Project Lead, Event Management

The Events Management Project Lead will oversee Corporate Communications and External Affairs (CCEA) events, playing a key role in ensuring seamless and successful events that align with CCEA’s department mission to “Educate, equip and engage key stakeholders to build goodwill, earn and expand the right to do business and have a positive impact on communities around the world.” 

This role is responsible for overseeing the execution of events to meet departmental needs, including managing event requests and resources. Events range from internal CCEA events to external engagements like New Restaurant Openings, stakeholder roundtables, impact conferences, and large media events.

This role requires comprehensive planning, cross-department collaboration, and third-party vendor coordination to ensure seamless event logistics, encompassing venue selection, layout, timelines, and some on-site management. This role requires meticulous attention to detail, the ability to effectively manage one’s time, prioritize responsibilities and manage multiple projects at once.

The Events Lead will work with internal Staff and external agency events and logistics personnel, oversee associated budgets, and develop and maintain processes for event intake, scheduling, and communication. Crucially, this role runs point for CCEA overseeing the logistical support for over 150 annual Restaurant openings in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, Singapore and UK. As CCEA and the business continue to evolve the strategy for New Restaurant Openings, this role will partner with the External Affairs Field Team to determine how event support and resources adjust to meet business goals and needs.

Our Flexible Future model offers a healthy mix of working in person and virtually, strengthening key elements of the Chick-fil-A culture by fostering collaboration and community.

• Event Management and Execution:
  • Provide strategic oversight for the planning and execution of CCEA events, ensuring they are aligned with goals and budget parameters.
  • Develop and maintain processes for overall event management, including intake, scheduling, communication, budgeting, after-action review, etc.
  • Manage event staff and vendors.
  • Evaluate event effectiveness and identify areas for improvement.
  • Collaborate with Campus Operations & Planning to secure necessary resources and support for events and activities held on and off campus.

• New Restaurant Openings (NRO):

Executed in partnership with External Affairs Field Team

• • Support event logistics for 150+ annual Restaurant openings in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, Singapore and UK.
  • Partner with People Leader and External Affairs Field Team to determine how event support and resources may need to adjust in the future to meet business goals and needs.
  • Oversee team of agency New Restaurant Planners (NRPs) who support Restaurant opening event needs, including open houses, food distributions, media previews, ribbon cuttings, etc., as well as coordination with vendors for décor, event set up and promotional items for the opening.
  • Partner with External Affairs Field Team and NRPs on budgetary needs to support the advising of Operators on discretionary budget related to opening and order related materials.

• 4+ years of professional work experience 

• Project management

• Agency management

• Budget management

• Event management for an organization, company or agency 

• Developing and using systems and processes for the management of events 

• Attention to detail

• Ability to work collaboratively

• 5-7 years of professional work experience 
• Experience using technology for the management of systems and/or processes
• Developing strategies to resource a program or a project
• Building new approaches, models and/or ways of working to support a program or a project