Director of Events at New England Conservatory

The New England Conservatory, an independent not-for-profit institution, is recognized internationally as a leader among music schools, educating and training musicians of all ages from around the world. With music students representing more than 40 countries, NEC cultivates a diverse, dynamic community for students, providing them with performance opportunities and high-caliber training by 225 internationally esteemed artist-teachers and scholars. NEC pushes the boundaries of making and teaching music through college-level musical training in classical, jazz, and Contemporary Improvisation. It offers unique interdisciplinary programs such as Entrepreneurial Musicianship and Community Performances & Partnerships that empower students to create their own musical opportunities. As part of NEC's mission to make lifelong music education available to everyone, the Preparatory School and School of Continuing Education delivers training and performance opportunities for children, pre-college students, and adults.

Job Summary:

The Director of Events will design and execute a comprehensive events strategy within the Advancement to enhance and deepen the connections of alumni, College parents, Preparatory School parents, donors, board members, and friends of NEC. The Director will push forward strategic goals of the institution in partnership with colleagues in the President’s Office, Executive Vice President’s Office, Advancement Office, and across other departments on and off-campus. The Director will oversee the event planning and coordination of the Annual Scholarship Gala, donor/stewardship events, alumni events, institutional events, and other special events as needed. The Director will manage the Assistant Director of Advancement Marketing and Events. 

Working with the Director of Annual Programs and Engagement, Assistant VP of Major Gifts and Campaign, and Chief Development Officer, this position serves as a key leader in designing, executing, and evaluating high-impact events that advance our mission. This is an exciting opportunity to shape experiences that celebrate our community and inspire continued support for NEC.

Essential Functions:

• Provides strategic planning and oversight of the Annual Scholarship Gala, stewardship/donor engagement events, alumni events, board events, and institutional events. 

• Drives individual event strategies to ensure that program and content align to advancement and engagement goals and institutional objectives.

• Plan, implement and execute events that range in scale from intimate dinners to large-scale events for the engagement, cultivation, recognition, and stewardship of major and prospective donors.

• Responsibilities include but are not limited to vendor and contract review, internal and external partner communication, marketing of events, and management of logistics.

• Member of the advancement leadership team and contributes to the overall strategic direction, operational excellence, and fundraising growth towards annual and campaign goals. 

• Responsible for developing, marketing, implementing, and evaluating events, outreach, and programs designed to engage NEC constituents in meaningful ways. 

• Actively contributes to team-based strategic discussions and creative brainstorming about overall event engagement.

Qualifications:

• Bachelors’ degree and 7+ years of experience with donor/alumni engagement and with event planning and development or other related work experience is a must. 

• Exceptional interpersonal customer service skills, proven success in detailed planning, as well as excellent oral and written communication skills, including the insight to convey information effectively verbally and in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

• Budget management skills that have proven success in maximizing the look and feel of communications and events.

• The ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with team members, campus partners, volunteers, and external constituencies.

• Must be highly motivated and goal driven, with a strong sense of ownership of programmatic responsibilities. 

• Strong organizational, analytical, project management, and critical thinking skills and the ability to multitask, prioritize, exercise good judgement, and work independently as well as collaboratively.

• Strong computer skills and comfort level with Microsoft Office, especially Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, and preferred experience using databases, engagement platforms, Raiser’s Edge or other CRM.

• Ability and willingness to work nights, weekends, and to travel as required.

• Other duties as assigned. 

NEC is an Equal Opportunity Employer that recruits and hires qualified candidates without regard to race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, disability, or veteran status.

Annual Clery Report

In accordance with the federal Clery and Campus SaVE Acts, New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) commits to providing all current and prospective students and employees with access to the annual Campus Security and Fire Safety Report. This report will provide the reader with a record of statistics regarding crimes that were reported in the NEC community during the previous three years as well as College policies and procedures, in compliance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act. This report may be accessed here. A paper copy can be requested by contacting NEC's Director of Public Safety at 290 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115.