Special Events Manager

City Harvest Inc•New York, NY

11d

About The Position

City Harvest is New York’s first and largest food rescue organization, collecting perfectly good food that would otherwise go to waste to help feed the millions of New Yorkers who struggle to put meals on their tables. In over 40 years serving New Yorkers experiencing food insecurity, we have rescued more than one billion pounds of fresh, nutritious food and delivered it—free of charge—to hundreds of food pantries, soup kitchens, community partners, and our own Mobile Markets® across the five boroughs. This year, we will rescue and distribute more than 86 million pounds of nutritious food to our neighbors in need. By redirecting that food to families, we will also prevent the equivalent of more than 25 million kilograms of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. Named one of America's Top 100 Charities by Forbes, City Harvest also works alongside our community partners to build their capacity, expand nutrition education, and advocate for systems change through effective public policy. Since our founding in 1982, City Harvest has always been there to feed our city—one day, one meal, one New Yorker at a time. The Special Events Manager plays a critical role in advancing City Harvest’s mission by leading the planning, execution, and management of high-impact fundraising and cultivation events. This role oversees complex event logistics, sponsorship execution, vendor management, and on-site operations, while also serving as the lead for The Venue, City Harvest’s dedicated event space. The ideal candidate is an organized, strategic, detail-oriented events professional who thrives in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.

Requirements

BA/BS degree preferred.
6+ years related special events experience.
Must have experience with multi-faceted events of 500+ people.
Knowledge of MS Office.
Team player who can also work independently.
Excellent oral and written communication; initiative & follow-up skills essential.
Ability to work under pressure, multitask, and prioritize.
Strong attention to detail is essential.

Nice To Haves

Non-profit experience preferred.
Raiser’s Edge or other similar CRM is a plus.

Responsibilities

Manage event logistics for signature, cultivation and auction fulfillment events as well as other department-related projects.
Coordinate with event vendors including production, décor, food/bev, AV, lighting, entertainment, and transportation, including management of day-of deliverables and contracts and COIs. Manage event related budgets and financials cross-departmentally.
Lead on sponsorship execution in partnership with the Business Partnerships team for all event-related sponsors. Manage a sponsorship tracker and work cross functionally both internally and externally on approvals. Manage on-site activations in partnership with internal and external event teams.
Act as an on-site point of contact at events. This includes overseeing deliveries and transportation of supplies, guest check-in, auction set-up, sponsor activation set up, and organization of on-site materials.
Serve as the Special Events lead in The Venue, City Harvest’s event space. Manage all rental inquiries, rental agreements, preferred and exclusive vendors. Liaise with internal stakeholders on events in The Venue. Manage The Venue rental calendar. Manage The Venue revenue and expense budgets. Collaborate with marketing/creative team to traffic design and production of Venue related collateral.
Assist with the scheduling, planning, and preparation of special events-related meetings.

Benefits

Competitive market salaries
Generous time off
Full benefits (medical, dental, vision) - employer contributions towards premiums
Pet Insurance
403(b) retirement savings plan with employer-matching
Free Mental Health Services with Better Help
Commuter Benefits
Employer-provided life insurance
Professional development opportunities
Discounted staff perks (e.g., movie tickets, gym memberships, cellular plans)