Position Summary: We seek a high-energy, detailed oriented conference planner to manage the execution of our annual conference (June 20-21, 2019). The conference planner will be responsible for developing and executing, a well-organized conference within budget. The ideal candidate is friendly, organized, energetic, and positive. The position reports to the Director, Operations.
Contract Time Frame: April 1-July 31, 2019
Specific duties include:
- Lead event planning and execution of HxA 2019 Annual Conference.
- Coordinate vendor contracts, walk-throughs, and ensure adherence to deadlines and agreements.
- Manage event registrations, payments, invitations, speaker details, etc.
- Maintain up-to-date and accurate information regarding participation, materials, FAQs, fees, costs, etc.
- Organize speaker participation including invitation, confirmation, travel logistics, lodging, session prep, and reimbursements.
- Ensure timeline and deadlines are communicated to leadership team members; assisting leadership team members in meeting deadlines by providing context, guidance, and reminders.
- Verify the accuracy of all meeting-related invoices, and forward to Director for review.
- Responsible for auditing lodging room block usage and ensuring that all attrition deadlines are met.
- Prep leadership team and assistance staff on day of logistics and assignments.
- Maintain planning strategy including timeline for material and collateral production, staffing plan, communications schedule, and relevant deadlines for internal and external vendors.
- Administer post-conference assessment to measure attendee satisfaction and create a post-conference report communicating ROI, goal achievements, and key takeaways from data.
- Other event planning duties as required.
Required Qualifications:
- Work well under pressure; ability to prioritize and have exceptional time-management skills.
- Maintain professional phone and email etiquette.
- Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite and Google Suite for Business, Asana (or similar project management tool), and Salesforce (or similar CRM database).
- Service-oriented and team player; display positive “can-do” attitude.
- Ability to handle sensitive information with a high level of confidentiality and discretion.
- Ability to multitask in a fast-paced environment.
- Keen attention to detail.
- Bachelor’s degree, or any combination of education, training and experience that provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities.
- Minimum 5-7 years of experience producing events, including hands-on experience overseeing and producing core conference logistics, such as catering, meeting space, housing, AV production, etc. for events with at minimum 350 attendees.
- Understand event industry norms such as:
- Venue contracting
- Housing room blocks, shoulder dates, cumulative blocks, and attrition.
- Catering food and beverage minimums
- Vendor management
- Run of show and agenda planning
- Ability to drive large programs/teams and ability to present to executive management.
- Possess expert judgement and ability to make sound decisions within gray areas.
- Budget management experience with direct financial responsibility, ownership, and accountability to others. At the senior manager level, budget experience should be at-or-over $300K.
- Ability to successfully manage all elements within time-limits and budget.
- Prior work in the academic world and/or a non-profit organization a plus.
Knowledge, Skills, and Dispositions: You would be a good fit for our team if the following attributes describe you:
Political tolerance and flexibility. We don’t care what your politics are, but you must be able to respect and advocate for the inclusion of progressive, conservative, and libertarian, ideas and scholars.
- Excellent organizational skills, including the ability to effectively track the status of ongoing projects and find needed documents and information quickly. Ability to independently organize, plan, prioritize, and carry out responsibilities, and to finish tasks by established deadlines.
- Excellent interpersonal skills. Personal integrity, professionalism, empathy, resourcefulness, and a commitment to high standards of work quality and maintaining confidentiality.
- Persistent and creative problem-solver and opportunity-seeker. The willingness/ability to anticipate problems, seek out information, and show persistence in finding solutions. We are a young organization with incredible potential to create positive change on college campuses. We seek an entrepreneurial colleague who can help us realize our potential.
- Excellent oral and written communication skills. Demonstrated ability to write clearly and powerfully; to edit and proofread; and to ensure high-quality, high-impact work.
This temporary, at-will position, starts immediately. While most hours will be scheduled during the work week, there will be a great deal of flexibility in when, where, and how you work. Evening or weekend hours may be required to support events, particularly in the days surrounding the Annual Conference.
Reports To: Director, Operations
Direct Reports: N/A
Location: New York City (SoHo)
To apply for this position, please submit a cover letter and resume/CV. Applications received by March 8, 2019, will receive full consideration.
About the Organization: Heterodox Academy (HxA) is a NYC-based non-profit organization dedicated to improving research and education in universities by increasing viewpoint diversity, mutual understanding, and constructive disagreement. We increase public awareness to elevate the importance of these issues on campus; develop tools that professors, administrators, and others can deploy to assess and then improve their campus and disciplinary cultures; celebrate institutions that make progress on these matters; and cultivate communities of practice among teachers, researchers, and administrators. For more information about HxA, please visit heterodoxacademy.org