Assistant Director, Community Events

National MS Society; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 75,000 - 80,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

Paid holidays

401k match

Commuter benefit

Job summary

National MS Society seeks an experienced Assistant Director to lead the Community Events portfolio for the Pacific South Coast Chapter, covering San Diego, Carlsbad, and Orange County. You will drive Walk MS campaigns, grow revenue, and expand corporate engagement through in-person stakeholder engagement.

The role emphasizes donor stewardship, sponsor recruitment, volunteer leadership, and event planning while collaborating with regional colleagues to advance MS goals.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in nonprofit management, communications, marketing, or related field.
• 3+ years of fundraising, donor relations, or development support experience.
• Strong written and verbal communication with ability to craft donor communications and reports.
• Proficiency with donor databases (Raiser’s Edge, Salesforce) and Microsoft Office Suite.

Responsibilities

• Lead planning, execution, logistics, and optimization of campaigns within the portfolio.
• Own revenue performance and monitor financial results; adjust strategies as needed.
• Translate national strategies into local plans aligned with market dynamics.
• Cultivate, solicit, and steward donors, sponsors, and volunteers; build relationships for engagement and retention.
• Analyze data to inform donor development and fundraising strategy; use CRM for reporting and campaigns.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with internal teams to ensure integrated campaign efforts.

Skills

Communication

Donor relations

Fundraising experience

Project management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in nonprofit management, communications, marketing, or related field

Tools

Raiser’s Edge

Salesforce

Microsoft Office

Job description

Who We Are

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society mobilizes people and resources to drive research for a cure and to address the challenges of everyone affected by MS. To fulfill this mission, the Society funds cutting-edge research, drives change through advocacy, facilitates professional education, collaborates with MS organizations around the world, and provides programs and services designed to help people with MS and their families move their lives forward. We partner with volunteers to accomplish our work. Staff members engage volunteers through effective and timely communications, facilitating meaningful opportunities, and continually seeking and providing feedback for reciprocal growth and learning.

Who We Are

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society mobilizes people and resources to drive research for a cure and to address the challenges of everyone affected by MS. To fulfill this mission, the Society funds cutting-edge research, drives change through advocacy, facilitates professional education, collaborates with MS organizations around the world, and provides programs and services designed to help people with MS and their families move their lives forward. We partner with volunteers to accomplish our work. Staff members engage volunteers through effective and timely communications, facilitating meaningful opportunities, and continually seeking and providing feedback for reciprocal growth and learning.

Location Requirement

This is a market-based role supporting our West Region -- Pacific South Coast Chapter. As a market-based employee, you will spend up to 50% of your work time in the community cultivating relationships, attending events, and supporting local initiatives. The role includes limited travel throughout the assigned market and region, as well as occasional overnight travel for regional and enterprise meetings, trainings, and events.

Preferred location(s)

San Diego, CA

Compensation | Benefits

The estimated hiring compensation range for this role is $75,000-$80,000. Final offers will be based on the candidate's geographic location, consider career experience and may vary from this range due to these and other factors.

Your Benefits Include

• Considerable Paid Time Off Plan
• Paid Holidays
• 401k Retirement Savings Plan with Society match
• Commuter Benefit Plan

Comprehensive Health & Welfare Benefits Including

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• Flex Spending Accounts
• Life Insurance
• Disability Coverage
• Spring Health Membership offering free therapy and professional coaching, as well as additional voluntary benefit offerings.

Not to mention, you will join an incredible mission focused team of people!

Job Summary

Leads the execution of the National MS Society's Community Events portfolio within the Pacific South Coast Chapter, a diverse and dynamic market with significant growth potential. The portfolio includes Walk MS events in San Diego, Carlsbad, and Orange County, with a 2027 fundraising goal of $580,000. As the chapter’s designated Community Events lead, this role is responsible for implementing campaign and market-specific strategies to drive year-over-year portfolio growth by increasing revenue, strengthening corporate engagement, and expanding community participation while collaborating with the broader chapter team.

The Assistant Director is accountable for achieving goals by growing team and participant fundraising, securing sponsorship revenue, and building strong relationships through consistent in-person engagement with key stakeholders. In addition to fundraising responsibilities, this position includes oversight of volunteer recruitment, volunteer stewardship, and event planning and production.

Working closely with the Assistant Vice President and regional colleagues, this role strengthens community relationships, fosters cross-functional collaboration, and ensures that every Community Event advances the Society's mission to create a world free of multiple sclerosis.

Main Responsibilities

Campaign Leadership & Execution

• Supports the strategic planning, and oversees execution, logistics, and optimization of assigned fundraising campaigns within the market.
• Ensure campaigns are executed with excellence, innovation, mission-focused, and alignment to organization standards.

Revenue Accountability

• Serve as a revenue driver for events within portfolio, owning performance from inception through to completion.
• Monitor financial performance and proactively adjust strategies to ensure individual portfolio goal attainment.

Strategic Adaptation & Alignment

• Translate national campaign strategies into actionable local plans tailored to market dynamics.
• Ensure local execution aligns with broader regional priorities and contributes to shared growth objectives.

Donor & Volunteer Engagement

• Cultivate, solicit, and steward mid-level fundraising teams, sponsors, and key volunteer leaders.
• Build and maintain strong relationships to drive engagement, retention, and long-term support.

Performance Management & Data Analysis

• Analyzes data trends and creates donor profiles to assist with donor development, stewardship, direct communications and fundraising strategy.
• Leverages Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to maintain research data and donor records, execute mailing or e-mail campaigns, and create reports.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Support the Assistant Vice President and Regional Vice President with reports on campaign progress, identification of growth opportunities, and opportunities to drive continuous improvement.
• Collaborate with internal teams to ensure seamless integration of campaign efforts across departments.
• Maintains confidentiality and complies with data privacy regulations and policies.

What We're Looking For

• Bachelor’s degree in nonprofit management, communications, marketing, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• 3+ years of experience in fundraising, donor relations, or development support within a nonprofit or similar environment.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to craft compelling donor communications and reports.
• Proficiency in donor database systems (e.g., Raiser’s Edge, Salesforce) and Microsoft Office Suite; experience with fundraising platforms is a plus.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail, with the ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines.
• Demonstrated ability to build and maintain relationships with donors, volunteers, and internal stakeholders.
• Knowledge of fundraising best practices, donor stewardship strategies, and event coordination.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment.

We’re committed to supporting the growth of every employee through a structured and transparent approach to career development. We use Talent Portraits to define clear expectations, development opportunities, and advancement paths — whether you're growing as a people leader or deepening your expertise as an individual contributor. Each role is thoughtfully placed within one of these pathways (Leadership or Partner) to help you understand how it fits into our broader organization and your potential career journey.

This position is classified as Partner - Professional.

The National MS Society is committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce. We strive to create a workforce that reflects the communities we serve and where everyone feels empowered to bring their authentic selves to work. We need you and your unique talents and perspectives to help us write the last chapter on MS.