Assistant Director, Programs and Events

University of Chicago•Chicago, IL

3d•$58,000 - $63,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Rustandy Center’s mission is to advance research, promote innovation, and develop the people and practices to accelerate solving the social problems confronting our world. The Assistant Director, Programs and Events supports the Rustandy Center’s mission by providing end-to-end operational support to our events and programs in order to create engaging and thought-provoking experiences for our students, alumni, and public facing audiences. Responsibilities include project management for staff- and student-led events and programs, event execution support including coordinating staffing, catering, A/V, facilities, and guest speakers as well as collecting and maintaining feedback from events and programs for continual improvement. This position is not eligible for employer-sponsored employment authorization.

Requirements

College or university degree in related field.
Knowledge and skills developed through 2-5 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree.
Event planning, administrative, and/or customer service experience.
Background planning and executing events.
Proficiency with project management software.
Intermediate user of Microsoft Outlook, Google Sheets/Docs, Zoom, and/or Slack.
Survey creation and evaluation experience.
A/V support experience.
Familiar with building or using no-code development tools, particularly Airtable.
Demonstrated project management skills with keen attention to detail.
Interest or experience in process design and improvement.
Strong verbal and written communication skills.
Interest in the Center’s program areas such as social entrepreneurship, business and democracy, impact investing, and/or nonprofit board service.

Responsibilities

Provides project management support to Rustandy Center program owners through regular check-ins and tracking progress of events and programs using project management software. Programs supported may include but are not exclusive to the Edwardson Social New Venture Challenge, Edwardson Civic Scholars Program, Impact Investing competitions, Civic Chicago , and the suite of nonprofit leadership programs, and public thought leadership events showcasing academic research, as well as leading planning for the center’s annual advisory council meeting and special events like the celebratory dinner for supporters of the Center.
Supports pre-event logistics for Rustandy Center events, including securing dates within the Center’s programming calendar, booking appropriate space at the Harper Center and other Booth venues, ordering catering, coordinating event setup, and coordinating staffing across the Rustandy program team. This includes the Center’s recurring signature events such as the Edwardson Social New Venture Challenge, the annual advisory council meeting, a celebratory dinner for supporters of the Center, and the Polsky/Rustandy Open House.
Oversees day-of logistics for Rustandy Center events and programs, including room set-up, A/V and IT setup/coordination, registration, and catering. Programs supported include the Edwardson Social New Venture Challenge, the Center’s impact investing competitions including the Turner MIINT program, Civic Leadership convenings, and public thought leadership programs showcasing Rustandy-affiliated faculty research.
Assists with post-event evaluation for Rustandy Center programs, including collecting, maintaining, and interpreting participant and staff feedback through survey distribution, 1:1 interviews, and/or focus groups, and providing that feedback to Rustandy program owners and center leadership to inform future program design.
Maintains and coordinates the Rustandy Center program team’s event calendar, sequencing the Center’s student, alumni, and public-facing programs across the academic year and preventing conflicts within the wider Chicago Booth network.
Maintains and supports Rustandy program staff in the use of the Center’s event management processes and tools, including the Center’s event management platform, the Rustandy program team’s Airtable environment, and the team’s usage of an internal CRM system.
Provides select course support for Rustandy Center supported classes, including Social Impact Lab, Perspectives on Capitalism, and Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation, such as putting together speaker gifts, securing parking for guest speakers and Executives in Residence, and coordinating printing needs.
Provides end-to-end event support for the Center conferences including pre-event planning and vendor coordination, speaker and attendee logistics, on-site execution across multi-day programming, and post-conference evaluation.
Uses moderate/solid understanding and experience to administer the delivery of services to program participants and/or beneficiaries.
Analyzes program budgets and recommends or makes budgetary recommendations.
Performs other related work as needed.