Events and Marketing Manager

Powell Gardens•Blue Springs, MO

4d•Hybrid

About The Position

As Kansas City’s Botanical Garden, Powell Gardens plays a vital role in the community as a space for release, rejuvenation, and the celebration of the fleeting nature of nature itself. Visitors enjoy themed display gardens, nature trails, seasonal festivals, rotating exhibitions, and exceptional architecture. Established in 1988, Powell Gardens is a public garden, maintaining over 700 acres of lush, rolling hills and windswept meadows, with more than 175 acres and a large collection of plants open to the public for education, exploration, and recreation. With the addition of our second location, Colonial Farms, we offer a new way to advance our mission of education, community engagement and spreading our love for plants. We at Powell believe that our team members are our most important asset. By building strong relationships with each other, we can ensure that our guests have the best possible experience. We are looking for a high energy, organized, creative person to drive our public events and marketing strategy at Colonial Farms. If you love events and finding new ways to make people smile, we would love to speak with you! The Events and Marketing Manager plays a key role in the success of Powell Gardens Colonial Farms by leading the planning, development, promotion, and execution of public, signature, and educational events throughout the year. This position oversees a diverse calendar of experiences that connect guests to agriculture, nature, food, plants, and the farm, including events such as Music in the Garden, Plant Bingo, Trivia Nights, Alpaca Brunches, U-Pick experiences, seasonal festivals, and other agritourism-focused programs. The Events Manager is responsible for ensuring that events are well-planned, financially successful, operationally sound, and aligned with the mission and values of Powell Gardens. This role works collaboratively across departments and provides leadership to the event crew responsible for on-site event execution. The Events Manager also oversees educational programming at Colonial Farms, including field trips and learning experiences for local schools, community organizations, and other groups. The position provides direction to the Marketing Specialist supporting Colonial Farms events and actively participates in marketing strategy, promotional content, social media, attendance growth, and revenue-generation initiatives. This position requires a highly organized, creative, collaborative, and guest-focused leader who can move effectively between strategic planning and hands-on event execution.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in event management, hospitality, recreation, education, communications, marketing, agriculture, business, nonprofit management, or a related field.
3+ years of progressively responsible experience in event management, programming, hospitality, education, agritourism, visitor services, or a related field.
Demonstrated experience planning and executing public events, festivals, programs, or similar experiences.
Experience supervising, scheduling, training, and developing staff while managing multiple projects.
Experience with managing budgets, monitoring financial performance, revenue generation strategy and P & L management.
Experience with marketing, social media, audience development, or revenue-generating programs.
Experience with CRM, event management, ticketing, e-commerce, or marketing technology.
Strong event planning, project management, and organizational skills.
Ability to manage multiple events, projects, deadlines, and priorities simultaneously.
Strong leadership and people-management skills, with the ability to motivate and develop a diverse team.
Excellent communication, interpersonal, and customer service skills.
Creative and entrepreneurial approach to developing new events, programs, and revenue opportunities.
Understanding of marketing strategy, social media, audience engagement, and attendance growth.
Ability to confidently represent an organization in front of an audience and on social media.
Ability to analyze attendance, revenue, and other performance data and translate findings into actionable strategies.
Strong problem-solving and decision-making skills.
Ability to work effectively across departments and build productive internal and external relationships.
Strong attention to detail while maintaining an understanding of the larger organizational goals.
Commitment to exceptional guest service and creating meaningful experiences.
Knowledge of or interest in agriculture, horticulture, nature, environmental education, and agritourism.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office or comparable software; familiarity with event management, scheduling, ticketing, CRM, or social media platforms preferred.
Equivalent combinations of education and experience will be considered.

Nice To Haves

Experience working with schools, educational groups, community organizations, or public programming preferred.
Experience in a garden, farm, outdoor attraction, museum, nonprofit, hospitality, or similar visitor-focused environment is highly desirable.

Responsibilities

Lead the planning, coordination, and execution of all public and signature events at Powell Gardens Colonial Farms.
Develop and maintain an annual event calendar that supports attendance, revenue, guest engagement, and the mission of Powell Gardens.
Coordinate event logistics including schedules, staffing, vendors, entertainment, activities, supplies, equipment, set-up, tear-down, signage, guest flow, and site readiness.
Establish clear event plans, timelines, procedures, and expectations for staff and volunteers involved in event execution.
Serve as the primary on-site leader for designated events and ensure a high-quality guest experience from arrival through departure.
Collaborate with Retail, Wholesale, Agriculture, Operations, Education, Café Food and Beverage, Finance, and Executive Leadership to align priorities and resolve operational needs.
Identify opportunities to improve existing events and develop new experiences based on guest interests, seasonal opportunities, agricultural activities, and organizational goals.
Develop strategies to increase attendance, engagement, and revenue while maintaining a strong customer experience.
Evaluate events following each season or major program and make recommendations for improvements, efficiencies, and future growth.
Develop and oversee agritourism experiences, seasonal programming, festivals, and agricultural visitor experiences.
Coordinate seasonal U-Pick experiences including berries, flowers, apples, and other crops or products as appropriate.
Manage annual U-Pick and crop harvesting schedules in coordination with the Farm team, including seasonal crop planting schedules.
Develop programming that connects guests to farming, food production, plants, animals, nature, and the agricultural history of the site.
Coordinate seasonal festivals and signature experiences that drive visitation and engagement throughout the year.
Collaborate with farm staff to ensure agricultural activities and event offerings are safe, accurate, sustainable, and operationally feasible.
Develop wholesale and retail sales opportunities for seasonal crops to reduce waste and product loss.
Coordinate field trip scheduling, logistics, staffing, educational content, site needs, and guest communications.
Work with educators and community partners to develop engaging experiences that connect participants with agriculture, plants, nature, food, and environmental stewardship.
Evaluate educational programs and identify opportunities to increase participation and strengthen community partnerships.
Ensure educational offerings are age-appropriate, engaging, inclusive, and aligned with the mission and values of Powell Gardens.
Establish and lead Colonial Farms' overall marketing strategy, annual plan, campaign initiatives, and promotional calendar.
Establish marketing team structure, priorities, workflows, and execution plans; direct marketing staff and creative resources.
Lead marketing strategy across retail, wholesale, events, agritourism, education, workshops, festivals, seasonal programming, partnerships, and community initiatives designed to increase event awareness, attendance, participation, and revenue.
Collaborate with the broader marketing and communications team to develop promotional calendars, campaigns, messaging, and content.
Serve as an on-camera or on-site social media representative for Colonial Farms when appropriate, including live social media appearances and event promotion.
Assist with creating engaging event-related social media content and promotional materials.
Monitor attendance, ticket sales, participation, and revenue results and use data to inform future marketing and event strategies.
Identify opportunities to increase earned revenue through event offerings, ticketing, memberships, sponsorships, partnerships, and other appropriate strategies.
Develop and test new promotional approaches, partnerships, and audience-development strategies.
Oversee customer segmentation, CRM strategy and management, and use of customer data to drive acquisition, retention, communications, and promotions.
Oversee Colonial Farms website(s), digital presence, and customer-facing marketing channels.
Manage marketing technology and software supporting e-commerce, public events, live programming, registration, ticketing, and customer communications.
Collaborate with broader marketing team to establish brand voice, messaging, and standards across the organization.
Evaluate campaign performance, customer engagement, traffic, and revenue to guide strategy and resource allocation.
Oversee in-house and digital asset collection and design across the location.
Build relationships with businesses, schools, nonprofits, consignment partners, tourism organizations, community groups, and other stakeholders.
Identify opportunities for collaborative programming, cross-promotion, revenue growth, and community impact.
Assist Development team with the local business partnerships, sponsorships and community relationships to support organizational goals.
Lead, supervise, train, and develop a team of Event Crew members responsible for supporting event execution.
Establish clear expectations regarding customer service, event procedures, safety, attendance, professionalism, and performance.
Delegate execution while maintaining ownership of outcomes.
Create or coordinate event staffing schedules and ensure appropriate staffing levels for each event.
Provide hands-on leadership and direction to Event Crew members before, during, and after events.
Conduct regular check-ins, coaching, and performance feedback with team members.
Ensure staff are properly trained on event procedures, emergency protocols, guest service expectations, and site-specific requirements.
Recognize employee contributions and address performance concerns in a timely and appropriate manner.
Develop and manage assigned departmental budgets and P&Ls, including Events, Marketing, Education, and Agritourism/Agriculture.
Monitor revenue, expenses, forecasts, pricing, and profitability.
Use financial and operational data to identify growth opportunities and improve efficiency.
Coordinate purchasing and applicable financial processes with Finance and Leadership.
Manage operational systems, processes, and workflows supporting events, marketing, customer management, and programming.
Ensure all events provide a welcoming, engaging, accessible, and high-quality guest experience.
Establish and communicate appropriate safety procedures for events, including activities involving animals, food, outdoor environments, agricultural equipment, and large crowds.
Ensure event activities comply with organizational policies and applicable safety requirements.
Coordinate with appropriate departments and external partners regarding emergency preparedness, crowd management, weather plans, and other event risks.
Respond professionally and effectively to guest concerns, operational challenges, and unexpected event situations.
Promote Powell Gardens' commitment to hospitality, inclusion, accessibility, and exceptional guest service.
Coordinate setup, breakdown, special customer requirements, and event-related property needs.
Work with Operations and Agriculture to address maintenance, safety, accessibility, cleanliness, weather, and site-readiness concerns.
Participate in organizational meetings, planning sessions, and cross-departmental initiatives.
Represent Powell Gardens Colonial Farms at community events, school functions, partner meetings, and other appropriate activities.
Develop and maintain relationships with schools, community organizations, vendors, entertainers, event partners, and other external stakeholders.
Participate in strategic planning related to Colonial Farms programming, attendance, revenue, and audience development.
Assist with special projects and organizational initiatives as assigned.
Maintain current knowledge of event trends, agritourism programming, educational practices, and guest engagement strategies.
Perform other duties as assigned in support of Powell Gardens' mission and organizational goals.
Participate in annual festivals held at Powell Gardens Botanical Gardens in fall.
Support other departments and organizational priorities as needed.
Perform other duties as assigned.