Events Manager

About The OrganizationReFED is a U.S.-based nonprofit working to catalyze the food system to take evidence-based action to stop wasting food. We do this by cultivating and convening the food community, delivering actionable evidence and insights, and seeding and accelerating food waste solutions. Starting with the 2016 Roadmap to Reduce U.S. Food Waste, ReFED has produced first-of-their-kind tools and resources, providing a full-supply-chain picture of U.S. food waste, cost-effective solutions to reduce it, and methods to track progress. In 2021, ReFED launched the Insights Engine, an online data center serving as the next generation of data, insights, and guidance on U.S. food waste reduction. Reducing food waste will have a significant impact on mitigating climate change, optimizing the use of water, land, and other resources, and providing meals for the over 47 million people in the United States who currently face food insecurity. We are continuing to grow our team to further build our capacity to achieve our vision of a sustainable, resilient, and inclusive food system that makes the best use of the food we grow.
We are a team of doers, and we get a lot accomplished. We create outsized impact, and everyone on the team contributes to accomplishing our shared goals. Learning and professional development are heavily embedded in ReFED’s culture. We promote cross-functional work to embrace diverse perspectives, experiences, and skills to ensure we are an inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you are excited about this role but your experience does not align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.   
Learn more at www.refed.org. 

The Events Manager, working remotely and reporting to ReFED’s Director of Community Engagement, will be responsible for leading overall project management, operational planning, and execution for ReFED’s annual Food Waste Solutions Summit. The Manager will also be responsible for developing and overseeing a cohesive event strategy for ReFED’s virtual and in-person events, including Food Waste Action Network (FWAN) events, webinars, Food Waste Funder Circle (FWFC) events, current and potential funder events, and more. Total responsibilities will span approximately one large ~750-person event, 3-5 smaller in-person events, and multiple webinars each year. The Manager will be working closely with ReFED’s programmatic, communications, development, and operations teams, as well as managing external contractors and vendors to coordinate and lead some of these events. 
Jacquelyn Chi is the hiring manager for this position. Applications must be received by October 24, 2025, to be fully considered.

Key Responsibilities & Duties

• This position is expected to fulfill the following responsibilities and duties, as well as responsibilities and duties that may be assigned during the course of employment such that they are aligned with the job purpose. 


• Execute ReFED’s annual Food Waste Solutions Summit (65%)
• In partnership with the Director of Community Engagement, lead overall event project plan for ReFED’s annual Food Waste Solutions Summit, including operational logistics and vendor management.
• Manage internal administrative and cross-functional support and external contractors and vendors to fulfill Summit and other event logistics needs, such as event production and F&B, communications and marketing, registration, exhibitor management, etc.
• Manage all aspects of sourcing, contracting, and coordinating with the Summit venue on event logistics, including implementing food waste mitigation and other sustainability practices wherever possible.
• Work with the Manager of Development to execute Summit sponsor benefits and logistics.


• Event Strategy & Support (35%)
• Engage with the ReFED team and key stakeholders to determine strategy, principles and goals for ReFED events, as well as relevant opportunities to launch new events.
• Create and manage organization-wide strategy, processes, tools, and resources to support event planning, production, retrospectives, and impact tracking.
• Support the development and lead technical execution of FWAN, FWFC, and other programmatic events, including but not limited to speaker prep call facilitation, technology, day of event logistics, etc.
• Support ReFED team and external partners in executing project-specific events, such as partnership convening, webinar series, pitch events, external exhibiting opportunities, etc.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of demonstrated event planning or event management experience, including experience running large-scale educational conferences or summits with 500-1,000 attendees, multiple mainstage and