Head of Events, Program Performance & Community Engagement

Human Appeal; Fairfax (VA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Human Appeal USA is seeking a Head of Events to own the national event portfolio from planning through post-event review, including fundraising dinners, Grand Iftars, comedy tours, Quran nights, and sports activities.

You will build a standard playbook, a reliable volunteer base, and strong mosque partnerships to maximize attendance and donations while maintaining quality across markets.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in event management or nonprofit fundraising.
• Experience planning multi-city or large-scale events with measurable attendance and fundraising.
• Experience recruiting and managing volunteers at scale.
• Strong relationships with American Muslim communities, mosques and community organizations.

Responsibilities

• Plan and execute the national events calendar for fundraising.
• Lead recruitment, training and management of volunteers.
• Oversee budgets, vendor contracts and cost per attendee.
• Collaborate with marketing and fundraising teams.
• Develop post-event reviews and performance dashboards.
• Build partnerships with mosques and community organizations.

Skills

Leadership

Event management

Nonprofit fundraising

Volunteer management

Budgeting

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience

Job description

The Head of Events makes every Human Appeal USA event full, well run and on target for its fundraising goal. The role owns the national event portfolio from planning through post-event review: fundraising dinners, Grand Iftars, the comedy tour, Quran nights with visiting reciters, entertainment programs, and sports and MMA activities.

Today these programs run across the country with uneven quality, attendance and volunteer support. This role creates one standard playbook, a reliable volunteer base so we are not paying for every function, and strong mosque and community partnerships that fill rooms before doors open.

The Head of Events is accountable for three outcomes: consistent program quality, strong attendance at every event, and engaged volunteers who return.

Key responsibilities

1. Event strategy and planning

• Build and manage the annual national events calendar across all program types, aligned with fundraising targets and seasonal giving (Ramadan, Dhul Hijjah, year-end).
• Set clear goals for every event before approval: attendance target, fundraising target, budget and cost per attendee.
• Select cities, venues and dates strategically, using community size, past results, competing events and mosque calendars.
• Develop and maintain a standard event playbook covering timelines, run-of-show, staffing, vendor, AV and on-site checklists.
• Negotiate and manage venue, catering, talent and vendor contracts within budget.

2. Marketing, outreach and attendance

• Own attendance for every event: "filling the room" is a core accountability of this role.
• Partner with the marketing team on campaigns for each event: digital, social, email, SMS and print.
• Lead ground marketing in each market: flyering, booths after Jumu'ah, community announcements and local influencer outreach.
• Engage mosques, imams, MSAs and community organizations well in advance of each event to secure promotion, co-hosting and turnout.
• Track ticket sales and registrations against targets and adjust outreach early when an event is behind.

3. Volunteer engagement

• Build a national volunteer program with local volunteer teams in each key market.
• Recruit, train, schedule and recognize volunteers, with clear roles for each event type.
• Develop volunteer leads in each city who can run day-of operations with minimal paid staff.
• Maintain a volunteer database and track hours, retention and repeat participation.
• Reduce paid labor and vendor costs by shifting suitable functions to trained volunteers.

4. Execution and resource coordination

• Oversee day-of operations to ensure every event meets Human Appeal's quality standard.
• Assign the right staff, talent and resources from across Human Appeal divisions to each event.
• Coordinate with fundraising staff on the appeal segment, pledge collection and donor follow-up.
• Manage logistics for talent such as reciters, comedians, speakers and athletes, including travel and hospitality.
• Ensure compliance with venue, safety, insurance and fundraising regulations in each state.

5. Performance and optimization

• Run a post-event review within two weeks of every event, comparing results to targets.
• Maintain a dashboard of event performance across the portfolio and report monthly to the Executive Director.
• Identify the highest-return event formats and markets, and recommend what to scale, change or stop.
• Gather attendee, donor and volunteer feedback and turn it into playbook improvements.
• Manage the events budget and report on cost per dollar raised.

6. Donor engagement and resource planning

• Ensure every event draws a mix of donor levels: general attendees, recurring and mid-level donors, major donors and high-net-worth individuals.
• Lead targeted outreach to high-net-worth donors before each event, including personal invitations, VIP tables and hosted experiences.
• Partner with the fundraising team to set a donor attendance plan for each event and assign follow-up owners.
• Arrange contact capture at every event: registration, sign-in, QR codes and pledge cards, with consent and clean data entry into the CRM.
• Grow Human Appeal's network of donors, volunteers and community ambassadors in each market, and track growth over time.
• Recruit and support community ambassadors who promote events and bring new donors and volunteers into the network.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in event management, program management or nonprofit fundraising events, with 3+ years leading teams.
• Proven record of planning and running multi-city or large-scale events with measurable attendance and fundraising results.
• Experience recruiting and managing volunteers at scale.
• Strong relationships with, or deep understanding of, American Muslim communities, mosques and community organizations.
• Budget ownership and vendor contract negotiation experience.
• Comfort using data to set targets, track performance and make decisions.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.

Preferred

• Experience with gala dinners, live entertainment or touring programs.
• Familiarity with event ticketing, CRM and volunteer management platforms.
• Arabic, Urdu or another community language.
• Existing network across mosques and Muslim organizations in multiple US regions.

Core competencies

• Results-driven: treats attendance and fundraising targets as personal commitments.
• Community builder: earns trust with imams, boards and volunteers.
• Operator: brings structure, playbooks and calm execution under pressure.
• Collaborator: works across marketing, fundraising, programs and finance.
• Values-aligned: committed to Human Appeal's humanitarian mission and values.

Working relationships and conditions

• Internal: Executive Director; fundraising, marketing, programs and finance teams; regional staff.
• External: mosques and imams, community organizations, venues and vendors, talent (reciters, comedians, speakers, athletes), volunteers and donors.
• Schedule: regular evening and weekend work around events, with heavier load during Ramadan and year-end campaigns.
• Physical: able to manage long on-site days and frequent travel.