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Job Opening: Director of Events & Strategic Partnerships at Rochester Downtown Alliance

Wednesday, February 17, 2021 1:14 PM | Alyssa Olson (Administrator)

Director of Events and Strategic Partnerships 

Rochester Downtown Alliance 
311 South Broadway, Suite A2 
Rochester, MN 55904 

Company Overview

The Rochester Downtown Alliance (RDA) is a Minnesota nonprofit corporation comprised of a  broad range of people, including property owners, business leaders, the City of Rochester, and  others with a direct stake in enhanced business and economic development in the Downtown  district. The RDA also interacts closely with the public, including residents and visitors. 

The RDA works collaboratively to build a vibrant downtown community and believes that a  strong core positively impacts the greater city of Rochester. The RDA brings downtown to life  through events, activation, and advocacy. The RDA’s values are: 

We’re the Downtown Experts - Downtown Rochester is our focus. Everything we do,  we have Downtown in mind, constantly providing events, programs, and services that  meet our vision. 

Build it Together - Create and maintain an environment where we are better off  collectively than we are individually. 

Strive for Excellence - We are dedicated to excellence. Our quest embraces creativity,  innovation, and hard work. We pride ourselves on being accessible and approachable to  everyone. Our #1 priority is the quality of our events, programs, and services. 

Be Passionate - We bring passion and a positive attitude to all we do. Have Fun - We have fun with everything we do. 

Position Responsibilities

The RDA is seeking a creative, energetic, and detail-oriented Director of Events and Strategic  Partnerships to help us establish downtown Rochester as a welcoming, fun, and compelling place  to be.  

Over its 16-year history, RDA has established itself as a leader in event creation and production.  Annually, we bring more than 200,000 eventgoers downtown through Thursdays Downtown,  SocialICE, Movies in the Park, and Dogs Downtown, among other events. Many of these have  become beloved traditions for Rochester, but COVID-19 has given us a great opportunity to  freshen our perspective and think creatively about the years to come. The person stepping into  this role should be capable of supporting and updating existing events, and equally capable of  generating new event ideas and bringing them to execution. We’re looking for someone with  both vision and practicality.  

Primary job responsibilities include: 

Event management: RDA executes up to 22 large events and several smaller  programs/series per year. Direct planning, production, and evaluation for our full event  portfolio, including budgets, permitting, contract negotiations, vendor management,  safety protocols, crisis plans, volunteer recruitment, on-site management, and post-event  assessment.  

Partnership development: RDA self-generates 25 to 33 percent of its revenue through  events and strives to make each event revenue neutral. Proactively develop sponsorship  strategies that present value to potential partners and ensure that all partnership  deliverables are met.  

Community relations: RDA has 300 direct stakeholders downtown and works with  hundreds more people in the course of executing events. Develop ongoing relationships  with downtown businesses, City team members, media, vendors, exhibitors, performers,  and peer organizations. Serve on various boards and committees as a representative of  RDA.  

Non-RDA event cultivation: Lead strategy development to encourage non-RDA produced  events to choose downtown as their location. Manage Peace Plaza rentals, understand  venue options downtown, advise first-time event producers, etc.  

Key skills/qualities:  

People person: RDA’s Director of Events and Strategic Partnership might speak to 200  people in the course of a single Thursday and must truly enjoy this aspect of the work.  You’re the kind person who gets every cell phone number and understands that everyone likes to hear “thank you”.  

Creative AND Analytical: You have a strong vision for downtown Rochester, and you’re  excited by the prospect of changing up existing events or developing new ones. When  visiting other cities, you’re always thinking, “Let’s make this happen in Rochester!”. You also know how to use data to justify your decisions and will use qualitative and  quantitative analysis to assess and improve events.  

Detail oriented and budget savvy: You collect every W9 and COI, and stay on top of  invoices and checks. You know each event budget inside and out and stick to it.  Professional communicator: To get things done in this role, you’ll call, email, text, and  physically track people down. It will get hectic, but you will always be a timely, polite,  and polished communicator and representative for the RDA.  

Safety aware: Whether we’re talking about pedestrian protection, grease fryers under  tents, or COVID-19 protocols, you are constantly prioritizing the safety of our event  participants and attendees.  

Team player: Things get stressful in this job, but you’ll have an amazing team to help.  We work together with respect and a sense of humor. You know how to communicate  early and often with your colleagues in marketing and communications to ensure your  event is well-promoted and your promises to sponsors/partners are fulfilled.  

Cool under pressure: Things will go wrong. People will be difficult. You will handle it  with grace. You can manage most things yourself and also know when it’s time to ask for  help.  

Job Qualifications: 

High school diploma. Bachelor’s degree preferred.  

5+ years experience in event production, fundraising/development, or other related field.  Proven ability to bring a large event from idea to execution.  

Comfort with technology and learning new platforms: MS Office, various software to  track market vendors, basic graphic design/diagram programs to create event layouts.  Excellent written and verbal communication skills. 

Outstanding attention to detail.  

Ability to work positively with others and thrive in a demanding, fast-paced, and rapidly  changing environment. 

Ability to manage multiple tasks that vary in complexity and urgency. Self-motivated, empathetic, creative, forward-thinker open to creating new strategies to  enhance the Rochester Downtown Alliance and Downtown Rochester. 

Must be able to anticipate communication needs, discern work priorities, and meet  deadlines with minimal supervision. 

Be willing to work evenings and weekends as needed. 

Must be able to lift up to 50 pounds. 

Job Type: Full-time 

To apply, contact: Holly Masek, Executive Director, hmasek@rdowntownalliance.com



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