Edtech.com's Summary

KIPP is hiring a Managing Director, Special Events to lead the planning and execution of key fundraising and mission-aligned events across KIPP Texas Public Schools. This role involves strategic leadership within the Talent division, managing a high-performing team, and ensuring operational excellence to support fundraising goals and community engagement.

Highlights

Lead the strategy and execution of statewide special events, including graduations and fundraising ceremonies.
Manage and mentor a team of five special events professionals.
Oversee special events budgets and vendor negotiations to ensure events are on time and within budget.
Collaborate across departments including CEO’s office, communications, and operations.
Raise $1 million annually in partnership with KIPP Texas Future Fund leadership.
Bachelor’s degree required with 5-7 years of experience in fundraising or special events and 5+ years in management.
Strong leadership, collaboration, and data-driven decision-making skills essential.
Reports to the Chief Talent Officer and plays a senior leadership role in the Talent division.
Starting salary at $115,000 with benefits including paid family leave, health plans, retirement options, and flexible PTO.
Requires ability to travel up to 30% and hybrid working model.

Managing Director, Special Events Full Description

Company Description

KIPP Texas Public Schools is a network of 54 public charter, open-enrollment, pre-k-12 schools educating nearly 32,000 students across Austin, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Houston, and San Antonio. Together with families and communities, our mission is to create joyful, academically excellent schools that prepare students with the skills and confidence to pursue the paths they choose —college, career, and beyond—so they can lead fulfilling lives and build a more fair world.

Founded in Houston in 1994 and operating as KIPP Texas since 2018, we are looking to hire a diverse team of dynamic, collaborative, and dedicated individuals with an unyielding belief that every child will succeed. KIPP Texas is a team and family with an unwavering commitment to creating classrooms, offices, and communities rooted in belongingness, academic success and joy.

KIPP Public Schools is a national network of public charter schools that prepares students with the skills and confidence to create the future they want for themselves, their communities, and us all. We are a network of 278 schools with nearly 16,500 educators and 190,000 students and alumni.

Job Description

The Special Events Team at KIPP Texas plans and executes impactful events that celebrate student achievements, engage the community, and strengthen philanthropic support for KIPP Texas’s mission and vision. KIPP Texas is seeking a Managing Director of Special Events to lead our efforts in developing, planning, and implementing key fundraising events, college commitment ceremonies, graduations, and other KIPP TX mission aligned events. As a key member of the Talent division leadership team, this individual will play a critical role in shaping and implementing a strategic talent and special events vision with a focus on best-in-class event planning. Reporting to the Chief Talent Officer, this leader will oversee a high-performing team responsible for creating and implementing a statewide strategy of special events.
The ideal candidate is a relentless drive to deliver results and who is energized by the opportunity to serve as an internal and external leader for the organization, galvanizing diverse stakeholders in support of KIPP Texas’s mission.

As the Managing Director of Special Events you will be held accountable to:

Raising $1 million dollars annually through events in partnership with the Executive Director of the KIPP Texas Future Fund
Special Events operational excellence (e.g. attendance, on time and within budget events)
75% positivity on the staff engagement survey, with 80% participation

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Division Leadership

Serve as a key senior leader within the Talent Division, shaping overall human capital and special events strategies so Big KIPPsters can flourish and lead students to exceptional personal and academic success.
Develop and oversee a statewide, multi-year special events strategy aligned with the fundraising and the talent division’s strategic plan.
Serve as a thought partner to the Chief Talent Officer, providing reports and insights on philanthropic and special events trends.
Support the Chief Talent Officer in strategic and operational management of the talent division, including identifying and designing solutions to division opportunities, risks and challenges.
Champion KIPP Texas’ mission and core values, modeling our values in your work, decisions, and relationships.
Model the Talent Division’s culture to foster high-performance, inclusion, and belonging. Co-lead key division culture initiatives.
Manage special events budgets and resource allocation, ensuring cost-effective strategies that yield high-impact results.
Build a network of engaged stakeholders and special events partners across the organization.
Provide reports and insights to the Board of Directors, CEO, Chiefs team to support effective management of the short and long term health of the organization.

Team Leadership & Development

Lead, mentor, and develop a high performing special events team of five, fostering a culture of excellence and accountability to meet goals.
Foster a collaborative, mission-driven culture within the team, aligning all efforts with the broader organizational mission and values.
Establish accountability measures, tracking progress, celebrating successes, providing regular coaching, feedback, and professional development opportunities to team members.
Encourage innovation and continuous improvement, empowering team members to test new ideas, streamline processes, and enhance special events.

Special Event Strategy & Execution

Lead the vision and execution of all KIPP Texas special events, including development events, high school graduations, college commitment ceremonies, Shadow a KIPPster day, and other mission-aligned events.
Recruit special events committees and project teams, including event solicitations and follow-up activities.
Project manage all aspects of large-scale events, including timelines, budgets, staffing plans, vendor relationships, venues, volunteers, communications, and logistics.
Arrange and/or attend check presentations, and arrange and implement various forms of donor recognition in partnership with the CEO and Executive Director, KIPP Texas Future Fund.
Identify, recruit, train and work closely with special event fundraising volunteers.
Lead vendor selection and negotiation, including contracts for AV, staging, venues, and other key services to deliver high-quality experiences within budget.
Collaborate cross-functionally with the office of the CEO, school management, communications, marketing, operations, and external partners to ensure smooth coordination and alignment across all departments.
Ensure compliance with health, safety, and accessibility standards, working closely with legal and operations teams to mitigate risk.
Track and report on event metrics, budget performance, and qualitative impact to inform future planning and investment.
Ensure accurate record keeping and manage any database activity for special events.
Design and implement feedback systems to gather input from students, families, and staff and continuously improve the quality and impact of events year over year.
Increase and encourage new third party special events and strengthens and reinforces existing events and KIPP Texas’ mission.

Performs other duties as assigned. Responsibilities and tasks outlined in this document are not exhaustive and may change as determined by the needs of the network

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree required
5-7 years experience preferred in ,fundraising or special events
5+ years of professional management experience
Track record of successful senior stakeholder management
Data-driven mindset with the ability to analyze trends and optimize hiring strategies for effectiveness
Passion for advancing KIPP Texas’ mission

Skills

Strong leadership presence with the ability to inspire trust and confidence, and demonstrate courage and composure, especially under pressure
Strong systems level thinking and problem solving skills
Excellent collaboration skills with the ability and comfort to lead work across divisions
Skilled at balancing day to day operations, driving innovation and change, and managing the long-term health and sustainability
Exceptional at adapting to changing circumstances, including demonstrating flexibility, resilience, willingness to learn, and embrace new approaches to challenges
Strong social intelligence with experience in building relationships with diverse stakeholder groups and networks
Results-oriented with a demonstrated record of success leading teams to goals through exceptional circumstances
Exceptional team leadership skills

Additional Information

What We Bring to the Table

The starting point for the salary range for this position is $115,000 with the opportunity to earn more based on considered experience at an accredited K-12 institution and internal-equity.

Competitive vacation and flexible paid time off (PTO) policies.
Paid family leave.
Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans with varying coverage for employees and their families, inclusive of virtual physician visits. High deductible health plan with HSA also offered.
Employee assistance programs.
Participates in the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS).
Retirement option
KIPP also offers the following employee-paid benefits: legal plans, LifeLock identity protection, life insurance and disability insurance.
Flexible spending account or high-yield HSA.

Physical Requirements

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions.
Considerable time spent at a desk using a computer/laptop.
Attending conferences or training sessions.
Ability to lift up to 10lbs.
Considerable time spent standing or on feet during special events.

Work Environment

Hybrid - 3 days working from the regional KIPP Texas office and 2 days working from a home office.

Travel Requirements

Ability to travel within the state and nationally, travel time up to 30%.

KIPP provides equal employment opportunities for all applicants and employees. As an equal opportunity employer, we hire without consideration of race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, or disability.

Original Job Description