Associate Director of Student Life Events, Wharton School

University of Pennsylvania•Philadelphia, PA

66d•Hybrid

About The Position

Founded in 1881 as the world’s first collegiate business school, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is shaping the future of business by incubating ideas, driving insights, and creating leaders who change the world. With campuses in both Philadelphia and San Francisco, Wharton has over 850 staff, a faculty population of more than 235 renowned professors, and 5,000 undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, and doctoral students. Each year 13,000 professionals from around the world advance their careers through Wharton Executive Education’s individual, company-customized, and online programs. More than 104,000 Wharton alumni form a powerful global network of leaders who transform business every day. Wharton is home to a diverse population of staff, representing a rich array of backgrounds, expertise, and cultures. To learn more, visit www.wharton.upenn.edu The Associate Director of MBA Student Life designs and implements comprehensive, inclusive, and engaging extra-curricular programming for over 1,600 Wharton MBA students. Reporting to the Senior Associate Director of Student Life, the Associate Director leads the planning, coordination, and execution of all departmental events, student-led conferences, and major co-curricular initiatives. This role serves as the primary liaison to Wharton Events and collaborates extensively with colleagues across the Graduate Division and the broader School on large-scale, high-profile programs such as Welcome to Wharton, Preterm, Graduation, and school-wide celebrations. The Associate Director provides logistical leadership and strategic direction for event execution, ensuring seamless coordination across multiple stakeholders and units. Responsibilities include overseeing event operations from concept to completion, including venue selection, vendor management, risk and compliance, budgeting, and on-site logistics. The Associate Director also develops planning resources and best practices for student leaders, ensuring consistent quality and alignment with institutional priorities. The role emphasizes strategic event planning, relationship management, and data-driven decision-making to enhance student engagement and ensure operational excellence. This position offers a hybrid work arrangement, balancing onsite and remote work.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required; master’s degree in Higher Education, Student Affairs, or related field strongly preferred.
5–7 years of progressively responsible experience in student life, event management, or a related field, ideally within a higher education setting.
Demonstrated expertise in student engagement, including the development of inclusive extra-curricular programs and advising student organizations on club operations, leadership development, and governance.
Extensive experience in collaborating with diverse stakeholders—including students, staff, faculty, vendors, and institutional partners—to successfully plan and execute high-quality events and programs.
Proven ability to advise students on event planning best practices, including risk management, budget planning, compliance, vendor coordination, and post-event assessment.
Comprehensive knowledge of all aspects of event planning and execution, from strategy and logistics to on-site management and evaluation.
Strong project management, interpersonal, and communication skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and work effectively under pressure in a fast-paced environment.
Ability to work both independently and as part of a collaborative team, exercising sound judgment, initiative, and professionalism.
Familiarity with event management platforms, project tracking tools, and data-informed decision-making.
Evening and weekend work required, along with some travel to support key student programs and events.

Nice To Haves

master’s degree in Higher Education, Student Affairs, or related field strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

overseeing event operations from concept to completion, including venue selection, vendor management, risk and compliance, budgeting, and on-site logistics
develops planning resources and best practices for student leaders, ensuring consistent quality and alignment with institutional priorities
strategic event planning
relationship management
data-driven decision-making to enhance student engagement and ensure operational excellence

Benefits

Health, Life, and Flexible Spending Accounts: 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.
Tuition: 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.
Retirement: 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.
Time Away from Work: 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.
Long-Term Care Insurance: 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.
Wellness and Work-life Resources: 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.
Professional and Personal Development: Penn provides an array of resources to help you advance yourself personally and professionally.
University Resources: 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.
Discounts and Special Services: 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 Hours: 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 Home Ownership Services: 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.
Adoption Assistance: 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.