Director of Events

NMAC; Washington; Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

NMAC seeks a strategic, collaborative Director of Events to lead planning, production, and execution of conferences, trainings, fundraisers, and advocacy events in support of its mission. Reporting to Senior Advisor, this role oversees budgets, vendors, sponsors, and participant experience across in-person, virtual, and hybrid formats, ensuring accessibility and inclusivity.

The ideal candidate has 5+ years managing large events, strong leadership, and a proven ability to align events with DEI

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience.
• 5+ years managing conferences and large events.
• 3+ years leading event teams.
• Experience with complex budgets.
• Experience negotiating vendor contracts.
• Strong project and operational planning.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Experience in in-person, virtual, and hybrid events.
• Commitment to DEI and community engagement.
• Ability to travel domestically; evenings/weekends as needed.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement a comprehensive event strategy.
• Lead planning and execution of in-person, virtual, and hybrid events.
• Oversee budgets, contracts, and risk management.
• Coordinate speakers, sponsors, vendors, and partners.
• Ensure accessible, inclusive, culturally responsive events.
• Lead onsite event management and post-event reporting.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Programs, Development, Communications.
• Evaluate event impact and drive continuous improvement.

Skills

Event leadership

Budget management

Project management

Vendor negotiation

Staff supervision

Stakeholder engagement

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent

Tools

Event registration platforms

Virtual meeting platforms

Job description

Salary Range: $110,000.00 To $150,000.00 Annually

Position Overview

NMAC seeks a strategic, collaborative, and community-centered Director of Events to lead the planning, production, and execution of the organization’s events portfolio in support of NMAC’s mission, programs, advocacy, fundraising, and community impact.

Reporting to the Senior Advisor of Strategy, Media, and Special Projects, the Director of Events will oversee the development and delivery of NMAC’s conferences, trainings, leadership institutes, fundraisers, advocacy events, convenings, workshops, and virtual experiences. This role will lead the Events Division and serve as the organization’s primary strategist and operational leader for event planning, participant experience, and event execution.

The Director will work closely with Creative Strategy and Production, Programs, Development, Communications, Finance, Operations, and executive leadership to ensure that all events are mission-driven, operationally sound, fiscally responsible, accessible, and reflective of the communities NMAC serves.

The ideal candidate is an experienced event leader who combines strategic vision with exceptional execution. They are equally comfortable developing long-term event strategies, managing multimillion-dollar event budgets, leading staff and vendors, cultivating sponsors and partners, and responding to real-time event challenges with professionalism and sound judgment.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Event Strategy and Organizational Leadership

• Develop and implement a comprehensive event strategy that advances NMAC’s mission, advocacy priorities, fundraising goals, community engagement efforts, and organizational objectives.
• Serve as the organizational lead for the planning and execution of all in-person, virtual, and hybrid events.
• Establish annual event goals, priorities, calendars, and planning timelines.
• Create systems and processes for event intake, prioritization, project management, approvals, and evaluation.
• Partner with organizational leadership to align events with strategic initiatives and emerging opportunities.
• Identify innovative approaches to increase audience engagement, participant satisfaction, and organizational impact.
• Ensure event experiences are culturally responsive, trauma-informed, inclusive, and accessible.

Event Planning and Execution

• Lead the planning and delivery of conferences, trainings, leadership programs, advocacy events, fundraisers, convenings, workshops, and community engagement activities.
• Oversee event logistics including registration, travel, housing, food and beverage, meeting space management, transportation, audiovisual production, livestreaming, and exhibitor coordination.
• Develop event work plans, project schedules, staffing plans, run-of-show documents, and execution timelines.
• Coordinate speakers, facilitators, moderators, sponsors, exhibitors, vendors, and community partners.
• Collaborate with program staff on agenda development, educational content, speaker recruitment, session formats, and learning objectives.
• Ensure seamless participant experiences from registration through post-event follow-up.
• Establish standards for event communications before, during, and after events.
• Lead onsite event management and troubleshooting activities.

Event Production and Participant Experience

• Partner with Creative Strategy and Production teams to ensure alignment between event goals, production requirements, branding, storytelling, and participant engagement.
• Support the development of event themes, creative concepts, stage design, messaging, signage, digital assets, and promotional materials.
• Oversee participant journey mapping, including accessibility accommodations, language access, engagement opportunities, and attendee support services.
• Ensure events reflect NMAC’s commitment to equity, inclusion, dignity, and community-centered engagement.
• Coordinate opening sessions, plenaries, workshops, networking experiences, and closing events that strengthen participant connection and learning.

Budget, Contracts, and Risk Management

• Develop and manage event budgets in collaboration with Finance and departmental leaders.
• Monitor revenues and expenditures to ensure financial accountability and adherence to approved budgets.
• Oversee venue sourcing, vendor procurement, contract negotiation, insurance requirements, and payment schedules.
• Establish approval processes for event expenditures, sponsorship commitments, contracts, speakers, consultants, and production plans.
• Identify and mitigate financial, operational, safety, accessibility, and reputational risks.
• Develop contingency and emergency response plans for events.
• Ensure compliance with organizational policies, contractual requirements, and relevant regulations.
• Lead post-event reconciliation, reporting, closeout activities, and documentation of lessons learned.

Team Leadership and Staff Development

• Provide leadership, coaching, supervision, and professional development for Events Division staff.
• Establish clear roles, responsibilities, performance expectations, and accountability measures.
• Foster a collaborative, solutions-oriented, and inclusive team culture.
• Conduct performance evaluations and support employee growth and leadership development.
• Manage external consultants, production partners, contractors, and event vendors.
• Ensure adequate staffing plans and resource allocation across the organization’s event portfolio.

Cross-Functional Collaboration and Partnership Development

• Collaborate with Programs to ensure event content supports programmatic outcomes and participant learning goals.
• Partner with Development to execute fundraising events, donor stewardship activities, sponsorship opportunities, and special recognition events.
• Work with Communications and Marketing to support event promotion, audience engagement, media opportunities, and brand consistency.
• Coordinate with advocacy and policy teams to support civic engagement, leadership development, and public education initiatives.
• Work with Operations, Finance, and IT to ensure effective procurement, technology support, financial reporting, and operational readiness.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with community organizations, sponsors, venues, vendors, speakers, funders, and strategic partners.

Evaluation and Continuous Improvement

• Develop metrics to evaluate event performance, attendee satisfaction, organizational impact, fundraising effectiveness, and learning outcomes.
• Establish systems for collecting participant feedback and post-event analytics.
• Prepare reports and recommendations for organizational leadership.
• Identify opportunities to extend event value through recordings, toolkits, digital content, publications, and ongoing engagement strategies.
• Implement continuous improvement practices that strengthen future events and participant experiences.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Event Management, Hospitality, Communications, Marketing, Public Administration, Nonprofit Management, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• Five (5) or more years of progressively responsible experience managing conferences, large-scale events, fundraisers, convenings, or similar programs.
• At least three (3) years of management experience leading event teams and supervising staff.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex event budgets and multiple concurrent projects.
• Experience negotiating vendor contracts and managing external partners.
• Strong project management, organizational, and operational planning skills.
• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Experience managing in-person, virtual, and hybrid events.
• Commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, and community-centered engagement.
• Ability to travel domestically and work evenings and weekends as needed to support organizational events.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working within nonprofit, advocacy, public health, HIV, LGBTQ+, health equity, or social justice organizations.
• Certified Meeting Professional (CMP), Certified Special Events Professional (CSEP), Project Management Professional (PMP), or related certification.
• Experience managing national conferences with 1000+ attendees.
• Experience working with sponsorship programs, fundraising events, and donor engagement activities.
• Familiarity with event registration platforms, event technology systems, and virtual meeting platforms.
• Strategic Thinking
• Event Production and Operations Management
• Leadership and Team Development
• Project and Budget Management
• Relationship Building and Collaboration
• Vendor and Contract Management
• Risk Assessment and Problem Solving
• Communication and Stakeholder Engagement
• Cultural Responsiveness and Inclusive Practice
• Adaptability and Sound Judgment
• Participant Experience Design
• Attention to Detail and Execution Excellence

This position operates in a hybrid office environment and requires occasional travel throughout the United States. Evening and weekend hours may be required to support NMAC conferences, events, fundraisers, and community engagement activities.

This position is funded in whole or in part through external grant funding. Continued employment may be affected by the availability, reduction, or discontinuation of applicable funding.

Job Description Disclaimer

This job description summarizes the primary duties and qualifications of the position and is not intended to describe every duty or responsibility. Duties and responsibilities may be modified consistent with organizational needs and applicable law.

NMAC is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace. NMAC does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex, pregnancy, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

NMAC provides reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants and employees with disabilities in accordance with applicable law.

Inclusive Candidate Statement

NMAC encourages qualified candidates to apply even if they do not meet every preferred qualification. We value diverse perspectives, lived experiences, transferable skills, and nontraditional career paths that strengthen our work and advance our mission.