Events and Community Engagement Manager in Menlo Park, California at Trinity School

Reports to: Head of School
FLSA Status: Exempt, full-time, twelve-month position

The Events and Community Engagement Manager plans, coordinates, documents, and supports Trinity School events and admissions experiences across both campuses. This role helps ensure that events, tours, and open houses are thoughtfully planned, well-executed, welcoming, mission-aligned, and reflective of Trinity’s educational philosophy and community culture.

The Manager leads and supports a range of school events, including the annual gala, admissions open houses, advancement events, parent programs, community gatherings, and student events. Responsibilities include planning timelines, budgets, registration, vendors, volunteers, communications, materials, setup, day-of execution, and follow-up.

The Manager also oversees the year-round production of Trinity’s grade-level memory books, coordinating photographs, content, parent volunteers, timelines, vendors, and approvals through an organized and sustainable process.

This is a hands-on position requiring significant event management experience, strong project management, sound judgment, attention to detail, flexibility, and the ability to collaborate across departments while managing competing priorities.

• Lead assigned events from initial planning through execution and post-event follow-up.

• Work with the appropriate school leader to clarify each event’s purpose, audience, desired outcomes, scope, budget, and decision-making responsibilities.

• Develop timelines, run-of-show documents, staffing plans, checklists, floor plans, and day-of materials.

• Coordinate registration, communications, vendors, volunteers, supplies, refreshments, signage, technology, facilities, setup, and cleanup.

• Establish clear responsibilities and deadlines for employees, volunteers, vendors, and other participants.

• Serve as the primary on-site point person for assigned events, anticipate potential issues, and respond calmly when plans change.

• Ensure that event spaces, materials, hospitality, and guest interactions create a welcoming, inclusive, and professional experience.

• Participate directly in setup, event execution, cleanup, and other hands-on responsibilities as needed.

• Support Trinity’s annual gala, including guest logistics, vendor coordination, materials, auction support, setup, event-day execution, budget tracking, and follow-up.

• Lead or support advancement events, donor gatherings, parent programs, community celebrations, student events, and other schoolwide activities.

• Partner with the Director of Enrollment to coordinate admissions tours and open houses across both campuses.

• Manage admission events logistics, including timelines, registration, schedules, guest flow, staffing, signage, materials, refreshments, campus preparation, volunteer coordination, and follow-up.

• Coordinate a consistent schedule of preschool tours, with the goal of offering at least one tour each week during active admissions periods.

• Support the scheduling and coordination of planned and on-demand elementary tours.

• Ensure that employees, campus leaders, and volunteers are prepared for their roles in tours and open houses.

• Serve as a trained backup or co-leader for preschool and elementary tours and open houses when additional coverage is needed.

• Develop a strong understanding of Trinity’s mission, educational philosophy, programs, student experience, and community culture.

• Communicate Trinity’s story warmly and persuasively, using specific examples to help prospective families understand why the School may be a strong fit for their child.

• Collaborate with the Director of Preschool and the Head of Elementary to ensure tours accurately represent each program and minimize disruption to classrooms.

• Gather recurring questions and feedback from prospective families and share relevant themes with the Director of Enrollment and campus leaders.

• Maintain flexibility during peak admissions periods while balancing tours, open houses, events, and other responsibilities.

• Maintain a comprehensive calendar of events, admissions activities, planning deadlines, communications, and vendor commitments.

• Establish a clear process for requesting event support, including appropriate lead times and the information needed to evaluate scope, priorities, and resources.

• Develop and maintain documentation for recurring events, including purpose, history, audience, traditions, timeline, budget, vendors, supplies, staffing, communications, and facilities needs.

• Create repeatable event guides, templates, checklists, staffing plans, and shared planning tools.

• Track attendance, budget outcomes, feedback, vendor performance, lessons learned, and recommendations following events.

• Recommend when events or processes should be improved, simplified, combined, or reconsidered.

• Maintain organized shared files, naming conventions, and records so information can be easily understood and used in future years.

• Maintain an organized inventory of reusable event materials and supplies.

• Track event budgets, expenses, invoices, receipts, and purchasing needs in coordination with advancement, finance, and operations employees.

• Source and coordinate vendors, including caterers, rental companies, printers, florists, photographers, entertainers, and other event partners.

• Confirm and, when appropriate, negotiate vendor pricing, scope, schedules, deliverables, setup requirements, and day-of contact information.

• Coordinate contract review and approval with the appropriate school employees.

• Work with facilities employees to plan room setup, equipment, work orders, parking, access, security, signage, and cleanup.

• Recruit, organize, and prepare parent and community volunteers, including creating clear role descriptions, instructions, schedules, and communications.

• Manage registration tools, RSVP tracking, invitation lists, volunteer and meal sign-ups, and related event information.

• Keep stakeholders informed through shared plans, calendars, status updates, and timely communication.

• Communicate early when competing priorities, limited resources, or changing circumstances may affect an event or timeline.

• Oversee the year-round planning, creation, and production of Trinity’s grade-level memory books.

• Develop an organized process and annual timeline for collecting photographs and content throughout the school year.

• Establish and maintain clear systems for photo submissions, shared files, naming conventions, deadlines, and grade-level materials.

• Coordinate parent volunteers, teachers, school leaders, and vendors to ensure responsibilities, expectations, and timelines are clear.

• Oversee design, content review, proofreading, approvals, ordering, and distribution.

• Document the process, templates, vendor information, and lessons learned to make production more efficient and sustainable each year.

• Help ensure that event, admissions, and memory book materials reflect Trinity’s voice, values, educational philosophy, and visual standards.

• Support the development and updating of invitations, signage, presentations, tour materials, admissions collateral, and other community-facing resources.

• As event systems become established, support additional projects based on School priorities and available capacity.

• Contribute to improvements involving admissions, advancement, volunteer, event, or community databases.

• Assist with website content, communications materials, shared resources, and other organizational or process improvements.

• Participate in projects that benefit from strong project management, storytelling, documentation, organization, or community engagement skills.

• Remain flexible as responsibilities evolve based on the needs of the School.

• Regular on-campus presence is required for collaboration, admissions tours, open houses, event planning, setup, and execution across both Trinity campuses.

• Some administrative, documentation, and planning work may be completed remotely when appropriate and based on School needs.

• Weekly schedules may vary based on the admissions and event calendars and may include early mornings, evenings, or weekends.

• The role requires working in an active school environment with frequent interruptions, changing priorities, and seasonal periods of high activity.

• The position requires frequent interaction with prospective and current families, students, employees, donors, volunteers, vendors, and visitors.

• The Manager must be able to move between campuses and event locations and may be required to stand or walk for extended periods and lift or carry event materials.

• Minimum of five years of professional event management experience required.

• Demonstrated experience independently managing events from initial planning through execution and evaluation.

• Experience managing multiple timelines, budgets, vendors, volunteers, stakeholders, and competing priorities.

• Experience supporting fundraising events, auctions, donor events, admissions events, open houses, or community engagement programs preferred.

• Experience in a school, nonprofit, community-based, fundraising, hospitality, or volunteer-supported environment preferred.

• Experience supporting or leading tours, presentations, information sessions, or other public-facing experiences strongly preferred.

• Strong project management, organizational, prioritization, documentation, and follow-through skills.

• Experience managing event budgets and vendor relationships; experience reviewing or negotiating vendor scope and pricing preferred.

• Excellent written, verbal, interpersonal, presentation, and family-facing communication skills.

• Ability to understand and communicate an organization’s mission, culture, program, and value clearly and persuasively.

• Strong storytelling and relationship-building skills.

• Warm, polished, professional, and service-oriented communication style.

• Strong sense of presentation and attention to the guest experience, including materials, signage, displays, hospitality, accessibility, and visual details.

• Ability to anticipate needs, solve problems, exercise sound judgment, and remain calm under pressure.

• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively across departments.

• Strong technology skills, including Google Workspace, shared calendars, spreadsheets, databases, registration tools, and project management platforms.

• Ability and willingness to learn new event, admissions, fundraising, communications, yearbook, and database systems.

• Ability to handle confidential information and school purchasing responsibilities with discretion and integrity.

• Ability to work a flexible schedule that may include early mornings, evenings, and weekends.

• Commitment to Trinity School’s mission, Episcopal identity, values, and community culture.