Director of Events

Director Of Events

Brentwood School, a vibrant and diverse K-12 independent school, is looking for a Director of Events. The Director of Events will report to the Executive Director of Strategy and Engagement. This is an exempt, full-time, 12-month position with evening and weekend work required.

The Director of Events provides strategic leadership, planning, and operational oversight for the School's full portfolio of events, including on-campus, off-campus, advancement, admission, academic, arts, athletics, parent, alumni, trustee, donor, and community events. This position serves as the central architect and project leader for the School's event enterprise, ensuring that every event reflects the institution's excellence, warmth, mission, and brand.

The Director of Events partners closely with leaders across campus to develop and execute a comprehensive annual events calendar, coordinate staffing and facility needs, and ensure seamless event operations. The Director works in close collaboration with the facilities team and other operational departments to allocate appropriate internal personnel and resources, while also managing best-in-class external vendors to produce consistently exceptional events. The role requires strong judgment, diplomatic skill, aesthetic sensibility, and the ability to translate institutional priorities into highly polished experiences for a wide range of constituents. This structure reflects how peer institutions describe the role: part strategist, part project manager, part relationship manager, and part executive producer.

It is expected that a successful candidate would:

• Lead the planning and execution of all School events, from small internal gatherings to large, high-profile institutional occasions, including advancement and fundraising events, grandparent and parent (PA) events, admissions events, faculty and staff events, community group events, ceremonies, and community-facing programs.
• Develop and maintain a unified, institution-wide event strategy, and coordinate with the master calendar to support School priorities, minimize conflicts, promote operational clarity, and ensure appropriate sequencing, staffing, and use of space across campus.
• Serve as the lead coordinator and cross-functional partner for event planning with division heads, department leaders, advancement, admission, communications, athletics, facilities, technology, security, food service, and business office personnel.
• Collaborate closely with internal food service providers to effectively use their services for on-campus events.
• Collaborate closely with the facilities and public safety departments to determine event setup and breakdown needs, room and venue scheduling, custodial and maintenance support, traffic flow, equipment needs, parking, safety planning, and personnel deployment.
• Assess each event's needs and allocate appropriate internal staffing, while coordinating supplemental outside support as needed. Establish clear event workflows, timelines, and accountability structures so that all parties understand responsibilities and deadlines.
• Identify, vet, negotiate with, and manage third-party vendors, including event designers, rental companies, food trucks, caterers, florists, lighting and AV teams, printers, photographers, entertainment providers, transportation vendors, security support, and other specialized partners. Ensure that vendors consistently deliver at a level commensurate with the School's standards.
• Conceptualize and help produce events of exceptional quality and beauty, with strong attention to guest experience, visual presentation, hospitality, flow, and detail. The Director should bring both operational discipline and refined taste to event design and execution. This expectation is strongly reflected in peer descriptions emphasizing quality, constituent experience, and institutional representation.
• Create and manage event budgets; monitor expenditures; oversee purchasing, invoicing, reconciliations, and contract compliance; and ensure events are delivered on budget and aligned with School policies and financial controls.
• For advancement-related events, partner with advancement leadership to ensure events support cultivation, solicitation, stewardship, volunteer engagement, and donor recognition goals. Help create experiences that deepen relationships with parents, alumni, grandparents, trustees, and friends of the School. Support specific advancement initiatives to ensure the highest level of experience and stewardship for the participants.
• Coordinate event communications in partnership with the communications and marketing team, including invitations, RSVP processes, briefing materials, signage, programs, scripts, run-of-show documents, seating, and post-event follow-up as appropriate.
• Lead event logistics for internal and off-campus programs, including site visits, venue evaluation, transportation planning, permits if needed, guest management, accessibility, contingency planning, and on-site supervision.
• Develop and maintain standardized systems, templates, checklists, service expectations, and approval workflows that improve efficiency, consistency, and communication across the School's event portfolio.
• Anticipate and mitigate operational, reputational, and safety risks associated with events. Ensure compliance with School policies, venue requirements, and applicable health, safety, accessibility, and capacity expectations.
• Conduct post-event evaluations, gather stakeholder feedback, track outcomes, and use data and observation to strengthen future planning, constituent experience, and return on investment.
• Supervise and develop event staff, temporary staff, volunteers, and student workers as applicable.
• Represent the School with professionalism, discretion, creativity, and warmth in all interactions with senior administrators, faculty, staff, families, students, trustees, alumni, donors, community partners, and vendors. Peer postings repeatedly emphasize judgment, sensitivity to constituents, and the ability to work effectively across organizational levels.
• Engage in professional and personal development with a consistent commitment to growth
• Participate and initiate opportunities that demonstrate one's growth, knowledge, and skills
• Commitment to fairness and to fostering community
• Other duties as assigned by the Executive Director of Strategy and Engagement

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree required.
• Significant, progressively responsible experience in event management, hospitality, institutional advancement, or a related field is required; experience in an independent school, university, or similarly high-touch, mission-driven organization is strongly preferred. Peer roles commonly require a bachelor's degree and approximately 3–5 years of event experience.
• Demonstrated success managing complex, multi-stakeholder events with high standards for execution and presentation.
• Strong project management skills, with the ability to manage many concurrent priorities, meet deadlines, and maintain composure under pressure.
• Exceptional interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills.
• Strong financial acumen, including experience building and managing budgets and reviewing contracts.
• Ability to collaborate effectively across departments and build trust with diverse constituencies.
• Experience selecting and managing outside vendors and service providers.
• A highly developed aesthetic sense and commitment to creating polished, memorable experiences.
• Proficiency with event management tools, spreadsheets, database/CRM systems, and standard productivity platforms; familiarity with advancement platforms is a plus.
• Availability to work evenings and weekends as required by the School's event calendar.

In addition, a candidate should possess the following personal qualities:

The ideal candidate is poised, detail-oriented, service-minded, calm under pressure, and energized by orchestrating excellent experiences behind the scenes. This person combines creativity with discipline, understands the tone and expectations of a sophisticated school community, and can move comfortably from trustee receptions to student celebrations to major fundraising events without losing either polish or operational rigor. That profile closely matches the "highly visible," "impactful," and "collegial leadership" language used in peer school and college postings.

While being vaccinated for COVID-19 is not required, it is strongly recommended.

COMPENSATION: Brentwood School's diverse and talented faculty ranges widely in experience level, from those new to teaching to veterans who are experts in their respective disciplines with 30+ years of experience. Our salary range, of $100,000 to $125,000, includes all levels of experience. Salaries are determined based on years of experience, education, full- or part-time status, and number of months worked per school year. Salary ranges do not include benefits i.e. 403b retirement matching, paid lunch and various other benefits of being a member of the Brentwood School community.