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Event Manager Jobs in Ridgefield, WA (NOW HIRING)

Minimum of 3-5 years of experience in event planning, fundraising events, nonprofit development, donor relations, project management, or community engagement activities. * Experience managing complex ...

Event Design, Event Planning, & Event Management Solutions - with an unmatched inventory, in house design, branding, fabrication, and customization services. We have a huge event rental inventory ...

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Event Manager information

See Ridgefield, WA salary details

$28.1K

$66.6K

$106.6K

How much do event manager jobs pay per year?

As of Jun 7, 2026, the average yearly pay for event manager in Ridgefield, WA is $66,567.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $47,700.00 and $79,600.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What does an Event Manager do?

An Event Manager is responsible for planning, organizing, and overseeing events such as conferences, weddings, corporate meetings, and festivals. They coordinate all aspects of the event, including budgeting, venue selection, vendor management, logistics, and on-site execution. Event Managers work closely with clients to ensure their vision is realized and troubleshoot any issues that arise during the event. Their goal is to deliver successful and memorable experiences while staying within budget and meeting client expectations.

What is the difference between Event Manager vs Event Coordinator?

AspectEvent ManagerEvent Coordinator
ResponsibilitiesOversees entire event planning, manages budgets, coordinates teams, and ensures event successAssists with planning, manages logistics, and handles on-site operations
Required SkillsLeadership, budgeting, vendor management, problem-solvingOrganization, communication, multitasking, attention to detail
Work EnvironmentOffice-based with site visits, often in event venues or client locationsPrimarily on-site during events, with some planning meetings
Common EmployersEvent planning companies, corporations, venuesEvent planning firms, corporate event departments, nonprofits

While both roles are essential in event planning, the Event Manager has broader responsibilities, including overseeing the entire event process and managing teams, whereas the Event Coordinator focuses more on logistics and on-site execution. Understanding these differences helps in choosing the right career path or job search focus.

What are some common challenges faced by Event Managers when coordinating large-scale events, and how can these be effectively managed?

Event Managers often encounter challenges such as last-minute changes, coordinating multiple vendors, and ensuring seamless communication among stakeholders. Effective management involves meticulous planning, maintaining a detailed timeline, and using event management software to track progress and responsibilities. Building strong relationships with reliable vendors and establishing clear communication protocols with the team can also help address unexpected issues quickly and efficiently. Flexibility and problem-solving skills are essential to adapt to changing circumstances and deliver successful events.

What Does an Event Manager Do?

Event managers plan, organize, and supervise events, such as business conferences, weddings, and festivals. They handle all the arrangements required to make the event run smoothly. Event managers determine what the client needs and expects; then they coordinate the preparations leading up to the event, including booking venues, scheduling transportation, and selecting the food and decorations. They may even need to hire staff for the event. Event managers may need to employ reliable waiters, entertaining DJs, and talented photographers. Event managers monitor payments and budget, and ensure the event meets all required safety regulations. Large-scale corporate gatherings require management, so the event manager often delegates and oversees planning tasks to focus on operating on-site the night of the occasion.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as an Event Manager, and why are they important?

To thrive as an Event Manager, you need strong organizational skills, project management experience, and often a degree in hospitality, marketing, or a related field. Familiarity with event management software, budgeting tools, and customer relationship management (CRM) systems is typically required. Outstanding communication, problem-solving, and leadership abilities help you manage teams and client expectations effectively. These skills are vital to ensure seamless event execution, client satisfaction, and the ability to handle unforeseen challenges.
What are the most commonly searched types of Event jobs in Ridgefield, WA? The most popular types of Event jobs in Ridgefield, WA are:
What cities near Ridgefield, WA are hiring for Event Manager jobs? Cities near Ridgefield, WA with the most Event Manager job openings:
Infographic showing various Event Manager job openings in Ridgefield, WA as of May 2026, with employment types broken down into 96% Full Time, and 4% Part Time. Highlights an 93% Physical, 2% Hybrid, and 5% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $66,567 per year, or $32 per hour.
Events Manager

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Retirement, PTO

Posted 8 days ago


Job description

Since 1896, Volunteers of America Oregon has been dedicated to meeting the needs of our community. Through our innovative programs in behavioral health, addiction treatment, reentry services, and support for children and families, we deliver life-changing services that promote safety, healing, and empowerment.

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At VOA Oregon, each staff member is part of a compassionate, mission-driven team working collaboratively to create lasting, meaningful, positive change. Every role contributes to the clients we serve and the mission we advance together. This work matters.
Are you ready to join an organization committed to service, inclusion, and employee support? 
Read on to learn more and apply today!


Benefits of Joining VOA Oregon
Benefits vary based on employment classification. Employees hired into a full-time position are eligible for the benefits outlined below, subject to plan terms and eligibility requirements.
Health & Insurance Coverage: Medical insurance options with employer-paid premiums covering 71%–89% of employee-only coverage, with employee costs starting at $66.23 per paycheck; Optional dental and vision coverage at employee cost.
Life & Disability Protection: Employer-provided life insurance, along with short- and long-term disability coverage. 
Retirement & Financial Security: 403(b) retirement plan with an automatic 5.5% employer contribution after 18 months of employment, regardless of employee contribution.[LC2.1]
Paid Time Off & Work-Life Balance: A generous paid time off (PTO) plan, with accruals of 15 days in the first year, 23 days in the second year, and 26 days in the third year.
Sick Leave: 80 hours of frontloaded sick time (prorated in the first year), resetting annually on January 1.
Holidays and Personal Days: 10 paid holidays each year, plus 3 personal holidays (prorated in the first year) to allow employees time off for important holidays, events, or milestones.
Student Loan Forgiveness: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, VOA Oregon is a qualified employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, which may help reduce or eliminate federal student loan debt for employees who meet eligibility requirements.
Additional Employee Benefits: Flexible spending accounts, employee assistance program (EAP), and access to other voluntary benefits and employee discounts.

Job Summary

Reporting to the Chief Development Officer, the Events Manager is responsible for planning, coordinating, and executing high-quality agency events that advance Volunteers of America Oregon’s mission, strengthen donor and community engagement, and support organizational fundraising and visibility goals. This position serves as the agency’s lead management representative for organization-wide fundraising and donor engagement events and is responsible for aligning event strategy with organizational visibility, philanthropic engagement, and community partnership goals.

The Events Manager manages a portfolio of events including donor cultivation and stewardship events, program-based events, volunteer recognition activities, community engagement opportunities, and the organization’s signature gala. This role requires strong project management, attention to detail, relationship-building skills, and the ability to collaborate across programs, volunteers, vendors, donors, community partners, and external stakeholders.

Education & Experience.

  • Bachelor’s degree in nonprofit management, communications, marketing, hospitality, business administration, public relations, or a related field preferred; equivalent experience may be considered.
  • Minimum of 3-5 years of experience in event planning, fundraising events, nonprofit development, donor relations, project management, or community engagement activities.
  • Experience managing complex events with multiple stakeholders, timelines, vendors, budgets, and logistics.
  • Experience supporting fundraising, donor engagement, sponsorship fulfillment, stewardship activities, or community partnerships preferred.
  • Experience working in a nonprofit, behavioral health, human services, education, or mission-driven organization preferred.
  • Experience using CRM systems to track donor, sponsorship, volunteer, or event activity, with familiarity with Raiser’s Edge NXT preferred.

Essential Job Duties     

  • Plan, coordinate, and execute agency-wide events that support fundraising, donor engagement, community awareness, staff engagement, volunteer recognition, and program visibility.
  • Serve as lead production manager for the organization’s signature gala, including timelines, logistics, vendor coordination, registration, sponsorship fulfillment, guest experience, run of show, volunteer support, and post-event follow-up.
  • Manage donor cultivation and stewardship events, including receptions, tours, recognition events, small gatherings, and other engagement opportunities.
  • Support program-based events across the agency, including events related to alumni engagement, community partnerships, volunteer activities, donor visits, and special recognition opportunities.
  • Support scholarship-related recognition and engagement activities associated with agency events and donor stewardship initiatives.
  • Coordinate scholarship-related review, selection, communication, scheduling, reviewer support, and stakeholder engagement activities, including reviewer outreach, orientation support, timeline coordination, scoring material distribution, deadline tracking, and scholarship-related communications in alignment with organizational practices and donor intent.
  • Serve as a point of coordination and support for scholarship applicants, recipients, alumni, donors, reviewers, community partners, and other stakeholders related to scholarship engagement, communication, recognition, and stewardship activities.
  • Develop and manage annual event calendars, production schedules, project timelines, task lists, staffing plans, budgets, and post-event evaluations.
  • Lead cross-functional event planning efforts involving Development, Communications, Volunteer Services, Finance, Executive Leadership, and program leadership teams.
  • Coordinate with internal teams to ensure events are aligned with organizational goals, fundraising priorities, branding, messaging, and community engagement objectives.
  • Recruit, train, schedule, and support event volunteers in coordination with the organization’s volunteer program and related staff supporting volunteer engagement activities.
  • Manage event vendors, venues, caterers, speakers, entertainers, photographers, printers, audiovisual providers, and other external partners.
  • Ensure events are accessible, welcoming, professional, trauma-informed, and reflective of VOA Oregon’s mission and values.
  • Track event expenses, support budget development, process invoices, and assist with event-related revenue tracking in coordination with Development and Finance.
  • Support event sponsorship fulfillment, including benefits tracking, sponsor recognition, signage, printed materials, tickets, tables, and post-event stewardship activities.
  • Oversee event logistics and guest experience coordination, including registration processes, seating coordination, event communications, and check-in activities.
  • Work collaboratively with the Communications team to support event promotion, invitations, printed materials, signage, scripts, social media, photography, video production, and post-event storytelling.
  • Conduct post-event debriefs, analyze event outcomes, document lessons learned, and recommend improvements for future events.
  • Support the Development team’s annual fundraising, donor engagement, and stewardship goals through high-quality events and relationship-building opportunities.
  • Collaborate with Development, Communications, and program leadership to support storytelling, donor stewardship, and community engagement activities related to scholarship impact and organizational mission advancement.
  • Assist with preparing briefing materials, event scripts, talking points, donor recognition materials, sponsorship materials, and follow-up communications.
  • Support accurate documentation of donor, sponsorship, volunteer, and event-related information within organizational tracking systems.
  • Represent VOA Oregon professionally with donors, volunteers, vendors, partners, community members, and internal and external stakeholders.
  • Perform other duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities

  • Knowledge of event planning principles, project coordination practices, and organizational methods necessary to successfully manage agency-wide events and engagement activities.
  • Knowledge of fundraising events, donor stewardship practices, sponsorship fulfillment, nonprofit relationship management, and community engagement strategies.
  • Knowledge of event logistics, vendor coordination, guest experience management, registration processes, and event production activities.
  • Knowledge of budgeting practices, expense tracking, invoice processing, and financial coordination related to event management activities.
  • Knowledge of volunteer coordination practices, including recruitment, scheduling, training, and ongoing support of volunteers participating in agency events and activities.
  • Knowledge of communication and marketing practices related to event promotion, donor engagement, storytelling, social media coordination, printed materials, and community outreach activities.
  • Knowledge of trauma-informed, professional, respectful, and relationship-centered engagement practices when interacting with donors, volunteers, community members, staff, vendors, and external stakeholders.
  • Knowledge of confidentiality standards and professional practices related to handling donor information, organizational information, sponsorship details, and other sensitive materials.
  • Knowledge of nonprofit organizational structures, fundraising operations, and mission-driven engagement practices preferred.
  • Knowledge of donor databases, CRM systems, event registration systems, and data tracking practices, with familiarity with Raiser’s Edge NXT preferred.
  • Skilled in planning, coordinating, and executing multiple events, projects, and activities simultaneously while maintaining organization, quality, and attention to detail.
  • Skilled in developing and managing timelines, work plans, budgets, task lists, production schedules, checklists, and event-related materials to support successful event execution.
  • Skilled in communicating effectively both verbally and in writing with donors, volunteers, staff, vendors, sponsors, community partners, leadership, and external stakeholders.
  • Skilled in building and maintaining positive working relationships with individuals from diverse professional backgrounds, organizational levels, and community settings.
  • Skilled in coordinating cross-functional projects and collaborating effectively with Development, Communications, Volunteer Services, Finance, Executive Leadership, and program teams.
  • Skilled in managing vendors, venues, caterers, audiovisual providers, entertainers, photographers, printers, and other external event partners to ensure successful event outcomes.
  • Skilled in problem-solving, prioritization, and responding effectively to changing circumstances, competing priorities, and event-related challenges in a calm and solutions-oriented manner.
  • Skilled in using Microsoft Office Suite, including Outlook, Teams, Word, and Excel, along with project management and event coordination tools to support organizational and event-related activities.
  • Ability to manage multiple deadlines, priorities, stakeholders, and event responsibilities simultaneously while maintaining professionalism and strong follow-through.
  • Ability to work collaboratively across departments and with staff at all levels of the organization to support organizational goals and event success.
  • Ability to represent VOA Oregon professionally and effectively with donors, volunteers, sponsors, community partners, vendors, scholarship participants, and members of the public.
  • Ability to maintain professionalism, flexibility, discretion, and sound judgment when handling confidential, sensitive, or time-sensitive information and situations.
  • Ability to support accessible, welcoming, and mission-centered event experiences that reflect VOA Oregon’s values and organizational culture.
  • Ability to analyze event outcomes, identify opportunities for improvement, document lessons learned, and support continuous improvement efforts related to event planning and execution.
  • Ability to work occasional evenings and weekends as required to support agency events, donor activities, and community engagement opportunities.

Other Eligibility Requirements

  • Must complete a criminal history background check and receive authorization.
  • Must not be excluded from participation in federal healthcare programs, including but not limited to listings on the Office of Inspector General (OIG) List of Excluded Individuals/Entities and the System for Award Management (SAM) exclusion list.
  • Must be legally authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship. 
  • Must have an active driver’s license, current insurance, reliable transportation and ability to meet VOA Oregon’s and VOA Oregon’s insurer’s driver standards.

Travel Requirement

  • Up to 30% of work time requires local travel within the Portland metro area. Occasional overnight travel may be necessary for training, meetings, or other business needs.

Supervisory Responsibilities

This position does not have any supervisory responsibilities.

Physical Demands & Work Environment

The physical demands described here must be met by an employee while performing the essential duties of this job. The employee is regularly required to sit for extended periods, use hands and fingers to operate a computer and other office equipment, and communicate effectively in person and by phone. The employee may regularly be required to stand, walk, bend, and lift up to 25 pounds.

The work environment characteristics described here may be encountered by an employ...