Date Posted: Thursday, Oct. 20
Department: Events and Conferences
Category: Exempt

The Director of Events and Conferences, reporting to the Vice President for Planning and External Relations, provides strategic leadership in the planning and execution of high-quality events and functions. The position ensures that events support the college mission, reinforce the college brand, and reflect campus-wide priorities. The position deploys college property to generate hospitality revenues from external clients.

Essential Functions
Events

• Executes all aspects of large- and small-scale events to the highest degree of excellence through exceptional customer-service and efficiency.
• Develops and maintains strong relationships with college staff and student leaders to facilitate the development of event goals that support their efforts and further the institutional mission.
• Facilitates event planning, including site selection, accessibility, vendor negotiation, pre- and post-event communications, budget management, onsite staffing, permitting, and evaluation.
• Serves as liaison between internal clients and the Office of Marketing and Communications to determine promotional strategies for each event.
• Serves as liaison between internal clients and facilities and dining partners to ensure high quality space and food solutions for events.
• Supports the recruitment, training, and supervision of student event staff.
• Responsible for the selection, implementation, and training of events management software and processes.
• Stays abreast of industry trends and best practices within field of event planning and customer/client service.
• Oversees departmental budget and adherence to institutional purchasing policies.

Conferences

• Maintains existing client base and seeks opportunities to host meetings and conferences of external groups that present a positive image of the college.
• Ensures conference and meeting pricing structures consider and include real costs, including facility and staff impacts.
• Manages the strategic use of college guest housing to facilitate external relations and promotion of college mission.
• Leverages college properties during periods of limited use to generate revenue.

Competencies

• Exceptional organization and attention to detail required.
• Exceptional interpersonal and relationship-building required.
• Strong critical thinking and problem solving required.
• Strong project management and planning required.
• Effective stress management/composure required.
• Effective written and verbal communication required.
• Teamwork orientation required.
• Supervisory and management preferred.

Supervisory Responsibility
This position has no supervisory responsibilities.

Work Environment
Normal office environment where there is no physical discomfort due to temperature, dust, noise, and the like.

Physical Demands
The employee is occasionally required to sit, climb, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must frequently lift or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift or move up to 40 pounds.

Position Type/Expected Hours of Work
This is a full-time position. Days and hours of work are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Evening and weekend work (or other times when the college is otherwise closed) is required as job duties demand.

Travel
Limited travel is expected for this position.

Required Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree (with coursework in event management, hospitality, business, marketing, public relations, communications, or equivalent).
• Three or more years of event/meeting planning or equivalent experience required.

Preferred Education and Experience

• Master’s degree.
• Event planning or meeting professional certification.
• Higher education experience.

Additional Eligibility Qualifications
Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.