Events Manager- Milwaukee

The Jewish Federations of North America; Milwaukee (WI); Hybrid; USD 55,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental and vision insurance

Paid time off (vacation/personal days)

401K plan

Paid holidays

Parental leave

Health savings and flexible spending

Job summary

The Milwaukee Jewish Federation is seeking an Events Manager to strategize, plan, execute, and evaluate impactful events that align with organizational goals. The role covers fundraising, donor stewardship programs, and community celebrations, with hands-on budget, vendor, and logistics management.

Ideal candidates have 3–5 years of event planning experience, excellent communication skills, and the ability to turn concepts into memorable experiences for the community.

Qualifications

• College degree or equivalent professional certification required.
• 3-5 years event planning experience.
• Strong written and verbal communication with diverse stakeholders.
• Extreme accuracy and attention to detail; highly organized with deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute annual event plan aligned to strategic priorities.
• Lead in-person and virtual events with budgeting and vendor coordination.
• Coordinate facilities, caterers, venues, and AV for events.
• Prepare event marketing materials and digital assets.
• Track metrics to evaluate event success against goals.
• Negotiate contracts and manage guest travel/logistics.

Skills

Strong verbal communication

Written communication

Attention to detail

Highly organized

Ability to prioritize deadlines

Customer or stakeholder interaction

Education

College degree or equivalent professional certification

Tools

BaseCamp

Microsoft 365 (Excel, PowerPoint)

AV equipment operation

WordPress

Job description

Interested in collaborating with one of Milwaukee's oldest nonprofit organizations while helping make the world a better place? We are looking for a highly organized and detail-oriented Events Manager to help produce and manage fundraising events, donor stewardship programs and community celebrations. Our ideal candidate has previous experience managing turnkey events and excellent communication skills. They can also turn high-level concepts into memorable experiences for our community, think quickly and critically, and manage a variety of challenges throughout the production of an event.

About the Milwaukee Jewish Federation

The mission of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation (MJF) is to ensure the continuity of the Jewish people, to enhance the quality of Jewish life and to build a strong unified Jewish community in Milwaukee, in Israel and throughout the world. MJF does this through the development of community-wide financial support, planning and allocations. Learn more about the MJF at https://www.milwaukeejewish.org/.

Summary/Objective

The Events Manager is responsible for strategizing, planning, executing, and evaluating impactful events that align with the organization’s overall strategies and goals.

Essential Functions

• Support MJF’s strategic priorities by creating and executing an annual event plan
• Maintain and develop annual event plans based on event resource needs and will assist in event prioritization and scheduling.
• Develop and implement a planning process and project timelines for each event to ensure an efficient and effective event planning process.
• Work with event host departments to identify quantitative and qualitative metrics to evaluate the success against department goals.
• Serve as MJF’s event expert, maintaining expertise in tools and best practices for live and virtual events.
• Provide events consultation and guidance to MJF departments
• Manage in-person, and virtual events (meetings, luncheons, small gatherings, community-wide events, visiting delegations, etc.) with a high level of excellence and professionalism.
• Using provided collaborative project-management tools
• Lead or participate in event committees with staff and volunteers.
• Coordinate facilities reservations, caterers, other vendors, equipment, physical setup and tear-down, clean-up, and all other event details.
• Manage food & beverage, seating, nametags, day of event logistics, and staffing.
• Prepare and track a budget for each event.
• Ensure event host departments development of scripts and audiovisual materials for events in collaboration with lay leaders and staff using contract content producers as needed.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with strategic partners.
• Negotiate contracts and secure required approvals.
• Manage guest travel and visitor logistics
• Coordinate and negotiate schedules and agendas with talent/agents.
• Manage all logistics including itinerary, travel, hotel, and contracted requests.
• Manage event-related business
• Manage speaker, vendor, and venue information in the CRM database.
• Ensure invoices are coded correctly and submitted to the Business Services department for payment. Collect W9s and applicable information from vendors
• Maintain event project files for future reference.
• Lead development of event marketing materials
• Work with event host department to determine marketing needs for each event (invitations, programs, etc.)
• Collaborate with marketing team in developing materials, securing approvals and meeting timelines
• Coordinate the development of digital assets for events, including invitations and RSVP forms, landing pages, community calendar listings, newsletter submissions, etc.

Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Required Experience and Skills

• College degree or equivalent professional certification
• 3-5 years event planning experience
• Strong verbal, written, and interpersonal skills, with ability to communicate professionally to a variety of stakeholders
• Extreme accuracy and proven attention to detail
• Highly organized self-starter, with the ability to prioritize while meeting both short- and long-term deadlines
• Proficiency with Microsoft 365 (especially Excel and PowerPoint), formal document preparation, internet applications and database management
• Proficiency with BaseCamp or other project management platforms.
• Experience operating A/V equipment and hosting virtual meetings
• Must have access to reliable transportation for planned and unplanned offsite meetings, and ability to transport event materials

Preferred Experience and Skills

• Knowledge of the Jewish community, including understanding and appreciation of diverse community needs and values preferred.
• Experience with email platforms like Constant Contact, payment platforms like GiveSmart, social media, and web contact management platforms like WordPress.

Supervisory Responsibilities

This position has no supervisory responsibilities

Hours and Benefits

This is a full-time position requiring a minimum of 38 hours per week. Typical office hours are Monday-Thursday, 8 am-5 pm, and Friday, 8 am-3 pm. This work is majority in-person, with remote option available 1-2 days per week. Evening and weekend hours will be required throughout the year.

This position is eligible for 15 vacation days and 7 personal days annually. In addition, MJF observes 7 federal holidays as well as Jewish holidays that prohibit work, typically adding between 11 -17 additional paid days off annually depending on the Hebrew calendar. Other benefits include medical, dental and vision insurance, paid parental leave, health savings and flexible spending accounts, short- and long-term disability, life insurance, and 401K plan.

Work Environment & Physical Demands

This position operates in a professional office environment with pleasant working conditions, good lighting and ventilation and moderate noise level. Some work will be conducted offsite at event venues or community settings.

This role frequently uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers and filing cabinets. There will be frequent computer usage which will require arm and hand dexterity as well as all vision abilities to be successful. This is primarily an active role, requiring the ability to lift and/or move 25-30 pounds, usually waist high. Must be able to travel to community locations for offsite meetings and events, and transport event materials.

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required to perform the job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)

The Milwaukee Jewish Federation provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, amnesty or status as a covered veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws.