Assistant Director of Conferences and Events

University of Pennsylvania•Williamsburg, VA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The University of Pennsylvania, the largest private employer in Philadelphia, is a world-renowned leader in education, research, and innovation. This historic, Ivy League school consistently ranks among the top 10 universities in the annual U.S. News & World Report survey. Penn has 12 highly-regarded schools that provide opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and continuing education, all influenced by Penn’s distinctive interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and learning. As an employer Penn has been ranked nationally on many occasions with the most recent award from Forbes who named Penn one of America’s Best Large Employers in 2023. Penn offers a unique working environment within the city of Philadelphia. The University is situated on a beautiful urban campus, with easy access to a range of educational, cultural, and recreational activities. With its historical significance and landmarks, lively cultural offerings, and wide variety of atmospheres, Philadelphia is the perfect place to call home for work and play. The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School is one of the nation’s oldest and most distinguished law schools. The School offers a unique approach, incorporating cross-disciplinary legal education and a distinctly collaborative environment that enrich student learning and enhance scholarly depth and breadth. The resulting intellectual opportunities and renowned internal culture make the Law School an extraordinarily supportive academic community for its scholars and students alike. The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School has a high caliber, extremely productive law faculty. Our faculty teaching and research is at the forefront of important societal issues. We support this by bringing scholars, practitioners, and students to the Law School for a host of world-class events. The Assistant Director of Conferences and Events is an integral collaborator on important faculty conferences, colloquia, symposia, meetings, and events. The Assistant Director plays a critical role in directing, managing, and overseeing the array of events hosted each year by Penn Carey Law, its faculty, departments, and students.

Requirements

B.A. or B.S. required
Three to five years of increasing programming responsibility.
Portfolio of creative, innovative, exciting work, demonstrating the ability to design and implement, from start to finish, a wide variety of events.
High technical competence and ability to learn software(s) quickly.
Established track record as collaborator in the workplace, within the immediate department and within a larger institution.
Demonstrated ability to conceptualize and execute both large and small events.
Experience working with various constituencies including vendors and caterers, facilities management, high-level administrators, and others.
Must be available to work occasional weekends and/or after regular business hours and travel for events, as needed.

Nice To Haves

Experience with Cvent preferred.
Some management experience preferred.

Responsibilities

Ensure that systems for the management and logistical execution of a wide array of events, conferences, symposia, and activities at Penn Carey Law are developed, communicated, and executed.
Ensure that these systems are effective for in-person, hybrid, and virtual events.
Handle logistics for multiple events simultaneously.
Serve as a knowledge expert in software designed to implement faculty events (currently Cvent).
Assist Director of Conferences and Events with high level Law School events such as the Distinguished Lecture Series, annual Graduation proceedings, and other events as assigned.
Working with colleagues in the Registrar’s Office (academic calendaring), Student Affairs (student events calendaring), and the Facilities Office (departmental and external calendaring), ensure coordination and communication of the Penn Carey Law events calendar.
Develop reports on events; establish and maintain data sources to ensure accurate reflection of events, staff time, dollars spent, audience participation, etc.
Manage the logistics and implementation of a variety of Law School events.
Develop all pre-event systems and processes, including invitation, website, rsvp management, materials creation, etc.
Organize travel and hotel reservations for guests participating in assigned portfolio of events.
Develop and implement systems for making hotel block reservations and individual reservations for attendees at faculty conferences and events.
Staff conferences and symposia; prepare and distribute agendas, invitations, and other materials, publish information to web sites, manage reservation lists, prepare materials for the day of the event.
Staff registration tables and troubleshoot on the day of the event.
Perform event follow up, including running reports, ensuring vendor payments and guest reimbursements.
Collaborate with event partners inside and outside of the Law School, including event co-sponsors and local, national, and international event vendors.
With the Director, establish staffing assignments across a host of in-person, virtual, and hybrid events.
With the Director, ensure clear collaboration with the Facilities Department, the Registrar’s Office, the IT Department, and Student Affairs.
Provide training within the department and broader Law School community on event management best practices and industry standards.
Support Conferences and Events colleagues as needed; serve as team lead in the absence of the Director.
Other duties and responsibilities as assigned.

Benefits

Penn offers comprehensive medical, prescription, behavioral health, dental, vision, and life insurance benefits to protect you and your family’s health and welfare.
You can also use flexible spending accounts to pay for eligible health care and dependent care expenses with pre-tax dollars.
Take advantage of Penn's exceptional tuition benefits. You, your spouse, and your dependent children can get tuition assistance here at Penn. Your dependent children are also eligible for tuition assistance at other institutions.
Penn offers generous retirement plans to help you save for your future. Penn’s Basic, Matching, and Supplemental retirement plans allow you to save for retirement on a pre-tax or Roth basis. Choose from a wide variety of investment options through TIAA and Vanguard.
Penn provides you with a substantial amount of time away from work during the course of the year. This allows you to relax, take vacations, attend to personal affairs, recover from illness or injury, spend time with family—whatever your personal needs may be.
In partnership with Genworth Financial, Penn offers faculty and staff (and your eligible family members) long-term care insurance to help you cover some of the costs of long-term care services received at home, in the community or in a nursing facility. If you apply when you’re newly hired, you won’t have to provide proof of good health or be subject to underwriting requirements. Eligible family members must always provide proof of good health and are subject to underwriting.
Penn is committed to supporting our faculty and staff as they balance the competing demands of work and personal life. That’s why we offer a wide variety of programs and resources to help you care for your health, your family, and your work-life balance.
Penn provides an array of resources to help you advance yourself personally and professionally.
As a member of the Penn community, you have access to a wide range of University resources as well as cultural and recreational activities. Take advantage of the University’s libraries and athletic facilities, or visit our arboretum and art galleries. There’s always something going on at Penn, whether it’s a new exhibit at the Penn Museum, the latest music or theater presentation at the Annenberg Center, or the Penn Relays at Franklin Field to name just a few examples. As a member of the Penn community, you’re right in the middle of the excitement—and you and your family can enjoy many of these activities for free.
From arts and entertainment to transportation and mortgages, you'll find great deals for University faculty and staff. Not only do Penn arts and cultural centers and museums offer free and discounted admission and memberships to faculty and staff. You can also enjoy substantial savings on other goods and services such as new cars from Ford and General Motors, cellular phone service plans, movie tickets, and admission to theme parks.
Flexible work options offer creative approaches for completing work while promoting balance between work and personal commitments. These approaches involve use of non-traditional work hours, locations, and/or job structures.
Penn offers a forgivable loan for eligible employees interested in buying a home or currently residing in West Philadelphia, which can be used for closing costs or home improvements.
Penn will reimburse eligible employees on qualified expenses in connection with the legal adoption of an eligible child, such as travel or court fees, for up to two adoptions in your household.