Public Events Manager

Caltech is a world-renowned science and engineering institute that marshals some of the world's brightest minds and most innovative tools to address fundamental scientific questions. We thrive on finding and cultivating talented people who are passionate about what they do. Join us and be a part of the diverse Caltech community.

Caltech's Office of Communications and External Relations (OCER) is responsible for promoting understanding, inspiring support, and amplifying awareness of the Institute's research, people, accomplishments, and legacy across print and digital platforms as well as through events. Our team members work closely with partners across campus to communicate the Institute's worldwide impact on science, engineering, and education, and to authentically represent its values and priorities.

The Public Events Manager is a member of the Strategy and Community Engagement team, which plays a central role in shaping the direction of Institute communications overall, and in informing how OCER presents Caltech and the work of its research and education community to a broad range of audiences, across multiple communications channels, including websites, social media, print publications, events, and others.

The Public Events Manager will help create and strengthen relationships with new and existing audiences; facilitate connections between members of the public and Caltech students, staff, scientists, and engineers; and emphasize the Institute's impact and contributions, especially in the Southern California region. Responsible for conceptualizing, planning, and executing high-profile public events (in-person, virtual, and hybrid), the Public Events Manager also will have the opportunity to provide leadership in event strategy and evaluation.

The successful candidate will report to the Assistant Vice President for Communications and Government Relations and will join a team that prizes creativity, enterprise, attention-to-detail and collaboration.

Event Planning and Execution

• Working closely with partners across campus and within the Office of Communications and External Relations, lead the planning and execution of Caltech public events (both programming and logistics), with a primary, but not exclusive, focus on the Institute's century-old Watson Lecture series.
• Prepare and advise speakers and other event participants with strategies and best practices for presenting ideas and information in ways that engage the public and position Caltech as a place to connect with the forefront of research and innovation.
• Develop, update, and distribute planning documents such as event proposals, project plans, runs of show, vendor agreements, and budgets.
• Assemble and coordinate event planning teams as lead project manager for public events.
• Faciliate meetings of and provide support to the Institute Programs Committee, the faculty committee whose members oversee the Watson Lecture Series.
• Create and maintain event and series web pages.
• Contribute to the Public Programming e-newsletter.
• Develop and execute communications plans for public events.
• In collaboration with colleagues in OCER and across campus, curate invitation lists, monitor responses and attendance, and coordinate follow-up as appropriate.
• Prepare event briefing documents and other prep materials for Institute leadership and speakers.

Strategy and Engagement

• Ensure that all public events have a defined purpose aligned to overall communications priorities; a framework for evaluating outcomes; and a plan for follow-up to amplify impact and reach.
• Working with the AVPCGR and the Associate Director, Communications Strategy and Planning, develop an events and audience strategy that defines objectives and differentiates Caltech events within the broader Southern California arts/entertainment/science/education landscape in order to identify potential partnerships and new opportunities, and to leverage events as communications channels.
• Collaborate with the Community Relations Manager to engage local residents and organizations through events.
• Identify opportunities to leverage Caltech Science Exchange materials and other OCER content within events and vice versa.

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent.
• Five or more years of successful experience in event planning, ideally in a higher-education setting.
• Strong project-management skills, including the ability to meet deadlines while managing multiple projects in a dynamic environment.
• Ability to write and communicate ideas clearly and confidently to audiences that include colleagues, faculty members, students, vendors, guest speakers, members of the public, and Institute leadership.
• Experience working with content management systems and project management software.
• Proficiency in MailChimp and Photoshop.
• Initiative to research and problem-solve.
• An appreciation for science and the wonders of the world.

• Resume