Director, Events and Special Projects

Jewish Federation of Detroit•Bloomfield Hills, MI

About The Position

The Director of Events and Special Projects leads the Events and Special Projects Department (ESP) to provide conceptual, strategic and logistic support to events and experiential programs across all areas within the Federation. The core objective of the ESP Dpt. is to elevate the impact of events and programs, creating experiences that engage our audience, enhance campaign participation and strengthen relationships with Federation. The ESP Dpt. serves as the organization’s internal center of excellence for event planning, and partners with departments in a variety of levels, ranging from consultation and support to full event management, based upon the unique needs of each program.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree
Strong team player
Strong interpersonal, communication and organizational skills
Strong knowledge of local venues, vendors, and the regional event landscape, with the ability to identify unique spaces that enhance the guest experience.
An ability to handle multiple projects efficiently and effectively
Must be able to work some evenings and some weekends
Familiarity with Jewish culture and the Jewish community

Nice To Haves

Prior event planning experience preferred

Responsibilities

Partner with department staff to design and execute innovative, high‑quality programs and events that meaningfully engage and connect donors and community members, balancing creativity with thoughtful stewardship of resources.
Collaborate with departmental leaders to shape and implement an integrated event strategy that advances Federation goals and campaign objectives, ensuring cohesion across offerings and awareness of the wider community’s event ecosystem.
Work with lead staff to evaluate event and program needs, providing initial strategic and tactical insight and evaluating areas of support needed for success.
As needed, offer a range of event support to department staff including recommendations and resourcing, vendor relations and on-site event assistance.
Leads post-mortem sessions and reviews feedback surveys to assess results. Manages learnings to improve future events.
Create and oversee department budget and specific event budgets.
Work with Federation department leads to manage insurance, marketing timelines, etc.
Supervision of Associate/Senior Associate including portfolio management and direction, serve as a leader and mentor to program staff.
Supervises event support staff, contractors and vendors as needed.
Management of Federation events calendar.
Develop event processes and protocols that create efficiency, consistency and excellence in event planning organization-wide.
With other department professionals, oversee the JFMD database of event vendors and other key resources.
Manage a centralized base of best-practices, developing and maintaining documentations such as event check-lists, run-of-show templates, budget templates, post-event surveys, etc.
Partner with volunteer leaders across the organization, build and maintain relationships that enhance engagement and campaign participation.
Participation in Federation’s Annual Campaign through telethons, individual conversations or other.