Special Events Manager

Santa Fe College; Gainesville (FL); On-site; USD 50,000 - 61,000; Full time

Job summary

Santa Fe College in Gainesville, FL is seeking a Special Events Manager to design, execute, and assess a variety of events, campaigns, and donor activities through the Office for Advancement. You will collaborate with multiple departments to ensure events meet college goals, budgets, and donor expectations, while delivering meaningful community engagement.

The role requires travel, weekend/evening work as needed, and staying on-site for events to ensure smooth execution and a strong attendee

Responsibilities

• Leads the planning and execution of internal and external events that inspire engagement, enhance the college's visibility to the community, cultivate meaningful connections with donors, and foster a shared commitment to achieving the college's mission.

Job description

Compensation $55,820.00 Annual

Job Description Summary

The application deadline for this position is 11:59pm EST on November 6, 2026.

The Office for Advancement provides leadership and coordination in developing activities and external support associated with gifts to enhance student recruitment/retention and create institutional impacts through philanthropic support. This includes cultivating philanthropic partnerships and individual giving; planning and directing fundraising campaigns; promoting annual giving; planning and coordinating comprehensive and capital campaigns; coordinating planned and deferred gifts; promoting employee and Alumni stewardship; and facilitating donor recognition events. Additionally, the Office for Advancement provides administrative support to the Foundation, which encourages and sustains long-term relationships with compassionate alumni, friends and businesses with generous hearts. SF's generous donors support the mission and vision of the college, and as such bring about tranSFormational change throughout our communities.

The Special Events Manager plans, organizes, and executes a variety of services, activities, events, and fundraising and awareness campaigns organized through the Office for Advancement. The Manager collaborates regularly with personnel from various departments to achieve objectives, collect and assess event outcome measures, monitor the daily activities associated with each event, and to ensure that each initiative meets the needs of the college and its stakeholders. The Manager uses creativity, acute attention to detail, and strong project management skills to ensure events are successful from the beginning to end. Given the nature of this work, the Manager will be required to travel, work at various locations, and work some weekends and evenings as required by event schedules.

Responsibilities and Duties Include:

• Leads the planning and execution of internal and external events that inspire engagement, enhance the college's visibility to the community, cultivate meaningful connections with donors, and foster a shared commitment to achieving the college's mission.
• Designs, executes, and assesses high-profile events, including domestic and international donor development trips, alumni engagement events, workshops, and signature events like the President's Gala, Pillars of Service Convocation, as well as The Inspire Series events.
• Creates detailed event timelines and ensures timely completion of all designated tasks to deliver successful special events.
• Communicates and partners with event personnel, volunteers, and vendors to seamlessly coordinate event activities, managing the details from planning to post-event debrief.
• Collaborates with staff and faculty both in Advancement and collegewide for event preparation, such as the Safety and Risk Coordinator, the President's Office, and the Fine Arts Department, to create cost-effective, safe, and engaging events that showcase student's talents and ensure seamless event execution.
• Oversees event logistics, including event venue reservations, facilities requests and work orders, equipment coordination, and communication with SFPD regarding building access, parking, and other event needs to ensure successful execution and an optimal attendee experience. *This requires staying on-site during the event.
• Advertises events on multiple channels and creates promotional materials in collaboration with the Marketing and Communications team that promote event awareness and opportunities to engage and participate.
• Manages event mailings, invitations, and staffing to ensure a streamlined planning process.
• Develops and maintains an approved event and hospitality budget in coordination with the Vice President for Advancement.
• Establishes monthly and annual goals to ensure events are delivered on time and within the set budget and evaluates event success against objectives set by the Vice President for Advancement.
• Prepares comprehensive statistical and annual reports, as well as written summaries of events for archival purposes, capturing the key aspects of each event including objectives, activities, outcomes, and participant feedback.
• Utilizes the preservation of reports and written summaries to enhance future events, support continuous improvement and strategic decision-making, and to ensure events maintain alignment with the college's strategic plan.
• Maintains the events section of the Advancement donor database, tracking attendee information, sponsorship details, and other related information as directed by the Vice President for Advancement.
• Hires, supervises, and evaluates vendors for each event following the guidelines established by the college and the foundation; negotiates contracts with event suppliers and vendors.
• Responds to event related requests, complaints, and inquiries from students, faculty, staff, service agencies, and the public in a timely and professional manner.
• Keeps a record of op