Social Secretary

bluestarfamilies; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 165,000 - 195,000; Full time

Job summary

Blue Star Families is seeking a Social Secretary to act as the CEO's senior advisor on protocol, official hospitality, and external engagement. The role designs and leads a national events program and bespoke experiences that deepen trust and philanthropic support across business, military, government, and cultural partners.

The position is in Washington, DC, hybrid, with regular in-person gatherings and periodic travel.

Qualifications

• Senior-level stewardship of relationships with business, military, government, and cultural leaders.
• Strong judgment and discretion in high-stakes settings.
• Ability to travel overnight several times per year.

Responsibilities

• Design and lead a coordinated staff and system of national events and bespoke experiences.
• Oversee invitations, official correspondence, gifts, and honors for the CEO and senior leaders.
• Serve as the CEO's senior advisor on protocol and external engagement.

Skills

Relationship management

Protocol expertise

Executive calendar planning

Job description

Job Title: Social Secretary

Department: Development

Location: Hybrid within Washington D.C. Metro area

Reports to: Chief Revenue Officer

Direct Reports: Yes

Classification: Exempt

Position type: Full-Time Employee

Anticipated Pay Range at Commencement of Employment: $165,000 - $195,000 per year

Blue Star Families

Blue Star Families is the largest nonprofit dedicated to making military life better for families. Each year, we support over 1.5 million military- and veteran-connected family members through a national network of 450,000+ members and local chapters in communities across the country.

Our mission is simple and bold: We make military life awesome for families.

We listen, share, partner, and act to deliver evidence-based, data-driven solutions that work for real people. We're a lifestyle organization, a friend and neighbor, and a trusted partner. Our approach is collaborative, human-centered, and designed with the whole family in mind.

A Blue Star Family is one with an immediate family member - a spouse, parent, or child - actively serving in the U.S. Armed Forces, including the Guard and Reserves. These families face unique challenges: frequent relocations, deployments, career disruption, and isolation. We respond with research-informed programs that create connection, build resilience, and foster a true sense of belonging.

We serve with urgency but build trust over time - because change happens at the speed of trust. Whether we're driving spouse employment, supporting caregivers, or helping communities welcome military families, we strive for upstream solutions.

Who We're Looking For:

Bold thinkers. Fast movers. Smart collaborators. People who want to build, lead, and drive measurable change - and who care deeply about making an impact that matters.

What You'll Do Here:

• Solve complex challenges with data, heart, and humility
• Build cross-sector partnerships that get things done
• Help military families feel at home wherever they live

If you're ready to work in a high-performance, mission-driven environment - and to make life better for those who serve - Blue Star Families is where you belong.

General Description

This position is Blue Star Families' senior-most steward of relationships with the people whose trust, attention, and resources most advance the organization's mission. This is not an events-logistics role; it is a relationship and reputation role, in which events and experiences are the instruments. The Social Secretary designs and leads a coordinated staff and system of national events, bespoke experiences, and personal stewardship that turns Blue Star Families' relationships with business, military, government, and cultural leaders into deeper trust, visibility, and philanthropic investment in the organization.

As the CEO's senior advisor on protocol, official hospitality, and external engagement, this executive provides input to the CEO's social and official calendar, hosts on behalf of the CEO, other senior leaders or board members and the organization, and oversees invitations, official correspondence, gifts, and honors. The role carries the judgment, discretion, and polish required to represent the CEO and the organization in rooms where reputation matter.

The ideal candidate is a polished, trusted executive with deep protocol expertise and exceptional judgment. They are as comfortable advising the CEO on a delicate invitation as they are hosting a general officer, senior Administration official, a member of Congress, or a corporate CEO. They bring warmth, discretion and a deep respect for the military community Blue Star Families serves.

This position is in-person in the Washington, DC office. We rely on regular in-person gatherings to fulfill core business functions, including strategic planning, cross-functional collaboration, and culture-building. This role requires the ability to travel overnight several times per year to attend team offsites, leadership sessions, donor meetings, and company-wide events. Attendance and participation in these gatherings is a non-negotiable component of the position.

Key Job Functions

VIP & High Value Individual Stewardship

• Build and maintain a disciplined system (moves management) for Blue Star Families' most important individual relationships - business executives, flag and general officers, elected and appointed government leaders, and cultural figures - so that no key relationship depends on a single person's memory.
• Personally manage a portfolio of the organization's top relationships, in partnership with the CEO and development leadership, including pre-briefs, follow-up, and year-round touchpoints that keep relationships warm between events.
• Serve as the organization's point person on protocol: correct forms of address, rank and precedence, seating, gifting, and etiquette for military, government, diplomatic, and corporate guests.
• Contribute to the CEO's social and official calendar, including reviewing invitatio