move along in the process. Thank you for your interest!

Union Representation: ACCFB is in partnership with and has a newly established labor union for a portion of our staff. This position is  part of the labor union OPEIU, Local 29.