Manager of Special Events

Discovery Cube; Santa Ana (CA); On-site; USD 65,000 - 80,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental and vision

401K match

Free admission tickets

Employee discounts

Paid time off

Job summary

Discovery Cube OC and LA campuses seek a Manager of Special Events to lead planning and execution of Members’ events, donor events, and Community Impact events across sites. You’ll collaborate with the Sr.

Manager of Special Events to ensure seamless events with internal teams, donors, volunteers and vendors. The role requires a bachelor’s degree and at least 3 years in event planning, with strong organizational and communication skills and willingness to travel between campuses.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• Minimum 3 years of experience in event planning, event operations, hospitality, venue management, or a related field preferred.
• Experience planning and executing multiple events simultaneously, including coordination with internal teams, vendors, clients, and other stakeholders.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, including Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Experience coordinating and directing staff, volunteers, vendors, and cross-functional teams during events.
• Availability to work evenings, weekends, holidays, and extended hours as required by the event schedule.
• Ability and willingness to travel between Discovery Cube campuses and off-site event locations as needed.
• Strong organizational, project management, and time-management skills with exceptional attention to detail.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to effectively communicate with employees, leadership, clients, donors, vendors, volunteers, and community partners.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build and maintain positive relationships with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision while collaborating effectively within a team environment.
• Ability to remain calm, professional, flexible, and solution-oriented in high-pressure or rapidly changing situations.
• Strong problem-solving and decision-making skills, including the ability to identify solutions and alternatives while maintaining positive stakeholder relationships.
• Demonstrated initiative, accountability, professionalism, integrity, and sound judgment.
• Ability to develop and manage event timelines, production schedules, floor plans, staffing plans, and other event logistics.
• Ability to coordinate vendors, solicit quotes, review proposals, and support contract and payment processes.
• Strong customer-service orientation with the ability to anticipate client and stakeholder needs and resolve issues professionally.

Responsibilities

• Assist with planning and executing various events for OC and LA campuses.
• Lead EMS timelines and share with departments.
• Supervise event support staff and vendors.
• Coordinate vendor payments with finance.
• Manage event management software and content requests.
• Improve operations and reduce costs across events.
• Support overall department strategy with VP of Operations.
• Maintain Master Events Calendar.
• Prepare for committee meetings.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Skills

Event planning

Staff coordination

Vendor management

Project management

Communication

Time management

Problem-solving

Attention to detail

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

Microsoft Office

Event management software

CRM systems

Adobe Creative Cloud

Job description

Come join the fun and make a difference with Discovery Cube! For over 25 years, we've been inspiring kids and educators alike with our hands-on science education initiatives and interactive exhibits. Our four core initiatives - STEM proficiency, early childhood education, healthy living, and environmental stewardship - are future-forward in promoting life-long-learning. Plus, with our immersive campuses in Orange County and Los Angeles, as well as our educational outreach programs, there are endless opportunities for learning exploration. As a prominent advocate for modern science education, we believe in empowering our learners with real-world applications and spotlighting science as a solution and force for good. Don't miss out on the excitement and join our important mission today!

Position

Manager of Special Events

Location

2500 N. Main Street, Santa Ana CA 92705.

This role is an in-office role with requirements to travel for events and requirements to travel for events at our LA Campus.

The Manager of Special Events will work directly with our Sr. Manager of Special Events to collaboratively and successfully execute events for Discovery Cube OC and LA. The Special Events team oversees all aspects of special events for the entire events portfolio between both OC and LA Campuses. Event portfolio includes but not limited to Members’ events, private donor events, Community Impact events as well as all the major fundraising events. This role is involved in all events but may have a dedicated portfolio of events to lead. They will work closely with all internal teams, external clients, volunteers, stakeholders and vendors to ensure communication is consistent, event logistics are smooth, payments are on time, and all stakeholders are satisfied. This role receives direct supervision from the Sr. Manager of Special Events, reporting up to the Vice President of Operations, but should be able to work well independently with little supervision as well as in collaboration with a team.

Core Responsibilities

Event Planning and Execution

• In collaboration with the Events Team, supports all special events (Members’ Events, Staff Events, Donor Events, Community Impact Events, etc.), including working with internal staff, volunteers, donors and outside vendors
• Functionally supervises all event support staff including set-up crews, third party vendors, guest service personnel, IT support, facilities team members, and other staff or volunteers as assigned to private events
• Takes lead on preparing and maintaining Event Management Sheet (EMS) and timelines for all events and distributes them to all necessary departments
• Partner with finance to ensure vendor payments are submitted, completed in a timely and orderly manner
• Manages event management software, designs requests and content requests via the Marketing team
• Demonstrates continuous effort to improve operations, decrease cost, streamline work processes and work cooperatively and jointly with other departments to provide seamless and successful events

Event Department Support

• Works closely with the Vice President of Operations on execution of the overall department strategy
• Manages the Master Events Calendar
• Assists with planning and preparing for committee meetings
• Performs other duties as assigned

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• Minimum 3 years of experience in event planning, event operations, hospitality, venue management, or a related field preferred.
• Experience planning and executing multiple events simultaneously, including coordination with internal teams, vendors, clients, and other stakeholders.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, including Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Experience coordinating and directing staff, volunteers, vendors, and cross-functional teams during events.
• Availability to work evenings, weekends, holidays, and extended hours as required by the event schedule.
• Ability and willingness to travel between Discovery Cube campuses and off-site event locations as needed.
• Strong organizational, project management, and time-management skills with exceptional attention to detail.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to effectively communicate with employees, leadership, clients, donors, vendors, volunteers, and community partners.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build and maintain positive relationships with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision while collaborating effectively within a team environment.
• Ability to remain calm, professional, flexible, and solution-oriented in high-pressure or rapidly changing situations.
• Strong problem-solving and decision-making skills, including the ability to identify solutions and alternatives while maintaining positive stakeholder relationships.
• Demonstrated initiative, accountability, professionalism, integrity, and sound judgment.
• Ability to develop and manage event timelines, production schedules, floor plans, staffing plans, and other event logistics.
• Ability to coordinate vendors, solicit quotes, review proposals, and support contract and payment processes.
• Strong customer-service orientation with the ability to anticipate client and stakeholder needs and resolve issues professionally.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with project management, event management, CRM, or similar software preferred.
• Experience managing event budgets, vendor expenses, invoices, and payment processes preferred.
• Experience with Adobe Creative Cloud, Canva, or similar design tools preferred.
• Interest in children, science, education, and Discovery Cube’s mission is a plus.

What’s In It For You

• Medical, dental and vision insurance
• Optional supplemental insurance coverage
• 401K with up to 4% match after one year for full-time employees
• 14 Free general admission tickets per year
• 4 Bubblefest tickets plus admission
• 10% of on-site dining and shopping discount
• Employee discounts through ADP
• Accrued paid time off for full-time employees
• 10 paid company holidays

Compensation

$72,384 - $72,384 USD

Discovery Cube provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.