Partnership Success Event Specialist

Career Stage: Specialist

Organization Summary

Upstream USA is a fast-growing, national nonprofit working to expand opportunity by reducing unplanned pregnancy across the U.S. We envision a future where patient-centered contraceptive care is an integral part of primary care in all settings, for all people. In this future, patients are screened for their contraceptive needs; are offered patient-centered contraceptive counseling, free from bias and coercion, provided by knowledgeable providers and support staff following evidence-based guidelines; and can receive any contraceptive method of their choosing, during the same visit if they want, without logistical barriers.

Upstream promotes health equity by partnering with health centers to provide training and technical assistance to increase access to contraception, and address disparities and biases in contraceptive care. Surveys of patients getting care at Upstream-trained health centers consistently show that patients feel listened to, heard, and are able to access the contraceptive method of their choice. Our work empowers patients to decide if and when they want to become pregnant, a critical step towards improving maternal health, as well as positive outcomes for parents, children, and their families.

Upstream is growing rapidly and is well positioned for national scale and impact. After launching our program in Delaware in 2014, we have since partnered with health centers in Washington state, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Texas, Mississippi and Missouri. By 2023, Upstream will have partnered with health centers that serve over one million women of reproductive age annually across these states and more. Our work has been independently evaluated and has led to significant changes, including a 25% reduction in unplanned pregnancies in Delaware in just three years.

Upstream is funded primarily through philanthropic individuals and foundations, and does not accept funding from pharmaceutical companies. Upstream’s budget has grown from $1.7 million just four years ago to approximately $40 million in 2022. Upstream’s work has also garnered attention from many leading publications including The New York Times, Washington Post, The Atlantic, CNN, Vox, Forbes, and Marie Claire.

Position Summary

The Partnership Success Event Specialist will join a new function within Upstream that accelerates the brand awareness of Upstream to our potential health center partners. To date, networking and presenting at conferences has been an effective means of engaging with health center leaders and securing new partners. As Upstream looks to grow over the coming years, we are increasing our presence at conferences and related events, and  our Partnership Success Event Specialist will play a central role in the success of this strategy.

In this inaugural role, our Event Specialist will be responsible for providing logistics support for Upstream’s attendance at 25+ conferences annually, including travel to 12-15 of the conferences for on-the-ground event support. Our Event Specialist will need to combine their previous experience in event planning and service-orientation to work cross-functionally to support the partnership/sales teams that present Upstream at these external events. This role will report to the Director of Partnership Success.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities 

Provide logistics support for the 25+ conferences that Upstream team members will attend annually. This includes:

• Pre-conference planning and preparation
  • Conduct research on conferences and events that Upstream should consider building a presence at.
  • Facilitate overall, cross-functional conference planning and evaluation (2x yearly)
  • Coordinate cross-functional teams who are attending each conference to ensure there is clarity on the goals, roles, and plan for each event
  • Maintain centralized conference tracker and calendar; ensuring that applications to present are submitted on time.
  • Ensuring teams who are presenting at conferences have the right marketing materials and are prepared to speak (e.g., posters, handouts, slide decks); working with the Partnership Success team to create or update materials as needed.
  • Ordering, shipping and tracking swag.
• During the conference execution
  • This role includes 30-40% travel to attend 12-15 of the conferences in person.
  • Supporting set up of exhibit booths.
  • Staffing conference exhibit booths and representing Upstream to external audiences.
  • For conferences where Upstream has a significant presence and/ or is hosting an event (e.g., a side dinner or happy hour), managing the event logistics
• Post-conference follow up / debrief
  • Assessing the effectiveness of each conference and making recommendations for improvements.

In addition to conferences, this role will also support the content planning and logistics for Upstream’s 8-10 virtual webinars annually.  

Required, Experience, Knowledge, Skills and Ability

Upstream celebrates and fosters an inclusive work environment and encourages people of all identities, perspectives and backgrounds to apply. 

• Minimum of 4 years of professional experience, mostly in event planning / logistics. Sales/partnership or marketing experience is also relevant.
• Strong project management ability with experience managing up and managing multi-faceted project plans to completion.
• Strong communication skills and presence to represent Upstream to audiences who are new potential partners.
• Possesses excellent interpersonal skills. Builds and maintains positive, productive relationships with colleagues. Customer service oriented (internal colleagues as their customers).
• Demonstrated ability to operate with a high-degree of self-motivation, focus on goals, and commitment to high-quality work.
• Thrives in an environment of continuous feedback and is skilled at both giving and receiving feedback in a timely manner.
• Commitment to Upstream’s mission and to mission driven work.
• Proficiency with Google and Microsoft Suites.
• Sense of humor.
• Upstream USA’s COVID-19 Vaccine Policy requires employees to have completed a COVID-19 vaccine primary series unless a medical or religious exemption is approved. As a condition of employment, newly hired employees must provide proof of their COVID-19 vaccination or, if applicable, request a medical or religious exemption.
• All Upstreamers must also be able to attend work-related in-person meetings and functions as needed.
• All Upstreamers must also be able to attend work-related in-person meetings and functions as needed.
• In our hybrid work environments, there is a basic expectation that our Upstreamers will ensure that their work from home setups will have reliable access to phone and Internet to ensure connectivity to their teams.
• At Upstream we gather for moments that matter for training, teaming and connection. Our teams come together for occasional in person meetings and organizational retreats. As part of our hybrid work practices, this travel expectation will be applicable for all Upstreamers, even those based remotely.

Travel Requirements

This role will require up to 30-40% of business travel. All Upstreamers can expect a minimum of 8 days of business travel per year to attend two annual organizational retreats and two annual team/department meetings.

Upstream Benefits

Upstream USA offers a comprehensive benefit package including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, long and short term disability, 401K with a match, generous vacation, personal, sick and holiday time off, parental leave, professional development and a fitness and cell phone allowance for all full time employees and part time employees who work a minimum of 24 hours per week.  

Hiring  Range

The hiring range for this role is $68,784 to $97,297.20. Final offers for this position will be based upon several factors including the scope of the role, market compensation analysis, position requirements, candidate’s experience level and capabilities, specific candidate geographic location, internal pay equity considerations and will be made within the parameters of Upstream USA's compensation framework and philosophy.

Hiring Process

Candidates who advance in our preliminary review process will have an opportunity to discuss the position, their employment background and lived experience with a member of our talent acquisition team by telephone. Those who advance to subsequent steps in our interview process may participate in up to three rounds of meetings by Zoom or in person and in a thought exercise/case study assignment. Each round could consist of multiple meetings with various Upstreamers.

Upstream Careers

At Upstream, we embrace diversity. We nurture it and we thrive on it because it benefits our organization, our partners, and our community. Our goal is to attract, develop and retain exceptional people, and to create a work environment that is dynamic, rewarding and enables each of us to realize our potential.  Upstream is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, genetic information, gender identity or Veteran status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know. Learn more  about working at Upstream, our values, and our commitment to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. Upstream USA participates in E-Verify.

Upstream Headquarters

2 Oliver Street, Suite 402, Boston, MA 02109

www.upstream.org

No phone calls please.

Be advised that we do not ever conduct hiring interviews via text or email. Please protect yourself by learning more about our hiring practices and common red flags to look out for.