Executive Director, Development Events at Vanderbilt
Overview
Lead Vanderbilt's strategic donor and VIP event enterprise. You will design and execute high-touch experiences for top prospects and donors, using unreasonable hospitality to deepen engagement. This new role owns the umbrella event operating model across DAR, coordinating with university partners. You'll directly oversee a small portfolio of events while building standards, tools, and evaluation systems. The role sits in Nashville, onsite with hybrid flexibility, and reports to the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Communications and Donor Engagement.
What You'll Do10
- 1Design and execute unique, multi-day donor experiences that highlight Vanderbilt's impact and inspire giving, with personalized hospitality and strategic use of university leadership.
- 2Build a hub of standardized templates, checklists, and process guides to elevate guest experience and ensure consistency across all DAR event teams.
- 3Institutionalize post-event evaluation, including outcome assessment, resource effectiveness, data collection, and CRM practices, and create dashboards to demonstrate impact.
- 4Champion workflow optimization and systems adoption, especially Wrike, to streamline coordination and awareness across university teams.
- 5Consult regularly with event planners in Alumni and Parent Engagement, Development, and other areas to foster collaboration, coverage, and training.
- 6Provide executive oversight for budgeting, vendor management, and transparent cost controls for a select portfolio of events, ensuring adherence to university standards.
- 7Host front-of-house for activities, meals, and transportation, building relationships with guests and leaders.
- 8Lead and support the event team, fostering a high-performing culture grounded in unreasonable hospitality and continuous improvement.
- 9Pivot plans calmly and creatively to meet leadership expectations and maintain positive guest experiences, adapting to changing circumstances.
- 10Drive data-driven communications and discussions across DAR and the university to refine the operating model and adopt standards.
Requirements10
- 110+ years of progressively responsible leadership in event planning, donor relations, or hospitality.
- 2Experience managing complex budgets, navigating vendors, and coordinating simultaneous events and activities.
- 3Proven ability to lead change, standardize operations, and implement systems and processes.
- 4Direct experience partnering with President/Chancellor or c-suite leaders on high-profile engagements, ideally high-touch VIP experiences.
- 5Familiarity with development and engagement in a higher education context.
- 6Executive presence and comfort briefing high-level stakeholders, with an ability to influence and persuade.
- 7Operational rigor to create and sustain systems, templates, and evaluative tools.
- 8People leadership and talent development skills, with the ability to manage and coach team members.
- 9Bachelor's degree or equivalent is necessary; Master's degree preferred.
- 10Willingness to travel overnight, work nights and weekends as needed.
Salary Insight
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