Manager of Special Events

Manager of Special Events

The Manager of Special Events is responsible for planning, coordinating, and executing high-quality statewide and regional events that advance KIPP Texas' strategic priorities, strengthen stakeholder engagement, and create exceptional experiences for students, families, staff, donors, board members, community partners, and other key constituents.

This role leads the operational planning and execution of a diverse portfolio of events, including staff and student celebrations such as commitment ceremonies, graduations, and other organization-wide experiences. The Manager of Special Events serves as a project leader responsible for managing timelines, budgets, vendors, contracts, logistics, transportation, event production, risk mitigation, and cross-functional stakeholder alignment.

Success in this role requires strong project management, operational excellence, relationship management, and the ability to navigate multiple priorities across a complex statewide organization. As an ambassador of the KIPP Texas mission and brand, the Manager of Special Events ensures events are executed with consistency, professionalism, and a student-centered approach while supporting organizational goals and stakeholder engagement efforts. This position works closely with regional and statewide teams, school leaders, Advancement, Communications, Finance, Operations, external vendors, and other key stakeholders to successfully execute events across the KIPP Texas network.

Role Responsibilities:

• Design, plan, and execute regional and statewide events that advance organizational priorities, strengthen stakeholder engagement, and deliver high-quality student and community experiences.
• Serve as the primary project manager for assigned events, leading cross-functional planning and ensuring alignment across departments, school leaders, and external partners.
• Build and manage comprehensive event project plans, timelines, and budgets, ensuring milestones, deliverables, stakeholder responsibilities, and expenses are clearly tracked and completed on schedule.
• Lead all aspects of event logistics, including venue selection, vendor management, contract negotiations, event production, run-of-show development, budget management, transportation coordination, risk mitigation, accessibility planning, and logistics.
• Coordinate and manage a diverse group of stakeholders, including school leaders, staff, students, alumni, families, volunteers, board members, community partners, and external vendors across planning and execution phases.
• Oversee the development and distribution of event-related communications, collateral, signage, websites, registration materials, and participant resources in collaboration with Communications and other teams.
• Facilitate internal and external planning meetings, including agenda development, stakeholder communication, action-item tracking, and stakeholder follow-up.
• Manage guest registration, seating logistics, ticketing, attendance tracking, and participant experience planning as applicable.
• Recruit, train, schedule, and deploy volunteers for event-day operations.
• Oversee event-day execution, proactively identifying and resolving operational risks, challenges, and issues in real time.
• Develop post-event reports and lead closeout activities, including budget reconciliation, documentation, stakeholder follow-up, and lessons learned.
• Maintain availability outside of standard work hours during event seasons and as needed to support event execution.

Perform other duties as assigned.

Competency and Skills:

• Manages multiple concurrent event timelines, budgets, and stakeholder responsibilities with accuracy, follow-through, and strong attention to detail
• Communicates clearly and professionally across diverse audiences, including school leaders, vendors, volunteers, donors, and board members, in writing, in person, and in facilitated settings
• Executes both strategic planning and ground-level logistics with equal rigor; anticipates problems and resolves them proactively
• Self-directed and able to prioritize among competing goals, manage timelines independently, and initiate process improvements without prompting
• Build trust and maintain productive working relationships with internal teams, school-based partners, and external vendors and stakeholders
• Exercises sound independent judgement in fast-moving, high-stakes event environments

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university.
• 2+ years of experience in event management, project management, operations, stakeholder engagement, education, nonprofit management, or a related field.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines with strong attention to detail.
• Ability to build and maintain positive relationships with diverse stakeholders.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite and project management or collaboration tools.
• Ability to travel throughout Texas and work evenings and weekends as needed.
• Experience in K–12 education, public schools, charter networks, higher education, or youth-serving organizations preferred.
• Experience planning or supporting student, family, or community-facing events preferred.
• Familiarity with Raiser's Edge or similar donor/CRM platforms preferred.

Additional Information

What We Bring to the Table:

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans with coverage options for employees and their families.
• Competitive vacation and flexible paid time off (PTO) policies.
• Paid family leave.
• Flexible spending account or high-yield HSA.
• Employee assistance programs.
• KIPP also offers the following employee-paid benefits: legal plans, LifeLock identity protection, life insurance and disability insurance.

Physical Requirements:

• The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
• The person in this position needs to be able to move about inside and outside the school throughout the workday.
• The candidate is expected to attend conferences, meetings and training sessions both virtually and in person within the Region.

Additional Requirements:

• Reliable transportation is needed for travel between campuses
• Ability to maintain emotional control under stress.
• Work with frequent interruptions.

Work Environment: Hybrid work - Reports to the central office or schools three days a week

Travel Requirements: Moderate travel: Regular travel to school sites, regional offices or external locations for professional learning, meetings and other work related activities. Travel frequency may increase based on time of year.

EEO: KIPP Texas is an Equal Opportunity Employer. KIPP Texas ensures equal employment opportunities regardless of race, creed, gender, color, national origin, religion, age, sexual orientation, or disability. Any individual needing assistance in making an application for any opening should contact the Talent Team.

Federal law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities. Please tell us if you require a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job or to perform your job duties. Examples of reasonable accommodation include making a change to the application process or work procedures, providing documents in an alternate format, using a sign language interpreter, or using specialized equipment.