Events and Outreach Manager

Reports to: Chief Philanthropy Officer
Payroll type: Salary (exempt)
Days/hours work:  Available Monday-Friday (8:00-4:00 PM), 40  hours/ week, Events may include evening or weekend hours and may be flexed
Desired timing of hire: Immediate
Job Posting date: 11/12/24
Location: La Soupe, 915 E McMillian St, Cincinnati, OH 45206

About La Soupe:  La Soupe is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in the Cincinnati neighborhood of Walnut Hills.  It is the largest chef-led initiative in Ohio that bridges the gap between food waste and insecurity. We partner with volunteers and over 150 local grocers, farms, restaurants, manufacturers, and distributors to rescue an average of 25,000 lbs of fresh food weekly. Our team of chefs expertly transforms these rescued ingredients into restaurant-quality soupes and meals that are shared with community partners who feed the food insecure. La Soupe has rescued over 6 million pounds of food and shared over 3.5 million restaurant-quality servings since its inception.  While La Soupe chefs and volunteers are addressing the immediate needs of food waste and food insecurity, La Soupe dietitians, teachers, and advocates are dedicated to creating sustainable change through our programs that educate and empower communities to waste less and live healthier.

Job Description: The Events and Outreach Manager is  responsible for setting  and executing all event planning, community outreach and catering operations for La Soupe. This includes leading the strategy and implementation of the organization's two annual fundraising events as well as managing a calendar of community engagement activities such as Lunch & Learns, educational speaking engagements, donor tours, and catered offerings.This role is responsible for evolving La Soupe's engagements with community and key stakeholders in new and meaningful ways.

Key Responsibilities:

  • Develop and implement a comprehensive events and catering strategy aligned with La Soupe's overall mission and fundraising/engagement goals

  • Manage the end-to-end event planning process, including budgeting, vendor/venue selection, guest list management, and post-event evaluation

  • Serve as the main point of contact and project manager for the two annual fundraising events, collaborating closely with the executive team, kitchen staff, and volunteers

  • Oversee the execution of all community engagement events, including Lunch & Learns, speaking engagements, donor tours, and catered offerings

  • Build and maintain strong relationships with local vendors, donors, and community partners to expand La Soupe's impact, awareness, and community engagement

  • Oversee all event logistics and operations including:

    • Create detailed event plans, timelines, and checklists to ensure seamless coordination and on-time delivery

    • Coordinating with kitchen team on food preparation and sourcing

    • Managing event supply inventory and preparation (serving equipment, marketing materials, disposables)

    • Manage labor plans for events in collaboration with executive leadership. 

    • Ensuring proper event setup, breakdown, and cleanup procedures

    • Maintaining organized storage systems for all event-related materials

    • Tracking and managing event-specific budgets and expenses

  • Monitor and report on key event metrics, including attendance, revenue, cost, and ROI, to inform future planning and continuous improvement

  • Collaborate with the marketing and communications team to develop engaging event collateral and promote La Soupe's event offerings

  • Ensure all events adhere to strict food safety, sanitation, and presentation standards

  • Stay up-to-date on industry trends, best practices, and new event technologies to enhance La Soupe's offerings

  • Follows established processes for efficient collaboration with the kitchen. Innovate new ideas for efficiency and organization of outreach and development. Meet with Program Managers and Directors as needed to keep up to speed on program information, opportunities, and data.

  • Develop and work with team for clear, aligned communication that is organizationally consistent. To include correct metrics/impact of work, updated program information and as appropriate opportunities for donor involvement/investment 

  • With a team, determine quarterly engagement priorities (who, what, where, when.)

  • Help create intentional and quality engagements; identify, engage, educate, follow up, future steps.

  • Explore and inform the team of opportunities for expanded engagement.

  • Professionally communicates with external partners through email, phone, and in person.

  • Inform development strategy and goals, specifically regarding job responsibilities but will also support overall direction of the department and organizational goals.

  • Maintain clear tracking of events (#, type, servings, ROI, cost/benefit, neighborhood, etc) 

  • Help determine projections (# of events, servings needed) alongside development, kitchen. 

  • Meet or exceed set yearly goals to include specific number of monthly bookings

  • Help create processes that align with strategies and goals 

Key Performance Indicators

  • Number of events per month meeting targets as established for each event category

  • Consistent tracking of event data

  • Revenue goals met annually

  • All events that receive food will ensure La Soupe has voice (speaking engagement, fliers, or recognition of some kind)

  • Event prioritization across categories:

  • Donor engagement 

  • Community Engagement

  • Program support to all departments for partnership development 

Ideal Candidate:

  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to interact with diverse stakeholders. Craft compelling messaging for audience;  professional and well spoken 

  • Comfortable in community and corporate environments

  • Public speaking - inspiring and informative, professional and approachable

  • 3-5 years of experience in event or project management, preferably in the nonprofit or food service sectors

  • Exceptional project management, problem-solving, and multitasking skills

  • High attention to detail and relationship building skills

  • Solid budgeting and financial management capabilities

  • Passion for food, sustainability, and community engagement

  • Creative team player  

  • Serve Safe Certified or ability to obtain certification

Benefits: (fulltime)

  • Commensurate with experience. Range: $47,000 - $57,000 annually.

  • 11+ Paid Holidays, Free Lunch, Free parking, phone stipend

  • Health Insurance with company contribution. Family health insurance, employee vision, and dental are provided at employee cost.

  • 401(k) plan - no match, life insurance and AD&D

  • 5 Paid Sick days accruing annually and 3 weeks annual PTO available after 90 days of employment. Parental paid leave policy after 6 months employment.

  • Opportunity to work with the best crew in the city while helping communities

Please send a cover letter and resume to Jackie Bouvette, Chief Philanthropy Officer: Jackie@lasoupe.org

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT 

The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

While performing the duties of this job the employee is regularly required to stand; walk; sort, and lift.  The employee is occasionally required to sit. The employee must regularly lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. The employee should possess stamina for physical work. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently exposed to wet and/or humid conditions; moving mechanical parts; fumes or airborne particles; outside weather conditions; extreme cold and extreme heat. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate to loud.

Equal opportunity: La Soupe, Inc. values a diverse and inclusive work environment where every team member matters. All qualified applicants for this position will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.