About CEI

CEI is a non-profit public policy organization dedicated to advancing the principles of limited government, free enterprise, and individual liberty. We believe economic freedom is essential for entrepreneurship, innovation, and prosperity to flourish. CEI pursues a full-service approach to advancing public policy, which includes conducting original scholarly research, active communications campaigns, direct advocacy with policymakers, litigation, and events outreach. Founded in 1984, CEI has grown into an effective advocate for freedom on a wide range of critical policy issues, including technology, telecommunications, free market environmentalism, business and finance, and consumer product regulation.

About the Role

The Competitive Enterprise Institute seeks an organized, entrepreneurial individual to assist in the management of nearly 50 annual events. The Events Manager reports to the Director of Events and will work across departments on the logistics, planning, and execution of events including the Julian L. Simon Memorial Award Dinner, CEI Summit, regional events, conferences, Capitol Hill briefings, online, and hybrid events to raise brand awareness and maximize outreach.

Culture matters; CEI is a creative think tank that embraces a forward-thinking and entrepreneurial approach to policy change. Team members are expected to be strategic self-starters with an emphasis on personal responsibility, accountability to one another and to those in other departments at CEI. They work hard, have a good sense of humor, and are intensely dedicated to conveying CEI’s principles.

This position will be expected to work out of CEI’s downtown Washington, DC office.

Primary Responsibilities

  • Coordinate and staff local events from setup to cleanup
  • Manage event registration
  • Organize staff travel and logistics
  • Develop and maintain a catalog of invitation lists
  • Design, draft, and manage event email marketing
  • Organize pre- and post- event briefings
  • Research event topics, guest speakers, venues, and attendees
  • Work with the communications team to coordinate event promotions
  • Author blogs on select CEI events for promotional purposes
  • Provide support in regular Salesforce database management
  • Other duties as assigned

Qualifications

  • 3 – 5 years of work experience
  • Previous event experience
  • Demonstrated capacity to multi-task routinely and in high pressure situations
  • Enthusiasm for CEI’s charitable mission
  • Skilled at identifying and solving problems with or without direction
  • Strong communication skills
  • Excellent organization, judgment, and drive
  • Ability to work both independently and collaboratively
  • Ability to juggle multiple tasks with grace and flexibility
  • Experience with graphic design, Pardot, and Salesforce a plus
  • We envision a full-time position. Strong applicants interested in part-time will be considered

Characteristics

If you believe that this position may be a good fit, these words will describe you:

  • Communicator. You have excellent oral communication, writing and editing abilities.
  • Detail Oriented. You are relentless about accuracy with regard to content and value good writing style.  
  • Team Player. You will be on a team of committed individuals and expected to work with members of other departments within CEI.
  • Teachable. You are eager to learn new things and couple that with an open attitude toward the mundane nature of some research tasks.
  • Self-starter. You are willing and able to jump into project management. You know when to ask for help, but, once trained, you don’t need hand-holding. You’re comfortable receiving increasing autonomy to manage your own work and important processes.
  • Multi-Tasker. You thrive in an environment that sometimes demands multi-tasking.
  • Focused. You are able to focus on specific tasks for as long as necessary. While skilled at multi-tasking, you know how to avoid being distracted. You drive yourself to get the job done right and on time.
  • Curious and Policy-Minded. You like public policy and are curious enough to enjoy the challenge of taking complex policy ideas and distilling them in ways that are both factually accurate and interesting to external audiences.
  • Planner. You enjoy planning and executing complex processes.
  • Deadline Driven. You are deadline-driven. Making the trains run on time and meeting deadlines are simply part of your DNA.
  • Flexible. You easily maintain a positive, flexible attitude whenever needs or priorities shift.
  • Aligned. You can discuss CEI’s philosophical mission and vision. Please see the CEI website, cei.org, for a deeper understanding of the organization’s policy agenda.

To Apply

Qualified candidates should submit the following application materials in one PDF document:

  • Cover letter detailing your interest in and qualifications for this position
    • Resume
    • Writing sample(s)
    • Three professional and/or personal references

Applications should be submitted to: [email protected]