Senior Events, Projects, & Operations Manager

Job Description

Job Description

Director of Events & Operations

SkillsUSA Ohio

Columbus, Ohio

Salary Range

$85,000 – $95,000 Base Salary

Benefits Include:

• Medical benefits (if applicable)
• Paid Time Off
• Flexible work environment
• Professional development opportunities
• Statewide leadership exposure
• Meaningful mission-driven work impacting over 40,000 students annually

Who We Are

SkillsUSA Ohio is one of the largest and most impactful workforce development organizations in the state.

We serve:

• 40,000+ student members
• 300+ schools
• 4,200 instructors
• Thousands of business and industry partners across Ohio

Every year we deliver leadership development, technical skill competitions, workforce readiness programming, advisor training, and industry engagement opportunities that help prepare Ohio's future workforce.

Our mission is simple:

To empower students to become world-class workers, leaders, and responsible American citizens.

We're entering a significant growth phase and are looking for a highly organized operational leader to help build the infrastructure needed to support that growth.

The Opportunity

This is not an event coordinator role.

This is not an administrative assistant role.

This is not a position for someone looking to simply maintain the status quo.

This is an operational leadership opportunity.

You will become a key member of the leadership team responsible for helping plan, organize, and execute some of the largest workforce development and student leadership initiatives in Ohio.

You will work directly with the Executive Director, advisors, contractors, volunteers, educators, and industry partners to ensure programs, events, vendors, budgets, timelines, and projects are executed with excellence.

You will help bring structure to complexity.

You will help build the systems, processes, and accountability necessary for SkillsUSA Ohio to continue growing and serving students across the state.

Reports To

Executive Director

Works Closely With

• Executive Director
• Board Leadership
• Contractors
• Advisors
• Industry Partners
• Event Volunteers
• SkillsUSA National Organization
• School Administrators and Educators

What You'll Do

Event Leadership

• Lead planning and execution of statewide events
• Manage event timelines and deliverables
• Coordinate venues, vendors, speakers, and logistics
• Organize advisor training events
• Manage registration and attendee experiences
• Ensure successful execution of conferences, competitions, retreats, and leadership programs

Operations & Project Management

• Create and manage project plans
• Own operational workflows
• Implement process improvements
• Drive accountability across projects
• Support organizational scaling efforts
• Identify bottlenecks and proactively solve problems
• Ensure critical initiatives remain on schedule

Team Coordination

• Lead cross-functional planning meetings
• Coordinate contractors and vendors
• Assist with onboarding future team members
• Ensure projects remain aligned with organizational priorities
• Foster collaboration and communication across stakeholders

Systems & Process Development

• Utilize Monday.com for project management
• Develop and document SOPs
• Build repeatable operational systems
• Improve organizational efficiency while taking into consideration the complexities of educational environments
• Assist in creating scalable infrastructure that reduces organizational dependency on individual contributors

What Success Looks Like

Within 90 Days

• Fully onboarded into major SkillsUSA Ohio programs and events
• Successfully managing operational timelines and deliverables
• Building strong relationships with staff, advisors, contractors, and partners
• Demonstrating leadership, accountability, and ownership
• Contributing to process documentation and SOP development
• Providing meaningful operational support that increases organizational capacity

Within 12 Months

• Successfully leading multiple statewide initiatives
• Improving operational consistency and accountability
• Helping establish scalable systems and repeatable processes
• Supporting successful execution of SkillsUSA Ohio's major events and programs
• Creating increased organizational capacity that allows leadership to focus on strategic growth and mission advancement

Within 18–24 Months

• Recognized as a key operational leader within the organization
• Serving as a strategic thought partner to executive leadership
• Driving continuous improvement initiatives
• Helping shape the future operational direction of SkillsUSA Ohio

What Great Looks Like

The ideal candidate:

• Thinks three steps ahead
• Anticipates challenges before they occur
• Brings solutions, not just problems
• Communicates proactively
• Creates structure and clarity
• Builds relationships easily
• Maintains composure under pressure
• Takes ownership of outcomes
• Enjoys continuous improvement
• Balances accountability with collaboration

Who You Are

You are:

• Extremely organized
• Detail-oriented
• Accountable
• Proactive
• Calm under pressure
• Highly professional
• Process-driven
• Resourceful
• Solutions-focused

You enjoy taking ownership while collaborating on process improvement.

You naturally create structure where others see chaos.

You understand how to balance people, priorities, and execution.

Qualifications

Preferred

• 5+ years of project management experience
• Event management experience
• Vendor management experience
• Team leadership experience
• Budget management experience
• Monday.com, Asana, ClickUp, Smartsheet, or similar platform experience
• Experience working with nonprofits, education, workforce development, associations, or membership organizations is a plus

Bachelor's degree preferred but not required.

We value demonstrated results, leadership, and accountability over credentials alone.

Travel Requirements

This role requires periodic travel throughout Ohio to support conferences, leadership events, competitions, advisor training, school visits, and strategic partner meetings.

Some evening and occasional weekend work should be expected during peak event seasons.

Why This Role Is Different

Most event and operations positions focus on logistics.

This role focuses on impact.

Every event, initiative, and program supported by this position helps prepare thousands of Ohio students for successful careers and leadership opportunities.

If you're looking for meaningful work where your efforts directly contribute to workforce development, education, leadership development, and student success, this may be one of the most rewarding opportunities in Ohio.

Why You'll Succeed Here

You thrive in fast-paced environments.

You enjoy solving problems.

You like being trusted with responsibility.

You want meaningful work that directly impacts students and communities.

You enjoy building systems and improving organizations.

You find satisfaction in helping others succeed.

This Role May NOT Be A Good Fit If:

• You require constant direction
• You struggle with changing priorities
• You dislike accountability
• You avoid difficult conversations
• You prefer highly repetitive work
• You are uncomfortable managing multiple projects simultaneously
• You do not find value in collaboration and relationship building
• You prefer maintaining systems rather than improving them
• You are looking for a traditional 9-to-5 administrative position

Application Process

Interested candidates should submit:

• Resume
• Brief cover letter
• Project or event management experience summary

Required Screening Question

Describe a large event, program, project, or initiative you personally managed.

Please include:

• Size of the event/project
• Budget responsibility
• Number of participants or stakeholders involved
• Your role and responsibilities
• Biggest challenge encountered
• Final outcome

(Minimum 250 characters)

Selected candidates will complete:

1. Initial screening interview
2. Behavioral interview
3. 16Personalities assessment
4. Leadership interview
5. Reference checks

SkillsUSA Ohio is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace.

SkillsUSA’s mission is To empower our students to become skilled professionals, career ready leaders and responsible community members. SkillsUSA improves the quality of America’s skilled workforce through a structured program of citizenship, leadership, employability, technical and professional skills training.

Company Description

SkillsUSA’s mission is To empower our students to become skilled professionals, career ready leaders and responsible community members. SkillsUSA improves the quality of America’s skilled workforce through a structured program of citizenship, leadership, employability, technical and professional skills training.