Assistant Director, Engagement

Job Summary:

The Assistant Director, Engagement is responsible for the planning, execution and management of key strategic events for Alumni Relations and Resource Development (ARRD) at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS). The Assistant Director manages all logistics for events including event budgets, speaker organization, and vendor coordination. The position works closely with colleagues within ARRD and across HKS on invitation lists, registration software, and event materials. The Assistant Director, Engagement reports to the Managing Director, Engagement.

Job-Specific Responsibilities:

• In partnership with the Managing Director, Engagement manages the execution of engagement activities for key donor groups, including the Dean’s Council, the Policy Spotlight Series, and other School and development activities. Ensures all event details are completed at the highest level with minimal oversight. This includes managing the event-related work of the Engagement Coordinator, as well as training and delegation of assigned tasks.
• Supports planning and logistics for the seven endowed lectures that ARRD facilitates.
• Works regularly with Principal and Major Gifts Team, HKS Fund, and Alumni Relations team members to develop event project plans as well as plan and implement a yearly engagement calendar.
• Provides leadership and quality control for all event management and execution; this involves building project management software templates, creating project timelines and budget preparation; supervising design and production of invitations and other printed materials; managing event logistics and program coordination; overseeing event tracking and developing post event reporting and analysis.
• Supervises drafting of briefings for events by the Engagement Coordinator and other ARRD colleagues, provides event flow outlines for briefings, liaises with fundraising/program staff and communications to ensure talking points and event materials are prepared.
• Works closely with ARRD Communications Team to ensure event messaging, content, and activities are aligned with donor engagement goals.
• Provides day-of leadership for events, including directing work of volunteers, faculty, students, and staff for all ARRD events.
• Manages and allocates expenses to meet set budget amounts; provides cost analysis and forecasting information as requested by senior staff.
• Working with fundraising and alumni relations staff, develops invitation pools utilizing the Advance database and other data sources from across the school; tracks event attendance for all assigned events and manages reporting of attendance in Advance database post-event.
• Plans and schedules post-event debriefs with key stakeholders, formulates recommendations for future activities and maintains planning files and notes for year-to-year tracking.
• Serves as the on-site lead for assigned events and recruits additional staff to volunteer as appropriate, and as defined by key stakeholders and the Managing Director, Engagement.

The above covers the most significant responsibilities of this position. It does not, however, exclude other duties, the inclusion of which would be in conformity with the level of the position.