Education & Events Manager

The California State Association of Counties (CSAC) is seeking an Education & Events Manager to lead the planning, execution, and continuous improvement of our meetings, events, and professional development programs. This position serves as the strategic lead for event and educational programming, helping deliver high-quality experiences that support our mission to advance the interests of California’s 58 counties.

The ideal candidate is a highly organized and innovative professional with experience managing complex events, educational programs, and stakeholder engagement efforts.

This is a full-time, non-exempt position based at our Sacramento office and requires travel throughout California to support meetings, conferences, trainings, and other association events.

Job Duties

• Own planning, strategy, and execution of all major events (internal and external), ensuring alignment with organizational priorities and program goals
• Oversee the development and expansion of professional development programs, including trainings, workshops, seminars, and webinars
• Contribute to the expansion and innovation of both events and educational programming to enhance member experience and meet emerging needs
• Develop comprehensive event timelines, budgets, run-of-show documents, and post-event evaluation tools to ensure effective execution and continuous improvement
• Manage venue selection, contracts, vendor relationships, and multi-event project coordination
• Serve as primary coordinator with speakers, facilitators, and partner organizations
• Act as a liaison between internal teams, external stakeholders, and program leadership to ensure alignment and seamless delivery
• Oversee all event-related communications (internal and external), including timelines, deliverables, and participant engagement strategies
• Integrate technology solutions to enhance registration, learning delivery, engagement, and overall event experience
• Create and maintain event webpages and support event mobile applications and digital platforms
• Coordinate Presidential Site Visits, Regional Meetings, and other high-profile convenings (logistics, agendas, stakeholder coordination)
• Identify attendees and coordinate participation of members and state partners for strategic meetings and trainings

Distinguishing Characteristics            

This position serves as CSAC’s lead planner and coordinator for meetings, events, and professional development programs. The role combines strategic planning, project management, stakeholder engagement, and technology integration to deliver high-quality educational and networking experiences for California county leaders. Working with a high degree of independence, the incumbent manages multiple complex projects simultaneously, coordinates across departments and external partners, and ensures programs are executed efficiently, professionally, and in alignment with CSAC’s mission and strategic priorities.

Knowledge & Skills Required 

• Strategic program and event planning with the ability to align events and educational offerings to organizational goals
• Advanced event and program budgeting, financial tracking, and resource allocation
• Contract negotiation and vendor management
• Technology fluency, including event platforms, virtual learning tools, apps, and AMS systems
• Data-driven evaluation skills
• Strong organizational, problem-solving, and execution skills in fast-paced environments
• Supervisory experience, including training and leading staff

Physical Requirements

• Work is performed primarily in an office environment and requires prolonged periods of sitting, standing, walking, and working at a compute
• Ability to travel throughout California to support conferences, meetings, trainings, site visits, and other association events
• Ability to work occasional evenings, weekends, and extended hours during conferences, events, and peak program periods
• Ability to lift, carry, move, and transport event materials, supplies, and equipment weighing up to 25 pounds
• Ability to set up, inspect, and manage event spaces, which may require bending, reaching, stooping, climbing stairs, and moving between meeting locations

Ability to attend and actively participate in meetings, trainings, conferences, and networking events, both in person and virtually

Any combination of education and experience that would provide the required knowledge, skills, and abilities would be qualifying. Typically, such a background would include graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with a degree in event management, communications, public administration, business administration, education, hospitality management, or a related field, and seven or more years of progressively responsible experience in event planning, conference management, professional development programming, association management, or a related field.