Senior Event Coordinator — Academic & Alumni Engagement

The California State University; Northern, San Diego (KY, CA); Hybrid; USD 52,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous time off

Health coverage

CSU tuition waiver

CalPERS retirement

Job summary

San Diego State University is seeking an experienced Event Coordinator to independently plan and execute a diverse portfolio of college events supporting academic, development, and community priorities.

The role partners with college leadership, development and communications teams, campus partners, vendors, and external stakeholders, driving logistics and post-event follow-up with strong judgment and attention to detail.

Qualifications

• Experience planning events in higher education, academic, nonprofit, or advancement/development environment.
• Familiarity with accounting, budgeting, purchasing, and financial systems used within a university or similarly complex organization.
• Experience coordinating catering services, including adherence to institutional policies and procedures, menu development, and staffing arrangements.
• Experience collaborating with diverse and complex stakeholder groups within a university environment, including senior leadership, administrators, faculty, students, and staff.
• Proficiency in navigating venue reservations, facilities coordination, and event logistics within a university or large organizational setting.
• Experience supporting donor cultivation, stewardship, alumni engagement, or similar relationship-building events.
• Experience coordinating events of varying sizes and complexity, from small gatherings to large-scale events.
• Experience working in a public-sector, public-facing, or unionized environment.
• Experience developing standardized event-planning templates, toolkits, procedures, or process documentation.
• Familiarity with ADA requirements and accessibility best practices related to event planning.
• Experience collaborating with marketing or communications teams to develop and implement event-promotion strategies.

Responsibilities

• Independently manage assigned events from concept through completion, developing timelines, run-of-show documents, task assignments, and detailed logistical plans to ensure successful execution.
• Coordinate venues, catering, audiovisual services, accessibility accommodations, facilities, parking, transportation, equipment, security, staffing, and external vendors based on the needs of each event.
• Partner with Development and University Relations on donor cultivation, stewardship, alumni engagement, and fundraising events, including guest management and donor/VIP protocols.
• Develop event budgets and cost estimates, monitor expenditures, and coordinate contracts, purchasing, payments, reimbursements, deposits, permits, insurance, and other required approvals.
• Serve as the operational lead during events, directing staff and vendors, monitoring event flow, troubleshooting issues, and making timely decisions to keep programs running smoothly.
• Serve as the central point of coordination for assigned events, maintaining clear communication with leadership, event sponsors, campus partners, vendors, and communications teams throughout the planning process.
• Ensure events align with university fiscal, procurement, accessibility, risk management, safety, and advancement requirements while evaluating outcomes and identifying opportunities to improve future events.

Skills

Event planning

Budgeting

Vendor coordination

Stakeholder management

Communication

ADA accessibility

Donor/alumni engagement

Project coordination

Public-sector environment

Template development

Marketing collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in related field

2 years relevant experience

Tools

Financial systems

Job description

San Diego State University is seeking an experienced Event Coordinator to independently plan and execute a diverse portfolio of college events supporting academic, development, and community priorities.

The role partners with college leadership, development and communications teams, campus partners, vendors, and external stakeholders, driving logistics and post-event follow-up with strong judgment and attention to detail.