Associate Director of Meetings and Events
Job Title: Associate Director of Meetings and Events
Date: May 1, 2023
Department: Meeting and Events
Supervisor: Director of Meetings and Events
FLSA Status: Exempt
Supervisory: No direct supervision
The Associate Director of Meetings and Events plans, organizes, and executes in-person, hybrid, and virtual events and meetings for assigned HLC events. The Associate Director works closely with Member Education and Training on event delivery and serves as an essential team member in the planning and execution of the annual conference.
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Collaborates with internal stakeholders to assess and understand needs for programs and events
- Prepares event-specific budgets, anticipating costs of technical and logistical needs, adhering to the overall budget for each event
- Manages event logistics forlargely an in-person portfolio ofHLC meetings and events including, but not limited to:
- Sourcing
- Negotiating hotel and vendor contracts
- Managing event pre-registration (including site-building and testing)
- Tracking and managing housing
- Creating meeting specifications and run-of-show
- Determining food and beverage needs and approving event orders
- Diagramming floor plans
- Determining signage needs
- Ordering audio-visual equipment and services
- Arranging ground transportation and shipping
- Serving as primary point of contact for vendor/venue contacts
- Provides timely and relevant updates to program managers and team on key milestones and deadlines to allow for seamless planning of assigned HLC events
- Travels to events and manages all event details including, but not limited to:
- Conducting pre-conference operations meetings
- Walk-throughs and/or simulations
- Supervising room setups
- Managing on-site registration desk
- Managing food and beverage events
- Implementing the signage plan
- Troubleshooting any on-site venue-related issues
- Monitoring expenses
- Serves as on-site or virtual logistics support for HLC staff, VIPs, event facility staff, and vendors; manages participant experience on-site, addressing any needs or concerns
- Performs post-event analysis and leads post-event department meeting with Member Education and Training
- Tracks meeting/event expenses, reconciles invoices, and finalizes event billing
- Tracks meeting/event details for historical purposes, including event participation numbers, registration trends, housing pickup numbers, on-site consumption, and other meeting/event details
- Tracks event pricing across preferred venues; prepares event pricing sheet for the Budget committee's January meeting
- Assists the Vice President of Education, Training, and Events, the Director of Meetings and Events, and the Annual Conference committee with the development and delivery of the annual conference, including managing all F&B and staffing for the conference
- Collaborates with team members and other departments to ensure that all events achieve organizational and financial goals
- Collaborates with the ETE team in evaluating and improving processes, templates, or other assigned responsibilities
- Collaborates with others across the office to assure alignment with other HLC processes
- Plans, organizes, and executes HLC's annual holiday party
- Manages ETE signage and inventory of promotional items and supplies as needed
- Pursues the acquisition of knowledge related to the meetings and events industry
- Interacts with internal and external stakeholders as required
- Maintains technology skills needed for the position and adapts to technology changes as required
- Participates in HLC meetings and committees as required
- Participates in orientation and training of staff
- Provides backup to others on team as assigned
- Performs other duties as assigned
- Bachelor's degree required
- CMP required
- Five to seven years of relevant work experience in planning and hosting in-person meetings and events; experience with virtual and hybrid meetings and events preferred
- Experience negotiating contracts required
- Experience with large conferences and tradeshows preferred
- Experience in higher education preferred
- Familiarity with best business practices and trends in the hospitality and meeting planning industry
- Experience with virtual platforms such as Zoom, Teams, and GoToWebinar
- Proven track record at effectively managing event production schedules to successfully plan and actualize live, virtual, and multi-channel events
- High degree of experience with standard office software and meeting planning technology
- Experience with event registration software required
- Experience with project management and content management software preferred
- Technical and professional skills in management as well as strong organizational, problem-solving, and communication skills
- Strong interpersonal and collaborative skills required to give direction and guidance to individuals involved in event/meeting planning assignments
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Strong time management and organizational skills
- Demonstrated ability to work well under pressure and meet deadlines
- Demonstrated ability to manage multiple events at once and handle changing priorities
- High level of discretion, ability to handle sensitive information required
- Willingness to travel for events, including overnight trips (25%) * Must be able to regularly attend in person events in Chicago area and routinely work in the HLC office and offsite events, including with short notice
To Apply
Submit cover letter and resume to MeetingsPosition@hlcommission.org. Electronic submissions in a single PDF file are preferred. Please do not call or email to inquire about the position. More information is available in the position description.
The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is the largest accrediting agency in the United States, serving approximately 1,000 member colleges and universities. HLC has approximately 60 employees. HLC offers a rich benefits package: The HLC office is closed the week of Dec. 24-Jan. 1, employer contribution of 10% of base salary to a retirement plan, and 20 vacation days.
HLC is a hybrid work environment. In general, employees are expected to work in the HLC office on an occasional basis.
HLC is an equal opportunity employer. If you may require reasonable accommodations in completing this application, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please direct your inquiries to hr@hlcommission.org.