Community Engagement and Events Manager

About this position

Community Engagement and Events Manager

The Ottawa Food Bank is a respected social service agency with a mission to collect and distribute food to its network of agency partners who in turn serve clients in need throughout the city. Established in 1984 as a temporary measure to fight community hunger, the Ottawa Food Bank has been serving the community’s most vulnerable with respect and dignity. We are all working together with determination and passion to provide healthy, accessible and sustainable food for all.

The successful candidate will have a proven track record in the areas of revenue generation through special events and community event partnerships. This includes but is not limited to developing, organizing, executing, and evaluating events programming.  This role supports the success of the Ottawa Food Bank by providing additional revenue through key events and corporate partnerships. If you possess a high level of personal initiative, have a drive and passion for the Ottawa Food Bank’s core values and mission, then you may be the person we are looking for.

The ideal candidate will have a dynamic and outgoing personality, be innovative and creative, possess exceptional organizational skills, highly developed people skills, be able to remain calm under pressure, and enjoy working within a collaborative team of skilled, caring professionals.

SUMMARY

Under the direct supervision of Director of Communications & Development, the Community Engagement and Events Manager is responsible for all aspects of events revenue generation and planning and for the Ottawa Food Bank, including Ottawa Food Bank signature events and third party/corporate sponsored events.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES

General Management

• Manages all aspects of a portfolio of fundraising events, including sponsorship, committee relations, and event strategy
• Plans, organizes and manages the daily activities and service objectives of the Community Engagement and Events Coordinator
• Supports the organization’s performance management process, including the creation of development plans for staff to build core competencies and the completion of annual performance reviews
• Creates an environment that fosters and develops effective working relationships, encourages a high level of performance and proactively addresses any morale, cooperation or productivity issues
• Participates in the formation of annual departmental plans and prepares and manages departmental budgets
• Other management duties as assigned

Event and partnership development

• Responsible for the development of new events and managing the life cycle of all events
• Manage all sponsor activity, including researching, cultivating relationships with new and prospective sponsors.
• Develops corporate relationships and secures sponsorship from companies and businesses. Responsible for writing proposals, activations, fulfillment, and reporting
• Write engaging Sponsorship Proposals that secure new, renewed and upgraded support
• Identify, cultivate and solicit new 3rd party events

 Events Planning and Delivery

• Plans, and manages, ongoing food drive campaigns and other food and fundraising events from start to finish while supervising team members
• Develops critical path for key food and fundraising events (Food Drives, Food Aid, etc.)
• Develops post-mortem process for key food and fundraising events with the goal of maximizing efficiency of events
• Responsible for the development and implementation of all event donor/partner stewardship and recognition

Events Communication

• Responsible for providing content (either to webmaster and/or authoring event-related content) for Ottawa Food Bank website (calendar of events with details, event wrap-ups and thank you messages, etc.)
• Ensures CEO/staff team is aware of key upcoming events which they are attending, staffing or that have an impact on their area of responsibility, or that are occurring at Ottawa Food Bank location
• Speak with media regarding upcoming events when Communications staff is unavailable

Other        

• Ensures Ottawa Food Bank presence at events where the CEO is unable to attend (including speaking opportunities)
• Contributes ideas on Ottawa Food Bank stats/data management and tracking initiatives as they relate to food and fund raising
• Guides the work and development of Community Engagement and Events Coordinator, and collaborates on events planning and processes
• Provides input on new event ideas, trends from other charities, new tools for event management, etc.
• Other duties as required

KNOWLEDGE AND COMPETENCIES

• Demonstrated understanding of effective event growth strategies, sponsorship solicitation process, and relationship management.
• Proven ability to develop and maintain corporate relationships and secure sponsorship from companies and business
• Strong oral and written communication skills and presentation/public speaking skills.
• Highly organized, and self-directed, with the ability and skills to establish and manage priorities.
• Committed to high performance standards and continuous improvement; open to adopting new, more efficient ways of planning and delivering events, etc.
• Proven ability to build cross-functional teams and develop internal relationships
• Strong problem-solving skills, the ability to manage multiple projects, and flexibility to adapt to varying workload demands.
• Ability to maintain a calm and unruffled manner while working in a busy environment and as part of closely-knit team with many volunteers.
• General familiarity with office applications (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook), and social media platforms (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook etc.).
• Judgment, tact, and discretion, as well as good interpersonal skills, are required when dealing with co-workers, volunteers, donors, member agencies, and the general public. 

EXPERIENCE

Minimum of 3-5 years of experience in a fundraising role, including at least 1-2 years of experience in a management position.

EDUCATION

Post-secondary degree or college diploma, certificate in fundraising or events management, or a combination of other education, training and experience.

RESPONSIBILITY FOR CONTACTS

The work involves ongoing contact with co-workers, volunteers, donors, member agencies, and the general public.

PROBLEM SOLVING

Tact, discretion, and good manners are necessary when dealing with all daily contacts.  Good judgment is required to make decisions regarding work priorities. The ability to effectively identify problems and resolve conflicts is required to work effectively as a team member. 

SUPERVISION

This position supervises the Community Engagement and Events Coordinator.

CONSEQUENCE OF ERRORS

Errors in judgement or lack of discretion when dealing with corporate sponsors and other contacts could impact on the Ottawa Food Bank’s image and directly affect its ability to efficiently and effectively deliver food to partner agencies who serve our community. 

WORKING ENVIRONMENT AND TRAVEL

Work is mainly performed in an office environment. Some other duties are performed in the warehouse and at offsite venues.  Ability to be available for work on evenings and weekends is necessary. Travel is usually limited to the National Capital Region. 

PHYSICAL AND MENTAL REQUIREMENTS

The work is varied and stressful at times.  There are frequent interruptions. Visual stress occurs when using a computer for long periods of time. Limited physical activity is required to perform the duties of the position. Some standing, walking, bending and lifting is required at offsite events.

LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS

Excellent English language skills (verbal and written) are a requirement of the position.  Intermediate French language skills (verbal) are an asset.

CLASSIFICATION:     Permanent full-time position.
COMPENSATION:       Salary range starting at $58,650 and commensurate with experience. Excellent benefits provided.

Please provide a cover letter and a resume which clearly indicate how you meet the requirements of the position with your application. We will accept applications to this job posting until January 30th, end of business day.

Please apply via this link: Application Form

We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those selected for further consideration will be contacted. 

The Ottawa Food Bank welcomes and encourages applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.