Job Description and Person Specification
Please note this statement is for information only and does not form part of a contract. This
list is not exhaustive and you will be expected to undertake such duties as may be assigned
to you by ActionAid from time to time. Employees are expected to be flexible in their work in
order to deliver the objectives of the organisation.
Job title
Contract type
Grade/starting salary
Reporting to
Team and Department
Direct reports
Date JD reviewed
Senior Special Events Manager
Permanent (0.6 FTE)
5
Head of Principal Giving
Philanthropy and Partnerships
None
June 2016
Context
Are you passionate about making a real difference?
As part of the global ActionAid family, we are helping to build a fair and just world where
everyone can claim their rights. To achieve this we work with local people in more than 45
countries to fight hunger and disease, seek justice and education for women, hold
companies and governments to account and help communities cope with emergencies.
In the UK our role is to raise funds to reduce poverty in the communities and countries where
we work, to take action for long term change and to act in solidarity with people fighting
poverty and injustice in poor countries. We aim to make a stronger global difference by
working closely with ActionAid International and our country programmes around the world.
We want to achieve a way of communicating that creates a powerful emotional, intellectual
and practical connection between people here and in developing countries so as to motivate
and engage our supporters. We believe success will be driven by connecting people,
demonstrating our impact, seizing opportunities and key moments, working with others,
focussing on ethical and sustainable approaches and harnessing technology and digital. We
are a value driven, forward thinking organisation, focused on achieving long-term and
sustainable change in the lives of the poorest people in our world.
Purpose of the Role
As a senior member of the Philanthropy & Partnerships team, you will lead the development
and implementation of an innovative and compelling strategy to ambitiously drive forward
high value prospecting events for both Principal and High Value giving at ActionAid. This
new position will conceptualise, plan and deliver a small number of sector-leading, exclusive
events each year, in order to support the team to engage Ultra and High Net Worth
Individuals and foundations in the UK and internationally, and be able to convert six and
seven figure gifts over the longer term. As a team we have highly ambitious targets, and this
role will be critical in enabling us to deliver.
Key tasks and responsibilities
Strategy development
-
Develop a strategy to guide and drive forward an innovative programme of sectorleading prospecting events, targeting ultra and high net worth individuals
-
Work alongside the Heads of Principal and Major Giving, and Head of Trust Partnerships
to ensure the strategy collaborates seamlessly, and effectively supports the objectives of
the teams
-
Develop and deliver a work plan with key milestones and dependencies, and implement
necessary risk mitigation activities
Engage and influence internal stakeholders to ensure buy-in at all levels, including with
senior management and board of trustees
-
Negotiate, plan and monitor budget requirements to enable the successful delivery of the
programme and develop and present business cases where necessary
-
Meet with and influence external peers and stakeholders to generate leads, gather
innovations, refine ideas and develop opportunities
-
Develop and deliver an engagement strategy that will enable us to target and build
connections with celebrities and high profile individuals that will elevate event plans to
the highest level. Identify and cultivate key stakeholders who attend special events. This
will involve working with the internal celebrity co-ordinator and, where necessary,
engaging an external consultant to deliver bespoke search projects – managing the
terms of delivery and budget for the contract
-
Develop an engagement strategy to on-board senior external influencers who can
facilitate the planning and delivery of an event
Event design, planning and management
-
Design and develop creative concepts for bespoke money-can’t buy events, which will
appeal to and engage ultra and high net worth individuals, ensuring the hook and calibre
is extraordinary in order to stand out from the crowd
-
Present short-listed concepts to the heads of team and the Senior Leadership Team as
required
-
Design and execute effective and efficient event management plans for each event and
manage the engagement of all internal and external stakeholders appropriately
-
Secure celebrity and/or high profile individual support to attend, endorse and/or speak at
events – this will entail working closely with the internal celebrity co-ordinator and/or an
external consultant
-
Lead the engagement of internal influencers (UK and International board, senior
leadership) to support the planning, delivery, and follow-up of an event and ensure their
full buy-in, commitment and allocation of necessary time and resource
-
Work alongside the team heads to arrange events with relevant donor expertise,
contacts and networks
-
Work with country/thematic experts to create compelling and professional
communications about ActionAid in the run up to and during the event, including
speakers, video/graphic content and materials
-
Negotiate with exclusive venues and event suppliers to create bespoke plans, ensuring
the delivery of professional, high-quality and cost-effective event production
Event delivery and evaluation
-
Deliver professional, thorough briefings tailored to each group of internal and external
stakeholders
-
Manage coordination and/or relationship with celebrity/high profile supporter
-
Professionally manage the delivery of each event, in line with objectives, to time and
budget, representing the organisation with all stakeholders
-
Manage the involvement of senior stakeholders and influencers and ensure the delivery
of post-event follow-up actions to continue the momentum and engagement with
prospective donors
Ensure Raiser’s Edge is utilised effectively to record, monitor and evaluate relationships
with event attendees
-
Work with the People, Performance and Accountability team to effectively evaluate and
learn from our events and ensure we are implementing learnings into future events and
plans
Leadership & Communications
-
Lead the development of a two-year events plan and disseminate this effectively to team
heads, wider philanthropy team and senior stakeholders
-
Build strong relationships with internal teams, including policy, advocacy and public
engagement teams in order to maximise opportunities to access influencers
Mentor and coach the team assistant who will run stewardship events and provide some
support on special events
Be at the forefront of external market trends to keep up to date with innovative
fundraising and marketing techniques and industry best practice
-
Contribute event expertise to cross organisational project teams
-
Provide expertise to support special events in key international markets, including US,
Asia and Middle East
-
Develop exceptional relationships within ActionAid - at all levels
Person Specification
Knowledge and Experience
Essential
A track record of personally creating and
delivering extraordinary prospecting events to
engage high net worth individuals
Proven experience of planning and developing
appropriate strategies in line with organisational
and departmental objectives.
Exceptional project management experience,
planning and delivering highend/complex/exclusive events
Demonstrable experience of successfully
working with celebrities and high profile
individuals
Desirable
A track record of personally creating and
delivering extraordinary prospecting
events to engage ultra high net worth
individuals
Experience of launching a new events
programme or initiative within a large and
complex organisation
Experience of working with development
boards
Good understanding of a relational
database e.g. Raisers Edge
Exceptional experience influencing and
negotiating with a range of audiences (internal
and external)
Significant experience in managing multiple
stakeholders and relationships, including senior
management, boards and high value donors
Significant experience of managing and
negotiating third party suppliers
Knowledge of the philanthropy and/or
private sector, and current & future
trends
Experience of international markets
Experience of working with stakeholders
Experience working with the Royal
Palaces
Skills and Abilities
Self-motivated with an entrepreneurial approach
required to launch a new programme
Exceptional influencing, negotiating and
facilitation skills, both written and verbal to build
credibility with a range of audiences (internal
and external)
Ability to work collaboratively with colleagues,
peers, senior leadership and other teams to
maximize impact and instil a culture of support
for the new special events programme
Ability to take a longer term view and to
prioritise this over shorter term goals
Proven ability to develop, implement and report
against plans and budgets
Excellent analytical and research skills, ability to
collect, assess and analyse information quickly
Commitment to international development and
ActionAid’s mission and vision