Director of Events

Hi.

Do you love organizing events and are super organized, dig into all the little details, psyched to try new technology and apps, and are obsessed with finding solutions where others see dead end? If so, keep reading.

TechUnited is seeking an Event Director to produce all TechUnited:NJ experiences. The Event Director will plan & execute the biggest experiences of the year for TechUnited including the Propelify Innovation Festival & Catalyst Awards, as well as its curated programming such as monthly meetups, leadership dinners, virtual events, the Women & Minority Mentorship program, Office Hours, startup challenges, and more. This is a role that encourages enhancing and improving existing events as well as pitching and creating new experiences.

This role will work directly with the VP of Strategy & Operations as well as a number of event partners, corporate sponsors, vendors, and contractors. A highly organized, tech-forward, can-do fun and creative person is best-positioned to succeed and grow in this role.

The ideal candidate is a proactive project owner, resourceful problem solver, passionate learner, and someone who pays close attention to details. Bonus points for the ability to craft messaging & oversee or produce graphics and brand design work. This work is extremely cross-functional —be ready to work with a wide range of people within and beyond our small but mighty team.

TechUnited:NJ is a community-driven organization built to empower the region's entrepreneurs, innovators and instigators to build a better future for all through events, mentorship, content creation, networking, a new startup studio, and more. TechUnited:NJ is most widely known for its mentorship program, Catalyst Awards event, and the annual Propelify Innovation Festival, what Forbes calls “the SxSW of the Northeast.” Propelify unites innovators who propel ideas into action, over the last 8 years welcoming over 40,000 attendees for talks, tech, drones, investors, VR, AI, startups, exhibitors, and world-renowned thought leaders like Arianna Huffington, Gary Vaynerchuk, Al Roker, Beth Comstock, Bobbi Brown, NJ Gov. Phil Murphy, Tim Draper and more.

Role responsibilities include:

• Ideation, organization, & execution of all events and programs, supported by digital-first project management tools & process automations

• Executive level organization, communication & reporting

• Consistent, hospitable, and effective communication with team, event sponsors, partners, vendors, attendees, and speakers

• Creativity to propose new event styles, event changes, and creative activations to enhance event experience

• Digital organization & process for all event tasks & project management, including for curated events like dinners, board meetings, and cohort-based mentorship.

• Management or creation of all digital assets (landing pages, forms, social media graphics, email promotion, etc) required to promote events & organize event attendees in coordination with Marketing team

• Organization of internal team events & board engagement

• Budget tracking for all event expenses; vendor & venue management and organization

• Ability to support cross-functional projects in research & vetting capacities

Candidate Specifications:

• Experience executing all logistics for at least 8 events or conferences, from sourcing/booking all vendors to managing all timelines, event logistics, and deliverables.

• Bachelor's degree

• Excellent & concise verbal and written communication skills at an executive level

• Extreme attention to detail & the impact small details can have on an event experience

• Ability to negotiate & be resourceful

• Familiarity with floorplan/mapping tools & creating detailed event design layouts

• Thrives in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment

• Comfortable tracking progress & organizing tasks (we use Airtable)

• Highly communicative and collaborative with manager & team

• Extensive knowledge of the principles, procedures, and best practices in the industry

This may be you if:

• You thrive on small teams

• You are super scrappy/resourceful

• You participated in clubs or student organizations while in college

• You create lists, calendar invites, and spreadsheets for events and tasks small and large

• You lead with organization but are flexible enough to manage live event twists

• You view tech and AI as an assistant to enhance your skills & process

• You can assist with wordpress website management (landing pages for experiences and overall brand site)

Relevant Tools:

Airtable, Canva, GSuite, Slack, Social Media Platforms, WordPress/Elementor, Event Registration Systems, Event Check-In Systems, Streamyard