— Full-Time Events Manager or Part-Time Support? A Guide for Charities

Events matter to most charities. A gala dinner, a challenge event or a community fun run can raise serious money and bring in supporters who stay for years. But someone has to run them, and deciding how much support you actually need is harder than it sounds. Hire a full-time events manager too early and you've committed to a salary you may struggle to justify. Rely on part-time support for too long and your fundraising team ends up running events on top of their day jobs. This guide helps you decide whether your charity needs a full-time events manager or part-time support, and sets out the options in between. Think about whether you need someone to become part of the team or simply bring in extra expertise around a particular event, as that may help you choose between permanent part-time and freelance support.

Start with your events calendar

The right answer comes from your calendar, not from what other charities do. Before you decide, write down every event you run or want to run in the next 12 months, and for each one note:

• How many weeks of planning it needs
• Who runs it now, and what they're not doing while they run it
• How much it raised, or is expected to raise
• Whether it could raise more with proper attention

This gives you two things: a realistic picture of the workload across the year, and a sense of what events are worth to you.

When a full-time events manager makes sense

A full-time hire is usually the right call when:

• Events run all year. If there's always something in planning or delivery, a part-time role won't keep up.
• Events are a core income stream. When a meaningful share of your fundraising comes from events, it makes sense to have someone focused on them.
• You want to grow. Developing new events, building sponsor relationships and improving what each event raises all take time that can be difficult to fit into a part-time role.
• Your fundraisers are stretched. If your fundraising team is losing weeks to logistics, a dedicated events manager frees them to fundraise.
• The events are complex. Challenge events, large dinners and multi-site events carry real risk, and need someone with the experience to manage it.

When part-time support is enough

Part-time support tends to suit charities where:

• The programme is small. Two or three events a year won't fill a full-time role.
• The workload is seasonal. If everything builds to one big event, you need a lot of help for a few months and very little after.
• The events are well established. A long-running event with a proven plan needs delivering, not reinventing.
• Budget is tight. A part-time role lets you bring in real events experience at a cost you can sustain.

Part-time doesn't have to mean junior. An experienced events manager working three days a week can often achieve more than a less experienced full-timer.

The options in between

It isn't a straight choice between a full-time manager and a few hours of help. Charities use several models.

• Permanent part-time events manager. A fixed number of days each week, all year. Good for a steady, smaller programme.
• Freelance event manager. Booked for a specific event or season. You pay only for the period you need, and you can bring in a specialist for a particular type of event.
• Fixed-term contract. A full-time or part-time role for a set period, often six to twelve months. Useful for a one-off anniversary year or a new event launch.
• Combined role. Events sits alongside community or corporate fundraising in one job. Common in smaller charities, but be realistic about how much one person can do.
• Coordinator plus senior oversight. A more junior event coordinator delivers the events, supported by a fundraising manager who sets direction.

How to compare the costs

A full-time salary is only part of the picture, so compare like with like.

• Employed roles cost you the salary plus employer costs such as National Insurance and pension contributions.
• Part-time roles are paid pro rata. As an illustration, a role with a full-time salary of £36,000 worked three days a week would pay £21,600.
• Freelancers charge a day rate or project fee. It looks higher per day, but you're not paying for quiet months, holiday or employer costs.

Then think about what the role could add as well as what it costs. If having a dedicated events manager would free up your fundraising team and help you grow event income, a full-time role may be easier to justify. If the workload doesn't support that yet, scale the role to fit. For current pay levels across event roles, see our event industry salary guide.

Questions to ask before you decide

If you're still unsure, work through these with your trustees or senior team.

1. How many events will we run in the next 12 months, and how many weeks of work does each one need?
2. What share of our income comes from events, and what do we want it to be?
3. Who is running events now, and what is it costing us in their time?
4. Do we need someone to deliver existing events, or to develop new ones?
5. Can we commit to a salary for the long term, or do we need flexibility?

If your answers point to a busy, growing, year-round programme, a full-time role may make sense. For a smaller or more seasonal calendar, part-time or freelance support gives you room to see how the programme develops.

How to hire the right person

Whichever route you take, a clear advert will save you time.

• Say what kind of role it is. Put full-time, part-time, fixed-term or freelance in the title or first line, with the days or hours.
• Show the salary. For part-time roles, give the full-time equivalent and the pro rata figure.
• Describe the events. Name the types of event and their scale, so candidates can judge their fit.
• Be open about flexibility. Flexible hours and remote working widen your pool, particularly for part-time roles.

On Events-Jobs.co.uk, charity roles appear in the charity jobs section, where candidates looking specifically for events work in the sector can find them. Ready to hire? Post your event job for free and reach candidates who already work in events.