Director of Events

About KIPP Team and Family

KIPP TEAM & Family is our network office that includes support teams - such as Leadership Development, Recruitment, Advocacy, Facilities, Finance, HR and more - dedicated to empowering our schools and ensuring the success of KIPP students throughout New Jersey and Miami. Our schools are part of the nationally recognized “Knowledge Is Power Program” network of free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory public schools dedicated to preparing students for success in college and in life in our schools located in Newark, NJ, Camden,NJ,  Paterson, NJ, and Miami, FL.

About the Role

The Director of Events sets the vision and the bar for every event KTAF hosts across Newark, Camden, Paterson, and Miami and future regions. This is not a logistics role with a vision component bolted on. It is a role for someone who walks into a hotel ballroom and immediately sees three things nobody else noticed, who has strong opinions about what makes an experience feel considered rather than assembled, and who can then run the plan that gets us there.

We use the phrase "7-star experience" internally. We want to push above a five-star experience to experiences that are truly meaningful and memorable: the run-of-show that never stalls, the room that feels right before anyone says why, the moment a staff member realizes someone thought about them specifically. This role owns that standard and holds the whole organization to it.

Frequent travel between regions is a core feature of this job. Expect to be on the ground in each region regularly — scouting venues, walking spaces, building vendor relationships, and running events live.

What You'll Own

Set the vision and the standard

• Define what a high quality event at our org t is and isn't — a clear, articulated point of view on experience, tone, and quality that others can design against. Build a criteria for success for all events. 
• Build and maintain the event standards playbook.
• Raise the ceiling year over year. Each signature event should be measurably better than the last, with a specific thesis for what changed and why
• Bring ideas from outside education. Study what hospitality, conferences, and consumer brands do well and translate it to our context and budget
• Lias with regional leaders and align overall vision with local context, constraints and regional vision. 

Set the pace

• Own the annual events calendar across all four regions — sequenced, resourced, and published far enough ahead that regions can plan around it
• Build backwards-planned project plans with real milestones, and hold owners to them
• Run the operating rhythm: planning kickoffs, design reviews, run-of-show walkthroughs, day-of command, and post-event debriefs that actually change the next event
• Make the call when timelines slip. Decide fast, communicate clearly, and keep the work moving

Design and deliver signature events

• Lead end-to-end design and day of execution of KTAF's medium- to large-scale events, including staff recognition and network-wide professional development
• Own every logistical layer: venue, vendors, AV, catering, transportation, guest experience, programming, gathering feedback and speaker support. Then lead and execute all logistics day of events. 
• Negotiate contracts, manage vendor performance, and build a bench of partners in each region we can rely on
• Own the events budget line and individual event budgets.  Deliver ambitious experiences inside real constraints and know where a dollar buys the most experience
• Manage event communications timeline and execution–ensure communications both build clarity and anticipation. 

Level up the rest of the organization

• Build and maintain a central resource hub — templates, vendor lists, checklists, design guidance — so a school or team planning their own event starts from our standard, not from scratch
• Advise regional and school teams on smaller events: venue, setup, catering, run-of-show, and the handful of decisions that matter most
• Coach event leaders across the network on budget and design tradeoffs so quality holds even where you aren't in the room

Build the team

• Manage and develop the events team, including coordinators and event-day volunteers
• Create clear roles, clean handoffs, and a culture where people flag problems early
• Inspire the team and help them become 7-star event planners and executors. 

As job descriptions cannot be exhaustive, the position holder may be required to undertake other duties broadly in line with the above.

What Success Looks Like in Year One:

• A published, resourced annual events calendar across all four regions
• An articulated event standard and playbook that regional teams are actively using
• At least two signature events visibly better than their prior version, with staff feedback to show it
• A vendor bench in each region and clearer, better-negotiated contract terms
• Events delivered on budget

Who You Are

• You have a point of view on experience. You notice what most people miss, you can explain why a room works or doesn't, and you make choices rather than defaulting to what was done last year.
• You are the most organized person on any team you've been on. You never drop an action item. You backwards-plan against hard deadlines and hit them.
• You move fast and stay calm. Things go wrong on event day. You solve it without the room ever knowing there was a problem.
• You are resourceful about money. You create experiences that feel expensive without being expensive, and you can defend every line of your budget.
• You bring people with you. You influence teams you don't manage, and you communicate clearly and efficiently across every level of the organization.
• You are mission-aligned. You see why the experience of the adults who teach our students matters, and you take pride in supporting a leading K–12 education institution.

Skills

• Proficient in Google Workspace, Excel, and Outlook
• Comfortable managing multiple linked spreadsheets and mail merge functions
• Strong written and verbal communication — accurate, clear, and professional
• Contract negotiation and vendor management
• Project management tools and backwards planning

Required Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution; focus in Business, Hospitality, or Education preferred
• 5–10 years of experience planning and executing large-scale events
• Experience managing people and event budgets
• Proven success in an entrepreneurial, fast-paced environment
• Willingness and ability to travel frequently among Newark, Camden, Paterson, and Miami

Physical Requirements

The usual and customary methods of performing this job's functions require:

• Ability to lift and transport boxes of event materials (approximately 20–50 lbs)
• Ability to be mobile on your feet for extended periods to coordinate event setup and logistics
• Ability to travel regularly among KTAF's four regions, including occasional evening and weekend events

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this job.

 

Compensation & Benefits

KIPP NJ offers competitive salaries to newly hired staff members. Salaries are based on prior experience and in accordance with certification requirements. KIPP NJ offers a competitive salary range of $100,000-$125,000 for this position.

In addition to a competitive salary, KIPP NJ  offers a generous benefits package including, but not limited to, the following:  

• Robust benefits that include medical, dental, and vision 
• KIPP 403b retirement plan, including matching contributions
• A school-issued laptop
• Generous Time-Off Policy
• Up to 12 weeks 100% parental leave for primary caregivers
• Employer paid life insurance
• Extensive optional ancillary benefits including, short term and long term disability and accident and hospital indemnity
• Transportation benefits for TEAMmates commuting into Newark from the New York City area

Our organization is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex, gender, age, religion, national origin, citizen status, marital status, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Our organization will make a reasonable accommodation to known physical or mental limitations of a qualified applicant or employee with a disability unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the organization. No questions on this application are asked for any unlawful purpose.

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