Special Events Manager for Development

The Cato Institute is seeking a Special Events Manager for Development. Responsibilities of the manager include reporting to and working closely with the Senior Vice President for Initiatives to design programming content for donor events and retreats, VIP events, and major institutional activities such as the Biennial Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty and our Sphere Education Summits for teachers. They will also coordinate and collaborate across department functions to complete projects and run events; assist scholars and senior leadership to plan and execute events, programs, and special projects; engage in donor outreach; manage various projects; and complete administrative tasks including logistics and speaker travel.

Please apply through Talent Market

About Cato

The Cato Institute is a public policy research organization—a think tank—dedicated to the principles of individual liberty, limited government, free markets, and peace. Its scholars and analysts conduct independent, nonpartisan research on a wide range of policy issues.

Founded in 1977, Cato owes its name to Cato’s Letters, a series of essays published in

18th- century England that presented a vision of society free from excessive government power. Those essays inspired the architects of the American Revolution. And the simple, timeless principles of that revolution — individual liberty, limited government, and free markets – turn out to be even more powerful in today’s world of global markets and unprecedented access to information than Jefferson or Madison could have imagined. Social and economic freedom is not just the best policy for a free people, it is the indispensable framework for the future.

The Cato Institute is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

• Minimum of 3-4 years of professional work experience directly related to the responsibilities of the role
• Strong organization, planning and execution skills
• Must be detail-oriented and able to multi-task and thrive in an intense and highly visible work setting
• Excellent communications skills (written, verbal, internal senior management, external vendors and donors and development of event collateral)
• Highly effective collaboration skills to partner with key departments and stakeholders
• Travel at least 25%, including for weekend events
• Knowledge of event planning or programming preferred
• Knowledge of Salesforce and HubSpot preferred
• A commitment to Cato’s libertarian values is strongly preferred
• An appreciation for public policy
• Comfortable communicating and interacting professionally -- with a high level of customer service.
• Bachelor’s Degree

Responsibilities

• Report to the Senior Vice President for Initiatives and work closely with executive leadership, development team, conference department and scholars to help implement programs and execute Special Events
• Collaborate and be a point of contact for the Institute’s conference team as well as other departments
• Assist with planning, programming, and execution of donor retreats, receptions, dinners, luncheons, and major conferences and seminars held across the country in cities such as Chicago, Dallas, Austin, Naples, New York City, Los Angeles, and Washington DC
• Manage registration process for certain Special Events
• Coordinate travel for high-profile guest speakers
• Manage both digital and print marketing strategy, collateral, and invitation process
• Serve as first point of contact for donors regarding event correspondence
• Serve as day-of coordinator to manage guest speakers, staff assignments, event setup, and event flow
• Assess event success and help implement improvements through analysis of attendee and staff feedback

Application Instructions

Qualified candidates should submit the following application materials (in order) in one PDF document:

• Resume
• Cover letter detailing your interest in the position and the Cato Institute and salary requirements

Applications should be submitted to Talent Market via this link: talentmarket.org/apply-for-your-dream-job/.

Questions can be directed to Katy Gambella, Director of Outreach at Talent Market, who is assisting with the search: katy@talentmarket.org.

There is no application deadline for this position. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. This job will remain posted on our site until it is filled.

While we thank all applicants in advance for their interest in this position, we are only able to contact those to whom we can offer an interview. Only direct applications will be considered. No phone calls, please.

Talent Market is a nonprofit entity dedicated to promoting liberty by helping free-market nonprofits identify talent for critical roles. We provide consulting and recruiting services at no cost to 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations that clearly and directly focus on advancing the principles of economic freedom, free enterprise, free trade, free speech, property rights, rule of law, and limited regulation.