Job description

The Food Craft Institute (FCI) is seeking an Event Manager to join the Eat Real Festival Management team. The Eat Real Festival (ERF) is part urban county fair, part street-food festival, part block party and above all a celebration of delicious food. At Eat Real, participants learn where food comes from, who grows it and how to make it.

The Eat Real Festival is an educational program of the non-profit Food Craft Institute, teaching traditional food making techniques and focusing on the creation of viable artisan food businesses in the United States. Eat Real and FCI strive to revitalize regional food systems, build public awareness of the craft of making healthy, delicious food and encourage the growth of American food entrepreneurs.

The Event Manager is responsible for complete oversight all team projects for the Eat Real Festival in Oakland, CA on September 18-20, 2015 including management of event contractors, oversight of food vendors, programming, sponsor activations and non-food based entertainment such as bands and other associated programming. Reporting to the Executive Director, the selected individual will lead the Eat Real Oakland Management Team.

Position Responsibilities:
Hiring and Management

• Work with Event Director to hire and on-board all Event Interns and any other staff positions as necessary.
• Staff management of Marketing, Vendor, and Volunteer/Programming Teams.
• Coordinate with Event Producer & Sponsorship Director on all high-level Management decisions for the event.

Financial Management and Timelines

• Maintain event budget and work with Event Producer to implement all invoicing and bill paying procedures.
• Work closely with all contract staff to coordinate production calendars, marketing calendars and insure that deadlines are met and budgets maintained.
• Work with Event Producer on budgeting, technical needs of event, scheduling and staff needs.
• Maintain contact lists of all festival participants (sponsors, vendors, entertainers).
• Compile vendors and programming on-site needs and transfer information to Event Producer.

Vendor Team Management

• Work with Vendor Coordinator and team to select vendors, finalize menus, guarantee procurement procedures and contract with all participants.
• Work with Vendor Coordinator to oversee collection of vendor fees, insurance documentation, tax documents, health permits and other necessary documents.
• Work with Vendor Coordinator and team to finalize sales offerings, menus sourcing & pricing.
• Work with Event Producer and Vendor Coordinator to implement vendor layout.
• Work with Vendor Coordinator and team to manage placement of vendors on-site and ensure final fees are collected from each vendor.
• Problem solve with vendors on-site.
• Work with Vendor Coordinator and team to send out vendor thanks and follow up surveys.

Programming Management

• Create programming for all demo stages and DIY areas including scheduling, logistics, budgeting and outreach to community groups and organizations.
• Work with Event Interns on scheduling music and other non-food programming.
• Work with Sponsorship Team to create pre-event programming as requested from Presenting Sponsors.
• Develop and oversee contests, tastings, VIP experiences and other specialty programming as necessary.

Volunteer Management

• Work with Volunteer Coordinator to create volunteer timetables and oversee registration and scheduling of festival volunteers.
• Work with Volunteer Coordinator to staff volunteer positions needed for on-site production.

Desired Skills and Experience:

• Demonstrated event-planning experience, including the key duty areas mentioned above.
• Experience negotiating with vendors and comfortable enforcing contracts requirements, agreed payments, and promised levels of service.
• Ability to work effectively with diverse groups and communities.
• Ability to take initiative, solve problems and work collaboratively with other staff members.
• Ability to speak Spanish a plus.
• Good sense of humor, outgoing personality and positive manner.
• Strong drive and ambition.
• Good organizational and time management skills.
• Team player.
• Idea generator, initiative-taker.
• Strong interpersonal, listening and communication skills.
• Excellent negotiation and rapport building skills.

Required Knowledge, Skills and Competencies:

• 5+ years of strong management experience in the food and beverage and/or non-profit industries.
• Experience and knowledge of multiple aspects of the sustainable & local food movements.
• Experience with the Bay Area local food scene (in particular Oakland) - producers, foragers, canners, community food advocates, farmers, etc…
• Excellent organizational skills; strong attention to detail; ability to stay focused in busy work environment.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Experience with various software programs including Microsoft Office, Google Apps and Adobe products (Powerpoint, Excel, Word, Gmail, Acrobat, etc).
• Excellent interpersonal skills; demonstrated financial and business acumen.
• Results-oriented with the ability to balance all key business considerations.

TERMS: This is a contract position which goes from May through the end of September, with the first two months part-time, and beginning full time in July. Compensation is commensurate with experience.

Compensation

this position is: contract

Application instructions

Deadline

no deadline