Do you want to work with inspiring environmental and justice leaders to make sure the future doesn’t suck? Are you excited to use your organizational, outreach, communications, and event-planning skills to create experiences for these leaders that are memorable, meaningful, and fun? Do you want to join a team of journalists, social-media gurus, and other smarty-pantys to make a difference? If so, we have the gig for you!
Grist, the nation’s leading green news platform, is expanding into an important new area: events and convenings. Our aims are to build an unlikely community of changemakers; spark interdisciplinary collaborations to address the world’s most pressing sustainability and environmental-justice challenges; and spur greater awareness of, and support for, emerging solutions and the Grist platform. We are seeking an enterprising Events and Outreach Associate to help build this new program. The associate will be responsible for a variety of essential tasks, including developing events timelines and action plans, researching and communicating with venues and vendors, designing event materials, managing a growing database of contacts with individuals and organizations, and communicating directly with our network of leaders.
The job will be based in either Seattle or Washington, D.C. and will report to the Director of Networks. The coordinator will also work closely with Grist’s founder and other team members across the organization.
- Plan and execute events for a dynamic set of audiences, ranging in size and style from small dinners to panel discussions, from virtual gatherings to larger, multi-day conferences
- Organize event details like venue, catering, entertainment, transportation, invitee lists, special guests, A/V, and preparation of posters, handouts, and other materials
- Ensure strong management of each event by setting up other team members to succeed in leadership roles (e.g., host or facilitator) and tracking countless details, responding appropriately in real time
- Manage event budgets to meet or exceed budgetary goals
- Serve as outreach lead, writing compelling invitations and follow-up notes and producing events collateral; coordinating with featured guests/speakers, external partners, and internal team members; managing Facebook groups, Twitter lists, and other forms of social media
- Prepare regular updates to networks members, communicated via email and Facebook
- Ensure success behind the scenes of virtual events on Google Hangouts, Facebook, Slack, and other systems
- Relentlessly track contacts with leaders and organizations in Salesforce; produce reports for other team members to guide next steps in developing relationships and ensure that follow-up happens
- Research how other organizations are using events and other convenings to expand their impact; vet potential partners, conferences we should be attending, and related speaking opportunities for team members
- Be an entrepreneurial and collaborative team member, identifying new ways to expand Grist's impact while maintaining high standards of excellence
- Thrive with a flexible schedule, including travel and occasional work on evenings and weekends to support events
- Comfort in working in a quick-paced environment to help develop a new program area that will involve experimentation, learning, and adjustments along the way; ability to push through ambiguity to deliver results
- Experience managing complex and fast-changing program elements, setting priorities effectively
- Attention to detail and strong organizational skills
- Superb written and verbal communication skills
- Creative and strategic thinker with a customer-service mindset
- Experience developing relationships with clients and strategic partners
- Experience negotiating, reviewing, and managing contracts with vendors and venues
- Experience with a CRM system (preferably Salesforce)
- Entrepreneurial spirit; track record of initiative and ownership of work
- Happy flying in the cloud (Google Drive, Slack, Salesforce, Dropbox, etc.); experience with social-media tools; and excitement to learn new tools and skills in an ever-changing technology environment
- Passionate about Grist’s mission and the power of pulling people together to spark change
- Commitment to continual professional learning and growth on the job
- Medical, Dental and Vision coverage, partially employer paid
- 401(k) with employer match
- Vacation and Sick days accrual
To apply, please send a cover letter to [email protected] with “Events and Outreach Associate” in the subject line. We are looking for a thoughtful, personalized cover letter that displays your qualifications, enthusiasm, and communication style, and a resume. No phone calls, please. Grist is an equal-opportunity employer.