Senior Director, Student Union & Event Services (Internal Posting)

About the role

The Senior Director of the Student Union and Event Services provides executive leadership and strategic direction for a comprehensive, 220,000+ square foot, multi-tenant student union facility located in the core of the Storrs campus. The Student Union serves as a central hub for student engagement, co-curricular learning, expressive activity, campus events, and community interaction, supporting a complex environment that includes meeting and event spaces, student organization offices, cultural and affinity spaces, dining and retail operations, audiovisual and technology services, student media spaces, and institutionally significant public gathering areas.

Responsibilities

• Provide executive leadership and strategic direction for Student Union and Event Services, including Facility Operations and Building Services, Event Services, Business and Retail Services, Audiovisual and Technology Services, and associated campus space management operations.
• Oversee the day-to-day operations of a high-volume, multi-tenant student union facility and associated event and campus spaces, ensuring safe, accessible, welcoming, and effective environments that support student engagement, co-curricular learning, and institutional operations.
• Direct and steward an operating budget of $4 million annually, supporting facility operations, staffing, building maintenance, technology, and operational services, ensuring alignment between fiscal planning, operational priorities, long-term sustainability, and institutional goals.
• Provide leadership and supervision for full-time staff, unionized employees, graduate assistants, and student employees within a layered organizational structure operating in a collective bargaining environment.
• Lead organizational development, staffing structure planning, and operational alignment efforts that support departmental effectiveness, continuity of operations, student support, and evolving institutional needs.
• Establish, implement, and evaluate policies, procedures, operational standards, and service frameworks governing facility use, event operations, outdoor space use, vendor activity, expressive activity, and campus engagement.
• Provide institutional leadership related to campus space use, expressive activity, demonstrations, high-profile events, and complex event activity through coordinated planning and collaboration with university leadership, Public Safety, Emergency Management, Environmental Health and Safety, General Counsel, and other campus stakeholders.
• Serve as the primary liaison to Student Union tenants and campus partners, including but not limited to Student Activities, Cultural Centers, Dining Services, Registered Student Organizations, University Safety, the ID Card Office, retail partners, academic departments, and administrative units.
• Partner with institutional stakeholders, including the Registrar’s Office, Conference Services, University Safety, Environmental Health and Safety, Emergency Management, Facilities Operations, Procurement, General Counsel, regional campuses, UConn Health, and other university units to support coordinated campus operations and institutional event activity.
• Provide leadership for enterprise event and space management systems utilized across the department and broader university environment, supporting operational coordination, scheduling, reporting, workflow development, training, and institutional collaboration.
• Oversee operational planning and coordination for major campus programs, institutional events, outdoor activities, and high-volume engagement initiatives requiring cross-functional planning, logistical coordination, and stakeholder management.
• Advance the integration of student employment, leadership development, learning outcomes, assessment practices, and supervisory frameworks that support student success, transferable skill development, and student employment as a high-impact practice.
• Lead assessment, evaluation, and continuous improvement initiatives related to departmental services, operational effectiveness, facility utilization, customer experience, student engagement, and organizational performance.
• Serve as a member of the University emergency operations structure and institutional response efforts as needed.
• Serve on university committees and participate in institutional planning, governance, and cross-divisional initiatives as appropriate.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Higher Education, Student Affairs, Counseling, Business, Communication, Public Administration, or a related field.
• Seven years of progressively responsible professional experience in higher education, student affairs, student union operations, event services, campus operations, or related environments, including leadership, supervision, fiscal management, and organizational administration responsibilities.
• Demonstrated experience leading complex operational environments involving facilities, events, customer service, staffing, and cross-functional coordination.
• Demonstrated experience with fiscal stewardship, operational planning, and resource management.
• Demonstrated experience supervising full-time staff and student employees.