Director of Events

About the role

The College of Business is seeking a Director of Events. This is a full-time (1.00 FTE), 12-month, professional faculty position.

Responsibilities

• Organizes and manages conferences, symposiums, seminars, events, and summits (collectively referred to as “events”) Responsible for planning and overseeing all aspects of event management before, during and after the event.
• Manage fully virtual and hybrid events and meetings. Responsible for managing and executing overall event budget, to include negotiating contracts and pricing for services such as, but not limited to, guest speakers, lodging, transportation, food service, technology needs, rental equipment, and travel arrangements.
• Ensures consistent and proactive communication with all stakeholders, including setting expectations, providing updates, and addressing issues in a timely manner. Acts a representative of the College in all event communications.
• Works with College of Business Information Services to manage electronic event registration and tracking system. Reports on attendance figures and other data for further analysis and potential use in developing programming.
• Works with College of Business Marketing & Communications team to ensure compliance with University and College branding guidelines in all marketing activities. Ensure constituent engagement tracking within CRM Advance (donor information database) as appropriate.
• Develops and enforces procedures and practices to ensure quality and safety standards for events. Develops and maintains an organized, accessible, electronic system of documentation.
• Evaluates event results and outcomes and implements improvements in support of the organizational mission. Provides analysis, data, and reporting to assess the effectiveness of current programs and services and to inform decisions and make recommendations to College leadership.
• Create and implement new strategies to improve and measure the success of programs and events. Evaluates events and programs and conducts analysis for cost-saving measures.
• Evaluates events and programs and conducts analysis for cost-saving measures. Uses event data and outcomes to inform future programming decisions, prioritize resources, and align event strategy with College goals related to recruitment, engagement, and external visibility.
• Supervises a team of one to two professional faculty and a team of student employees. Provides lead work to classified and professional staff within college units as needed in support of event management Establishes clear workflows, expectations, and accountability measures for staff and student employees to ensure consistency and quality in event execution.
• Provides ongoing direction, feedback, and performance management to ensure deadlines and standards are met.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in business, communications, hospitality, marketing, public relations, or related field.
• Seven plus (7+) years of professional experience planning and managing events.
• Demonstrated success in event design.
• Experience managing projects using project management software to coordinate tasks, track progress, and meet deadlines.
• Commitment to promoting inclusive excellence with all audiences.
• Proficiency in software applications including Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, Publisher, and Adobe Acrobat.
• Experience managing multiple, competing assignments simultaneously and working under pressure.
• Experience setting priorities, developing work plans, monitoring progress, and tracking details/data/information.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple concurrent projects with competing deadlines, including strong organizational skills, follow-through, and proactive communication with stakeholders.
• Ability to manage time effectively, both independently and in a team environment.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, utilizing inclusive language and the ability to communicate with tact and diplomacy across diverse cultural boundaries.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to implement creative problem solving and make independent decisions with little to no oversight.
• Ability to maintain professional decorum and show a high level of diplomacy with all students, University employees and stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to provide high-level customer service.