Senior Manager, Event Stewardship and Protocol

Job Title: Senior Manager, Event Stewardship and Protocol

Department: Events

Location: Hybrid, Washington, D.C.

Reports to: Senior Director, Events

Direct Reports: Yes

Classification: Exempt

Position type: Full-Time Employee

Anticipated Pay Range at Commencement of Employment:: $69,000 - $88,000

Blue Star Families

Blue Star Families is the largest nonprofit dedicated to making military life better for families. Each year, we support over 1.5 million military- and veteran-connected family members through a national network of 300,000+ members and local chapters in communities across the country.

Our mission is simple and bold: We make military life awesome for families.

We listen, share, partner, and act to deliver evidence-based, data-driven solutions that work for real people. We’re a lifestyle organization, a friend and neighbor, and a trusted partner. Our approach is collaborative, human-centered, and designed with the whole family in mind.

A Blue Star Family is one with an immediate family member — a spouse, parent, or child — actively serving in the U.S. Armed Forces, including the Guard and Reserves. These families face unique challenges: frequent relocations, deployments, career disruption, and isolation. We respond with research-informed programs that create connection, build resilience, and foster a true sense of belonging.

We serve with urgency but build trust over time — because change happens at the speed of trust. Whether we’re driving spouse employment, supporting caregivers, or helping communities welcome military families, we strive for upstream solutions.

Who We’re Looking For:

Bold thinkers. Fast movers. Smart collaborators. People who want to build, lead, and drive measurable change — and who care deeply about making an impact that matters.

What You’ll Do Here:

Solve complex challenges with data, heart, and humility

Build cross-sector partnerships that get things done

Help military families feel at home wherever they live

If you're ready to work in a high-performance, mission-driven environment — and to make life better for those who serve — Blue Star Families is where you belong.

General Description

The Senior Manager, Event Stewardship and Protocol is responsible for creating, implementing, and administering a comprehensive program to ensure that key stakeholders (e.g., senior military, donors, government and elected officials, partners, and celebrities), are effectively stewarded and engaged at BSF events. This role encompasses all aspects of stewardship, including creating and managing invitation lists, writing invitations and follow-up correspondence, developing stewardship and engagement plans, and database management for all relevant events ranging in size from 10 to 1,000. The Senior Manager will help to create meaningful and memorable experiences for all stakeholders. This role requires the ability to build and maintain relationships with senior military leaders, congressional staff, government officials, and other influential stakeholders throughout the National Capital Region. Regular in-person meetings, networking engagements, and representation of Blue Star Families within the Washington, D.C. community are essential functions of the position.

Events may include cultivation events, large stakeholder gatherings (e.g., Celebration and annual Stakeholder event), chapter-led events, member events, campaign events (e.g., Do Your Part and Welcome Week), congressional events, and virtual events. The Senior Manager will execute all phases of stewardship and protocol, ensuring that Blue Star Families fulfills its responsibilities while enhancing donor relations and engagement.

This position requires regular in-person engagement within the local Washington D.C. community. In-person community engagement is an essential function of the role and is necessary to support relationship-building, program delivery, event execution, and the successful performance of essential job responsibilities. The individual must reside in and actively engage with the community in Washington D.C.

Periodic overnight travel is an essential function of the role. Team members are required to travel several times per year to attend meetings, trainings, offsites, and events. Attendance and participation in these in-person gatherings are necessary to support collaboration, organizational alignment, and the successful performance of essential job responsibilities.

*The Senior Manager must reside in Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area

Key Job Functions

Oversee the daily operations of stewardship activities, including appropriate military and civilian protocol, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and donor intent.

Manage invitation lists, invitations, follow-up correspondence and database management for all relevant events.

Design, plan, and manage stewardship initiatives to enhance donor relations and engagement.

Develop, cultivate, and maintain professional relationships with senior military leaders, congressional offices, government officials, and other key stakeholders through regular in-person meetings, events, and community engagement activities in the National Capital Region.

Utilize exceptional writing skills to craft communications, reports, and event materials that resonate with stakeholders.

Conduct outreach to engage new and potential stakeholders with Blue Star Families, particularly within government and military sectors.

Assist in creating a smooth stakeholder experience at events, including appropriate on-site engagement and seating arrangements.

Help to create meaningful and memorable experiences for all stakeholders.

Develop and manage comprehensive stewardship reports and events for major donors and stakeholders, highlighting the impact of their contributions.

Produce detailed, centralized impact reports to provide accountability for all funds, aggregating sensitive data from multiple sources, including program outcomes and financial management.

Conceptualize and implement integrated donor relations activities, fostering long-term loyalty through engagement, recognition societies, and stewardship initiatives.

Maintain a high level of accountability, gratitude, and responsiveness to donors, including individuals, corporations, and foundations, while recognizing key segments such as major and estate donors.

Serve as the liaison between the development team and various departments (e.g., finance, program management, executive leadership) for agreements, reporting, and compliance.

Conduct training sessions for development staff and partners to ensure best practices in agreement management, recognition, and stewardship to mitigate risk.

Analyze processes and documentation annually to identify improvements in engagement and stewardship strategies.

Collaborate with team leaders to review data that facilitates informed decision-making regarding stewardship and engagement initiatives.

Identify and implement best practices to align stewardship, engagement, and reporting with national standards and meet donor expectations.

Ensure accurate recording of stewardship requirements in the organization’s database and related systems.

Perform other duties as assigned.

Required Experience, Skills & Background

4-5 years years of related experience in stakeholder stewardship

Extensive experience working with government and military entities, demonstrating a strong understanding of the unique needs and expectations of these stakeholders.

Bachelor’s degree in a related field

Exceptional writing skills, with the ability to convey complex information clearly and compellingly.

Residency in the DC metro area is required to facilitate engagement with local stakeholders and attend events.

Ability to produce high-‐quality work on deadline; comfortable managing multiple projects, priorities and deadlines in a fast-‐paced environment.

Strong attentio