The Harker School is currently looking for an individual to serve as the Director of Special Event Operations.
The Director of Special Event Operations Terms of Employment:
This is a full-time, exempt position scheduled to work 8-hours/day, Monday - Friday, plus evening and weekend events/functions as necessary.
Prior to beginning work for The Harker School, and as a condition of employment, all employees must go through Live Scan Fingerprinting as well as provide a copy of a negative TB test.
Position Summary
The Family & Alumni Picnic is The Harker School’s longest running school event, involving approximately 300 staff, 600+ parent volunteers, and 3,000 attendees. This community builder and fundraiser is a magical, fun-filled day with games, activities, food, student performances, a raffle, and an auction. Proceeds from the event go to the school’s general endowment.
The Director of Special Event Operations is responsible for coordinating the logistics and execution of all components of the Picnic event. The Director will work closely with the current Picnic directors the first year and with the Picnic Creative Director going forward. Please note that this position will be training and assisting for the 2012-13 academic year and then will assume responsibility for the Picnic operations for the 2013-14 academic year.
Qualifications
• Bachelor's degree required
• Excellent organizational and communication skills
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Outlook
• Five years' experience in fundraising, volunteer and/or event management
Major Accountabilities
The Main Measurable Result:
The Director will manage a well-attended and enjoyable event, which is in line with the budget and provides funds for the general endowment.
Essential Functions:
Volunteer Management
Volunteers play a key role in the planning and execution of the Picnic. The Director will:
- Assist with planning and implementing committee meetings and room parent/grade-level coordinator meetings
- Work with volunteer coordinators to troubleshoot booth assignments for teachers
- Track and record volunteers for stewardship purposes
- Manage all pre-picnic volunteer jobs, including work schedules, job descriptions, materials, training
- Work closely with and provide support to parent volunteer committee chairs, which cover the following areas: admission, carnival games, donations, auction, raffle, T-shirts, specialty booths, decorations, sponsorship
- Promotion
- Work with Office of Communication on website creation; write content for web pages
- Work with graphic designer on logo creation and look of printed materials
- Set up timeline for emails and online news articles; write content for these
- Write articles for fall and spring Harker Quarterly publication
- Develop email and other materials to promote admission, donations, auction, raffle, T-shirts
- Determine signage needs (game booths, food booths, restroom, etc.); work with vendor and designer to create and distribute signage
- Coordinate Picnic rallies on lower and middle school campuses
- Operations/Logistics
- Communicate and coordinate on a variety of tasks with multiple internal departments, including office of communication, facilities, security, transportation, finance, catering, and faculty/staff
- Develop timeline and calendar; ensure that all elements of the event stay on schedule
- Understand and monitor budget in each category
- Negotiate with and manage vendors
- Create booth assignments for all faculty and staff
- Establish and communicate procedures for day of event
- Oversee event set-up and tear-down
- Responsible for continued evaluation and innovation to ensure long-term success of the event
Additional duties:
As a member of the Advancement team, this individual will also support our departments other events, such as volunteer recognition events, welcome BBQ's, grade-level events, and the Fashion Show, particularly during times when Picnic preparation is not intensive. This support may include helping with set-up and tear-down, managing volunteer schedules, and registration, among other tasks.
Other Duties and Responsibilities
Know Our School
- Know and follow all school policies – The Director will have to understand completely and support the policies of the school in order to be able to accurately communicate these policies to the volunteers and to the general community
- Keep Administration and Advancement informed of areas of parent interests or concerns
- Serve as spokesperson for the Administration and direct parents to the administrator who can best address their inquiry
- Learn as much as you can about our parents and proactively try to remember as many names as you can
- Understand the independent school financial model
Know Our Department
- Understand the key role that volunteerism and events play in Advancement’s relationship cycle
- Understand and enthusiastically support the mission of Advancement
Knowledge, Skill & Ability Requirements
- Ability to communicate in effective English with staff, outside firms, etc. in person and by telephone.
- Hear individuals, groups, telephone and intercom communications, public address announcements, emergency signals, etc.
- See and read computer screen
- Reliable means of transportation to attend meetings, events and other functions both on and off site
- Use Computer
- Use Fax machine
- File papers
- Copy material on copier
- Lift boxes up to 20 lbs.
- Be able to set up functions and carry equipment such as chairs, tables, audio visuals, charts, posters, etc.
- Trustworthy handling confidential information
- Comfortable interacting with parent volunteers as peers while also remaining gracious yet firm in interactions
Working Conditions
No hazardous or significantly unpleasant conditions.
How to Apply:
Please submit a cover letter, resume, and salary requirements as an attached word or PDF document. Place the job title "Director of Special Event Operations" in the subject line to jobs@harker.org
