Director, National Events & Meetings

Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) is a fundraising organization transforming the lives of the men and women of the IDF – Israel’s future leaders and society builders. We are fast-paced, big-thinking, and performance-driven, and attract the brightest and most passionate who are professionally driven, personally motivated, and eager to make an impact.

Our community of supporters and staff are passionate, courageous, impactful. Our work is driven by core value that transcend gender, age, political leanings, nationality, and religion. Our vital mission and breath of programs resonate with a diverse array of supporters from liberal to conservative, orthodox to evangelical – and all are welcome!

Position Summary

The ideal candidate thrives in a fast-paced environment and identifies as a multitasker who can perform under pressure and is a strong communicator. You enjoy leading cross-functional teams as the project manager and being the leader that everyone looks to for vision, decisions, and timely feedback. You respond skillfully to rapidly changing priorities and are excited by the prospect of every day being different with new problems to solve.

You are willing to travel for this role, and you possess a deep and genuine commitment to FIDF’s mission of supporting soldiers, families, and veterans of the Israel Defense Forces.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead all vendor and venue relations – from sourcing to negotiation to management to reporting.
• Research and create vendor proposals and cost comparisons for chapter review of venues, caterers, AV companies, security, photography, and décor.
• Review and revise vendor contracts according to the organization’s standard terms and conditions.
• Managing people (direct reports), consultants and multiple events at one time.
• Manage budgets and report on event activity, both from a current state (Actuals to budget, on a rolling basis), and the experience to also provide “forecast” expenses at any given time of the year, for macro event spends across the organization. Own the P&L for all events.
• Coordinate with production team on all aspects (audio, video, labor, staging, catering, etc.) to leading the negotiation and management of labor/production needs to sourcing and managing vendors to creating detailed run-of-shows and so much more.
• Drive the execution of all event production elements end-to-end in a hands-on manner – providing strong day-to-day leadership to all internal stakeholders, external vendors, and venue partners.
• Manage the events logistics team to create timeline for the day of each event, coordinate travel and lodging for national staff and soldiers/speakers and run the process to ensure best-in-class execution across the team.
• Work with the Digital team to provide training and management of in-house event management system (AirReg) as applicable.
• Manage logistics for the day of the event for set up, execution and break down/if applicable.
• Oversee the creation of all event materials (e.g., digital experiences, solicitation materials, printed materials at the event, etc.) – working in close partnership with the Marketing team.
• Manage and assist with purchase of all merchandise related to the events.
• Provide robust reporting to various stakeholders throughout the event planning and recap cycle.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in meeting and event management or a related discipline such as hospitality, marketing, or public relations.
• 10-15 years of experience running large-scale (500-2000 person) corporate events with proven success.
• Ability to plan, manage and run 30+ (often simultaneous) national events per year around the US.
• Highly developed business communication and negotiation skills, both verbal and written.
• Strong time management skills.
• Experience leading and directing a team.
• Flexibility and problem solving – willingness to work flexibly in response to changing requirements.
• Sensitivity and ability to interact effectively with professionals and lay leaders.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office 365 applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook).
• Confident and professional appearance.
• Ability to travel within the US.
• Evening and weekend work required.
• Events experience in the nonprofit space is a plus.
• Someone who intuitively understands production specs and labor needs, has a deep network of vendor relationships, and knows how to negotiate and manage vendors, knows all of the different shapes of venue deals, and just as importantly, knows how to work with venues, and has the leadership qualities to lead a multi-stakeholder process for signature events and ensure the production of our events is world-class.

Benefits

Medical, Dental, Vision, Early dismissal for the sabbath, 403b with employer matching, Life Insurance, Disability Insurance, FSA, Jewish and Federal paid holidays, sick days, and vacation.

FIDF is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws.