Event Planner

ABOUT US

Inatai Foundation is a growing 501(c)(4) philanthropic organization committed to working with communities to shift the balance of power to ensure racial justice and equity across Washington and beyond. We are hiring an Event Planner to join our expanding team.

Cultivating a staff team that embodies the diverse experiences of Washington communities is essential to these aspirations. We strongly and sincerely encourage applications from people of color; individuals who are immigrants, bilingual, and multicultural; d/Deaf people and people with disabilities; members of LGBTQIA+ and gender non-conforming communities; and people with other diverse backgrounds and lived experiences.

Visit our About Us page to learn more about our work, approaches, and values. You may also browse our Join Inatai page to understand our hiring process, work culture, and benefits.

Position Summary

The Event Planner supports internal and external events across the foundation, providing project management, logistics support, and on-site management to events of all sizes. The Event Planner also supports the development, cataloguing, and communicating of internal processes and procedures and other tasks as assigned.

The Event Planner is responsible both for supporting the Events Director on cross-functional teams on larger events and for independent project managing and leading logistics for smaller events. The Event Planner is a resource available to teams across the foundation to consult on events systems and processes. The Event Planner is responsible for ensuring event planning is aligned with Inatai’s values.

This is a full-time, exempt position. Inatai is proud to be a statewide organization, and we know there are talented leaders everywhere in our state. As we grow and learn, we know that we are better partners to communities and more strategic Grantmakers when we have team members rooted in place and bringing their lived and learned experiences to our work. We are prioritizing the following geographies to ensure we are fully living up to our commitments to geographic equity.

• Southeastern Washington, with special attention to Franklinand Benton counties
• The Olympic Peninsula, with special attention to Jefferson, Clallam, and Grays Harbor counties
• North Central Washington, with special attention to Douglas, Chelan, Okanogan, and Kittitas counties
• Northeastern Washington, with special attention to Pend Oreille, Stevens, Ferry and Lincoln counties

In addition to these regions, we would like to give priority to candidates based in Adams, Asotin, Cowlitz, Lewis, Mason, Skagit, Skamania, and Whitman counties.

We currently have offices in Seattle and Pasco. Team members connected to an office are expected to work in the office. Team members may be permitted – with supervisor's approval – to work remotely up to two days per week. Periodic early morning, evening, and weekend hours will be required, and statewide and regional travel should be expected.

Primary Responsibilities

• Independently lead and/or support events: Lead logistics planning for 10-20 smaller events annually. Develop milestones, oversee all logistics, drive site and vendor selection, support travel arrangements and other tasks as required.
• Support larger internal and external events. Assist the Events Director in planning logistics for larger internal and external events, including sourcing and contracting venue, technology, room blocks, food and beverage, registration, and vendor selection and oversight.
• Support development of internal processes and procedures. Research, document, and organize event planning processes and help communicate them across the foundation.
• Support ongoing management of event spaces in Seattle, Pasco and other future locations. Help develop processes and procedures for opening our spaces up to external guests, support on-site management when needed, and help develop future space across the state.
• Recruit and build relationships with event vendors. Research vendors and venues across the state, conduct site visits, and follow up on referrals provided by team members and community. 

Requirements

Work Experience:

• Minimum required: Previous experience leading and supporting events, including direct experience with events-specific accessibility concerns.
• Preferred: Experience with wide variety of sizes, audience, and type of events.  

Skills & Abilities:

• Ability to work independently and problem solve. 
• Ability to manage and lead teams of different backgrounds and at different levels of an organization. 
• Strong leadership skills with experience managing diverse teams at different organizational levels.
• Strong customer service orientation.
• Deep commitment to equity and racial justice, aligned with organizational values.
• Ability to authentically connect the Foundation’s mission and goals with personal experiences.
• Excitement for implementing language justice, disability justice and other practices within our event processes to ensure greater inclusion and meaningful participation.     
• Demonstrated ability to build relationships and work with diverse individuals and communities.
• Self-reflective with strong verbal, non-verbal, and written communication skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint), Adobe Acrobat DC, and adaptability to new technologies.

Other Requirements:

• Willingness to work occasional meetings and events outside core business hours.
• Enthusiasm for traveling throughout Washington and engaging with diverse communities (estimated travel: 25-30%)

This role requires someone with excellent event planning and logistics experience, a commitment to equity, and a proactive attitude toward problem-solving and team collaboration.

Benefits

Compensation

In addition to a positive and flexible work culture, we attract, retain, and motivate exceptional people with an equitable and competitive compensation package. Salary ranges are set according to an explicit compensation policy, and relevant data are reviewed when setting ranges for each position. The salary range for this position is $82,000 -$110,000. A compensation enhancement is provided to employees with indigenous or advanced language proficiency in more than one language that they utilize to advance the Foundation’s work across Washington.

We offer a comprehensive benefits package that includes fully paid medical/dental/vision coverage for employees and dependent children (and partial coverage for partners and spouses), a 10% retirement contribution, generous time off (29 days of flexible paid time off, five paid holidays, and a year-end office closure from December 25 to January 1), paid family and medical leave (12 to 18 weeks), a transit pass (where available), and support for ongoing professional development.

To Apply

Please submit your resume and a cover letter expressing your specific interests through our online application portal. Priority will be given to applications submitted by Friday, March 21st, 2025. You will receive an automatic acknowledgment of your application once you submit your materials, and you can expect updates from the Foundation every two to three weeks once the priority deadline has passed.

We are committed to creating conditions where all candidates are able to fully express their talents and potential and invite you to let us know if there are any accommodations that we can provide to support you in your pursuit of this role.

Thank you for your interest in joining Inatai Foundation!