Events Manager

Since 1896, Volunteers of America Oregon has been dedicated to meeting the needs of our community. Through our innovative programs in behavioral health, addiction treatment, reentry services, and support for children and families, we deliver life-changing services that promote safety, healing, and empowerment.

Text

At VOA Oregon, each staff member is part of a compassionate, mission-driven team working collaboratively to create lasting, meaningful, positive change. Every role contributes to the clients we serve and the mission we advance together. This work matters.

Are you ready to join an organization committed to service, inclusion, and employee support?

Read on to learn more and apply today!

Benefits of Joining VOA Oregon

Benefits vary based on employment classification. Employees hired into a full-time position are eligible for the benefits outlined below, subject to plan terms and eligibility requirements.

Health & Insurance Coverage: Medical insurance options with employer-paid premiums covering 71%-89% of employee-only coverage, with employee costs starting at $66.23 per paycheck; Optional dental and vision coverage at employee cost.

Life & Disability Protection: Employer-provided life insurance, along with short- and long-term disability coverage.

Retirement & Financial Security: 403(b) retirement plan with an automatic 5.5% employer contribution after 18 months of employment, regardless of employee contribution.[LC2.1]

Paid Time Off & Work-Life Balance: A generous paid time off (PTO) plan, with accruals of 15 days in the first year, 23 days in the second year, and 26 days in the third year.

Sick Leave: 80 hours of frontloaded sick time (prorated in the first year), resetting annually on January 1.

Holidays and Personal Days: 10 paid holidays each year, plus 3 personal holidays (prorated in the first year) to allow employees time off for important holidays, events, or milestones.

Student Loan Forgiveness: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, VOA Oregon is a qualified employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, which may help reduce or eliminate federal student loan debt for employees who meet eligibility requirements.

Additional Employee Benefits: Flexible spending accounts, employee assistance program (EAP), and access to other voluntary benefits and employee discounts.

Job Summary

Reporting to the Chief Development Officer, the Events Manager is responsible for planning, coordinating, and executing high-quality agency events that advance Volunteers of America Oregon's mission, strengthen donor and community engagement, and support organizational fundraising and visibility goals. This position serves as the agency's lead management representative for organization-wide fundraising and donor engagement events and is responsible for aligning event strategy with organizational visibility, philanthropic engagement, and community partnership goals.

The Events Manager manages a portfolio of events including donor cultivation and stewardship events, program-based events, volunteer recognition activities, community engagement opportunities, and the organization's signature gala. This role requires strong project management, attention to detail, relationship-building skills, and the ability to collaborate across programs, volunteers, vendors, donors, community partners, and external stakeholders.

Education & Experience.

• Bachelor's degree in nonprofit management, communications, marketing, hospitality, business administration, public relations, or a related field preferred; equivalent experience may be considered.
• Minimum of 3-5 years of experience in event planning, fundraising events, nonprofit development, donor relations, project management, or community engagement activities.
• Experience managing complex events with multiple stakeholders, timelines, vendors, budgets, and logistics.
• Experience supporting fundraising, donor engagement, sponsorship fulfillment, stewardship activities, or community partnerships preferred.
• Experience working in a nonprofit, behavioral health, human services, education, or mission-driven organization preferred.
• Experience using CRM systems to track donor, sponsorship, volunteer, or event activity, with familiarity with Raiser's Edge NXT preferred.

Essential Job Duties

• Plan, coordinate, and execute agency-wide events that support fundraising, donor engagement, community awareness, staff engagement, volunteer recognition, and program visibility.
• Serve as lead production manager for the organization's signature gala, including timelines, logistics, vendor coordination, registration, sponsorship fulfillment, guest experience, run of show, volunteer support, and post-event follow-up.
• Manage donor cultivation and stewardship events, including receptions, tours, recognition events, small gatherings, and other engagement opportunities.
• Support program-based events across the agency, including events related to alumni engagement, community partnerships, volunteer activities, donor visits, and special recognition opportunities.
• Support scholarship-related recognition and engagement activities associated with agency events and donor stewardship initiatives.
• Coordinate scholarship-related review, selection, communication, scheduling, reviewer support, and stakeholder engagement activities, including reviewer outreach, orientation support, timeline coordination, scoring material distribution, deadline tracking, and scholarship-related communications in alignment with organizational practices and donor intent.
• Serve as a point of coordination and support for scholarship applicants, recipients, alumni, donors, reviewers, community partners, and other stakeholders related to scholarship engagement, communication, recognition, and stewardship activities.
• Develop and manage annual event calendars, production schedules, project timelines, task lists, staffing plans, budgets, and post-event evaluations.
• Lead cross-functional event planning efforts involving Development, Communications, Volunteer Services, Finance, Executive Leadership, and program leadership teams.
• Coordinate with internal teams to ensure events are aligned with organizational goals, fundraising priorities, branding, messaging, and community engagement objectives.
• Recruit, train, schedule, and support event volunteers in coordination with the organization's volunteer program and related staff supporting volunteer engagement activities.
• Manage event vendors, venues, caterers, speakers, entertainers, photographers, printers, audiovisual providers, and other external partners.
• Ensure events are accessible, welcoming, professional, trauma-informed, and reflective of VOA Oregon's mission and values.
• Track event expenses, support budget development, process invoices, and assist with event-related revenue tracking in coordination with Development and Finance.
• Support event sponsorship fulfillment, including benefits tracking, sponsor recognition, signage, printed materials, tickets, tables, and post-event stewardship activities.
• Oversee event logistics and guest experience coordination, including registration processes, seating coordination, event communications, and check-in activities.
• Work collaboratively with the Communications team to support event promotion, invitations, printed materials, signage, scripts, social media, photography, video production, and post-event storytelling.
• Conduct post-event debriefs, analyze event outcomes, document lessons learned, and recommend improvements for future events.
• Support the Development team's annual fundraising, donor engagement, and stewardship goals through high-quality events and relationship-building opportunities.
• Collaborate with Development, Communications, and program leadership to support storytelling, donor stewardship, and community engagement activities related to scholarship impact and organizational mission advancement.
• Assist with preparing briefing materials, event scripts, talking points, donor recognition materials, sponsorship materials, and follow-up communications.
• Support accurate documentation of donor, sponsorship, volunteer, and event-related information within organizational tracking systems.
• Represent VOA Oregon professionally with donors, volunteers, vendors, partners, community members, and internal and external stakeholders.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities

• Knowledge of event planning principles, project coordination practices, and organizational methods necessary to successfully manage agency-wide events and engagement activities.
• Knowledge of fundraising events, donor stewardship practices, sponsorship fulfillment, nonprofit relationship management, and community engagement strategies.
• Knowledge of event logistics, vendor coordination, guest experience management, registration processes, and event production activities.
• Knowledge of budgeting practices, expense tracking, invoice processing, and financial coordination related to event management activities.
• Knowledge of volunteer coordination practices, including recruitment, scheduling, training, and ongoing support of volunteers participating in agency events and activities.
• Knowledge of communication and marketing practices related to event promotion, donor engagement, storytelling, social media coordination, printed materials, and community outreach activities.
• Knowledge of trauma-informed, professional, respectful, and relationship-centered engagement practices when interacting with donors, volunteers, community members, staff, vendors, and external stakeholders.
• Knowledge of confidentiality standards and professional practices related to handling donor information, organizational information, sponsorship details, and other sensitive materials.
• Knowledge of nonprofit organizational structures, fundraising operations, and mission-driven engagement practices preferred.
• Knowledge of donor databases, CRM systems, event registration systems, and data tracking practices, with familiarity with Raiser's Edge NXT preferred.
• Skilled in planning, coordinating, and executing multiple events, projects, and activities simultaneously while maintaining organization, quality, and attention to detail.
• Skilled in developing and managing timelines, work plans, budgets, task lists, production schedules, checklists, and event-related materials to support successful event execution.
• Skilled in communicating effectively both verbally and in writing with donors, volunteers, staff, vendors, sponsors, community partners, leadership, and external stakeholders.
• Skilled in building and maintaining positive working relationships with individuals from diverse professional backgrounds, organizational levels, and community settings.
• Skilled in coordinating cross-functional projects and collaborating effectively with Development, Communications, Volunteer Services, Finance, Executive Leadership, and program teams.
• Skilled in managing vendors, venues, caterers, audiovisual providers, entertainers, photographers, printers, and other external event partners to ensure successful event outcomes.
• Skilled in problem-solving, prioritization, and responding effectively to changing circumstances, competing priorities, and event-related challenges in a calm and solutions-oriented manner.
• Skilled in using Microsoft Office Suite, including Outlook, Teams, Word, and Excel, along with project management and event coordination tools to support organizational and event-related activities.
• Ability to manage multiple deadlines, priorities, stakeholders, and event responsibilities simultaneously while maintaining professionalism and strong follow-through.
• Ability to work collaboratively across departments and with staff at all levels of the organization to support organizational goals and event success.
• Ability to represent VOA Oregon professionally and effectively with donors, volunteers, sponsors, community partners, vendors, scholarship participants, and members of the public.
• Ability to maintain professionalism, flexibility, discretion, and sound judgment when handling confidential, sensitive, or time-sensitive information and situations.
• Ability to support accessible, welcoming, and mission-centered event experiences that reflect VOA Oregon's values and organizational culture.
• Ability to analyze event outcomes, identify opportunities for improvement, document lessons learned, and support continuous improvement efforts related to event planning and execution.
• Ability to work occasional evenings and weekends as required to support agency events, donor activities, and community engagement opportunities.

Other Eligibility Requirements

• Must complete a criminal history background check and receive authorization.
• Must not be excluded from participation in federal healthcare programs, including but not limited to listings on the Office of Inspector General (OIG) List of Excluded Individuals/Entities and the System for Award Management (SAM) exclusion list.
• Must be legally authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship.
• Must have an active driver's license, current insurance, reliable transportation and ability to meet VOA Oregon's and VOA Oregon's insurer's driver standards.

Travel Requirement

• Up to 30% of work time requires local travel within the Portland metro area. Occasional overnight travel may be necessary for training, meetings, or other business needs.

Supervisory Responsibilities

This position does not have any supervisory responsibilities.

Physical Demands & Work Environment

The physical demands described here must be met by an employee while performing the essential duties of this job. The employee is regularly required to sit for extended periods, use hands and fingers to operate a computer and other office equipment, and communicate effectively in person and by phone. The employee may regularly be required to stand, walk, bend, and lift up to 25 pounds.

The work environment characteristics described here may be encountered by an employee while performing the essential duties of this job. The work is primarily performed in a professional office setting with frequent use of standard office equipment such as computers, phones, and printers. Occasional travel between program sites, partner sites, and to community meetings is required. The noise level is generally low to moderate.

Individuals in this role must be able to perform essential job duties with or without reasonable accommodation and without posing a direct threat to the safety or health of employees or others. To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed above are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential duties.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by the incumbent(s) of this job. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities and activities required for this position.