Manager of Conferences & Professional Development

Unit:	Conferences
Reports To:	Senior Director of Conferences & Professional Development
Post Date:	February 1, 2024
Location:	While we are committed to a distributed approach with staff working remotely from across the nation, we prefer candidates from or willing to move to the Washington, D.C., area for this role.
FLSA Status:	Exempt

THE PROCESS

To be considered as a candidate for this position please submit your cover letter and résumé in one PDF document to jobs@nhsa.org with Manager of Conferences and Professional Development in the subject line. We thank you for your interest in NHSA and Head Start, and know that we will only consider complete candidate packages for this position. Salary is commensurate with experience.

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THE OPPORTUNITY

The opportunity to succeed in school and in life, regardless of circumstances at birth, is a core American value, and for the past fifty-eight years, the Head Start community has embraced the challenge of delivering on that value and changing life trajectories for the nation’s most vulnerable children and families. A strong and sustainable future for Head Start will mean the success of generations of children who may otherwise struggle throughout their lives. Their future success rests on the knowledge, commitment, and collaboration of families, programs, researchers, and policymakers. 

NHSA is a unique organization looking to grow intentionally and to find the right person for the right opportunity on our team. If you are looking to be part of an organization that is static, where things are predictable, and challenges are hard to come by, you should not work with us. If you are a person who is looking to only work on tasks on a job description (such as this) and you have the proclivity to say “that is not my job,” we respect that, but you should not work with us. If you are interested in being a responsible contributor while flexing your curiosities and creativity, keep reading.  

NHSA is seeking an energetic, creative, and engaging self-starter to fill our Manager of Conferences & Professional Development. We look for flexibility, good judgment, and people capable of evolving. Your growth and contributions to the team are important to us because we know that a better you makes a better us. We pride ourselves on not being bureaucratic. Do you believe that every child, regardless of circumstances at birth, has the ability to succeed in life? Do you believe in providing America’s most vulnerable children, families, and communities with the opportunities they need in order to succeed? Then think about joining us! The Manager of Conferences & Professional Development will have the opportunity to make us a better organization.  

Conferences are a major funding stream for NHSA and we have an all hands on deck approach to our events.  Each year, NHSA hosts six different events with attendance ranging from 100-5,000+ people from  the early childhood education field and Head Start and Early Head Start community.  Four of those events travel domestically, while two remain in the DMV area. Strong familiarity of Google Workspace, E-commerce, data management, and event software is a plus. You will work closely with all teams to ensure our overall success.

Essential strengths include attention to detail, ability to thrive in a fast-paced, multi-tasking environment, sound judgment, strong communication skills, and superb organization. In this time of unprecedented uncertainty, a strong sense of curiosity and an eagerness to learn is essential. NHSA prides itself on being a learning organization, and additional duties will be added based on the individual’s interests and strengths. Strong commitment to NHSA’s mission and a can-do attitude will make the candidate successful.

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MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Responsible for the assigned day-to-day operations to fulfill NHSA’s conferences, events, and meetings commitments. 
• Oversee and manage the abstract submission process. for all conferences. 
• Manage Local Program Committees that assist in planning two of our largest conferences. 
• Schedule and manage all volunteers for conferences. 
• Be responsible for keeping inventory and ordering all conference supplies. 
• Assist Senior Director of Conferences in procuring vendors and contracts for all services needed for conferences and events including any insurance requirements 
• Monitor compliance of contracts in coordination with Finance and Operations teams.  
• Assist Meetings Registrar with financial reconciliation in coordination with the Finance team after every conference or event. 
• Manage the Meetings Registrar position. 
• Business proficiency in Microsoft Office and experience in enterprise systems such as Salesforce, CVent, Google Workspace, show management software, and others for event planning and scheduling management.  
• Demonstrated successful track record of collaborating through cross functioning of an internal organization in the successful production of meetings, conferences, and events.  
• Other relevant duties as assigned.

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REQUIREMENTS

Minimum qualifications and skills:

• Three (3) years or more of related experience in events management including marketing, logistics, planning, and contract negotiation.  
• Strong persuasive writing skills. Must be able to write clearly, concisely and creatively.
• Excellent organizational skills, including ability to handle and prioritize multiple tasks and meet deadlines.
• Must be able to work independently and proactively while being a dependable team-player.
• A strong instinct for keeping up with changes and impacts of technology on events and meetings.  
• Develop and maintain effective, smooth, and professional working relationships with staff, partner organizations, the Head Start community, and the public.  
• Apply effective budgetary and planning techniques to reduce costs and maximize results.  
• Strong customer service skills both to internal and external audiences.  
• Great interpersonal skills and humor under pressure.

These are preferred and not required:

• Spanish-writing proficiency.
• Nonprofit and/or public sector experience.  
• Certified Meeting Professional (CMP).
• Certified in Exhibition Management (CEM).

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ABOUT THE NATIONAL HEAD START ASSOCIATION

NHSA is a nonprofit organization committed to the belief that every child, regardless of circumstances at birth, has the ability to succeed in life. NHSA is the voice for more than 800,000 children, 275,000 staff, and over 1,600 Head Start grant recipients in the United States. Since 1974, NHSA has worked diligently for policy changes that ensure all at-risk children have access to the Head Start model of support for the whole child, the family, and the community.

OUR MISSION AND VISION

NHSA’s vision is for Head Start to lead—to be the untiring voice that will not be quiet until every vulnerable child is served with the Head Start model of support for the whole child, the family, and the community—and to advocate—to work diligently for policy and institutional changes that ensure all vulnerable children and families have what they need to succeed. NHSA’s mission is to coalesce, inspire, and support the Head Start field as a leader in early childhood development and education.

OUR CORE VALUES

• We are determined to play a valued and visible national leadership role in this country’s efforts to educate and serve its most vulnerable children and families.
• We recognize change is constant and are building a flexible, nimble organization that values innovation and can respond effectively to change.
• We are actively committed to being a high-impact organization that evaluates effort and measures outcomes; our commitment extends to helping the Head Start field value and uses measurements effectively.
• We value partnerships and collaboration and at our core, we are relationship-based.
• We celebrate Head Start alumni, both graduates and parents, and the lasting impact that they are having in this country.
• We are accountable to our members and funders, seeking high standards of governance, carefully stewarding resources, operating transparently, and living up to the highest standards of quality.

OUR CULTURE

NHSA is proud of our inclusive, collaborative, and professional culture. We value and reward teamwork, initiative, creativity, and intellectual and professional growth. We seek those qualities when considering people to join our team.

Mindfulness: NHSA has an organization-wide commitment to strive for excellence; we set clear objectives, achieve ambitious goals, ensure accountability for results, and focus on our impact.

Collaboration: NHSA works in teams—we share ideas, brainstorm endlessly, and constantly seek innovative ideas that advance NHSA’s and Head Start’s missions.

Vision: NHSA values colleagues who see and seize opportunities, take risks, learn from failure, and bring a relentless passion for our mission.

Creativity: NHSA team members use data to form original insights. We find ways to incorporate innovative ideas and approaches that exist in the rich and vital Head Start community.

Curiosity: NHSA values those who are curious and hungry for knowledge. Reflecting Head Start’s 58 years of commitment to continuous improvement, our staff is committed to personal and professional growth, understanding, and commitment to our mission.

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THE PROCESS

To be considered as a candidate for this position please submit your cover letter and résumé in one PDF document to jobs@nhsa.org with Manager of Conferences and Professional Development in the subject line. We thank you for your interest in NHSA and Head Start, and know that we will only consider complete candidate packages for this position. Salary is commensurate with experience.

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NHSA IS AN EQUAL-OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, national origin, marital status, religion, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, personal appearance, family responsibilities, political affiliation, or enrollment in a college, university, technical school, or adult education.