Venue Manager / Live Events Producer

Taoti•Washington, DC

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The job, in short, is to be the primary person responsible for booking and managing events at The 507 (www.The507Events.com), a division of Taoti Creative. The 507 is like a 'business within a business.' Even though Taoti is a full-service marketing agency, we have our own venue space that we rent out for events (and occasionally use for our own events or projects, and your job is to oversee and operate that portion of our business.) This is one of those ‘never a dull moment’ type of roles since live events tend to be very different, dynamic, and hands-on. You will help market, book, and oversee events in our space--from Mitzvahs and Parties to concerts and galas. And everything in between. Occasionally, you may help manage other events that we produce outside of our venue (such as community events put on by EventsDC, various non-profit conferences, DC Lottery brand activations, etc.) The ‘how’ of the role is a bit all over the place given the very different needs of our clients. Some examples of events that you might help plan and produce: A fundraising gala for a school in our upstairs “lounge” space at The 507 A conference for a trade association in our downstairs “event hall” space at The 507 Bar mitzvahs, weddings, parties, and other social events (also usually in our space) Brand activations at The Wharf or in Georgetown A DC Lottery giveaway at Audi Field (Soccer stadium) Holiday events at the DC Convention Center (or other DC venues in the District) Family fun days at the “Fields at RFK” complex Interactive events, like “Sip and Paint” or “Culinary Classes” or “Wine Tastings,” etc. Really, the sky is the limit. And your role will vary as much as the events do. Sometimes you may just give tours of our space to interested parties and rent the space ‘cold and empty’ if that’s all they want. Other times, you may go into full-blown event-planner/producer mode in helping to figure out the event theme, run-of-show, catering selections, décor, etc.) Like most live event roles, you’ll need to be both ‘big picture’ when it comes to concepting and event planning, but also ‘in the weeds’ when it comes to actually managing the event and dealing with the minutia that inevitably pops up once things get going. You’ll need to be uber-resourceful in figuring out how to problem-solve on the spot, despite whatever the challenges may be. You’ll need to be mindful of budgets, timelines, personalities, and juggle multiple parties (customers, vendors, caterers, etc.) Being super organized is of course a must. But what makes you great at this job is your ability to think 10 steps ahead of everyone else and anticipate real-world issues that may pose a risk or complication. As the say, the show must go on. And it’s your job to make sure it does, come hell or high water. You’ll generally be the person in charge (at least from Taoti’s side), so successful execution of the event (and customer satisfaction) ultimately lies with you. Especially for events in our own space, you’ll generally need to be on-site for the duration of those events, just to make sure everything goes smoothly. That means helping with setup, assisting with any technical or A/V needs, handling last minute requests (such as printing a quick sign or figuring out where to get extra ice, knowing how to turn off the HVAC to make it quiet when someone gives a toast, etc.) Sometimes the job gets (a little bit) physical, and you may need to help set up tables and chairs, put linens out, hang some décor from the ceiling, etc. Of course, events don’t happen every day (we currently average between one and two events per week), but we expect that number to increase as we do more marketing for our own venue.) When you’re not actively running an event, your focus will be on helping to drive bookings for our space, “The 507.” Keep in mind, Taoti is fundamentally a marketing agency. So of course, we have lots of marketing resources to help you—from designers to social media managers, to marketing strategists. We don’t expect you to be a one-person marketing team in a vacuum. That said, there are a lot of marketing activities that just need execution in between the live events. Those duties may include things like: Respond to booking inquires, fields those phone calls and emails, and arrange tours of the space Negotiate booking pricing and contracts Create/post content on social media that promotes our space Actively manage digital outlets that promote our space (Facebook marketplace, DestinationDC, Eventective, TheKnot, and other sites that we list our space on) Suggest and work with caterers and other vendors on behalf of our customers Do research and source unique client requests (from arcade games to belly dancers to ice cream trucks. And everything in between.) Bet the point of contact for our events customers Help plan events for our customers We don’t expect you to be a full-blown wedding planner. For complex events like that, we would refer customers to people who do that sort of thing full time (and we have a growing rolodex of those folks.) We also have other people (both on staff as well as third-party vendors we go to for specific services (like cleaning, bar tending, fabrication, etc.) But we do get a lot of much simpler events that don’t really have the need (nor budget) for a dedicated, professional planner but nevertheless still need some guidance when it comes to catering, services, décor, etc. And that’s where get to channel your inner event planner. We recognize that everyone’s comfort level with some of these sorts of tasks will be different, and before we make any hires, we’ll of course want to have a candid discussion about where you draw the line between what you can/will reasonably do and where we need to plan to hire outside/additional help. Note that this can be a physical job. Lots of setting up chairs and tables, moving furniture around, carrying boxes and supplies, etc. Also note that as you might suspect, a lot of events happen on Friday and Saturday nights and can run until after midnight. So please make sure you're okay with the schedule and physical demands of this role before applying. Being that this job involves live events in physical spaces (all within the DMV), we need someone willing to be on-site, daily—whether that’s at our own venue or at a client venue.) Even on days when we don’t have events scheduled (which are most days—at least for now), we do get drop-ins to our venue, so you need to be generally here and able to give those tours or take those meetings when you’re available. Of course, the nature of live events is that many of them happen outside of normal business hours. So you need to be the type of person with the personal flexibility and willingness to deal with a sporadic schedule that will vary from week to week. As with all Taotians, we ask for a 40 hour work week, and that goes for you too. But we want to be fair about it, so if you have to be on duty after hours or on a weekend, we would effectively ‘trade’ that time during the week so that you could be off and recharge your batteries (obviously, plenty of flexibility on both sides of the equation is required here.) You’ll have a lot of freedom and autonomy to come and go as needed. It’s just important that you’re willing and able to commit to being available for the events, no matter what (extreme circumstances notwithstanding. But you can’t really call in sick or take a personal day if you’re running an event. Again, the show must go on.) Note that we do have backup in place to stand in for you for after hours events now and then, should you be sick, need a longer vacation, etc.

Requirements

Be super organized
Think 10 steps ahead of everyone else and anticipate real-world issues that may pose a risk or complication
Be on-site, daily
Be the type of person with the personal flexibility and willingness to deal with a sporadic schedule that will vary from week to week
Commit to being available for the events, no matter what

Responsibilities

Help market, book, and oversee events
Give tours of the space
Rent the space
Figure out the event theme
Create run-of-show
Make catering selections
Select décor
Problem-solve on the spot
Be mindful of budgets, timelines, personalities
Juggle multiple parties (customers, vendors, caterers, etc.)
Help with setup
Assist with any technical or A/V needs
Handle last minute requests
Respond to booking inquires, fields those phone calls and emails, and arrange tours of the space
Negotiate booking pricing and contracts
Create/post content on social media that promotes our space
Actively manage digital outlets that promote our space (Facebook marketplace, DestinationDC, Eventective, TheKnot, and other sites that we list our space on)
Suggest and work with caterers and other vendors on behalf of our customers
Do research and source unique client requests (from arcade games to belly dancers to ice cream trucks. And everything in between.)
Bet the point of contact for our events customers
Help plan events for our customers

Benefits

A bonus based on a percentage of bookings.
5+ weeks of PTO (including 11 holidays). This number goes up automatically with each year of tenure.
100% company-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance. (50% for qualifying dependents.)
Paid family leave for men and women (including PTO plus short and long-term disability options.)
3% retirement plan matching (plus access to a financial advisor).
Home buyer help (including a $1200 closing credit)
Mobile phone reimbursement
You can opt for a company-supplied PC or Mac laptop. Or if you want to use your own, we’ll reimburse you for it.
Charitable contribution matching
Tax-free metro benefits
A sincere respect for work/life balance (in this role, there is a lot of nights/weekends. So we have a 'traded day' policy such that if you have to work a Saturday or staying late for an after-hours event, you can take off a normal business day (or part thereof) so that you don't just end up working more days. Of course, some flexibility is required, but we try to make it all balance out in the end.)
Money and time off allocated for professional development (also increases with tenure)
A diverse team hailing from over 12 countries last time we checked
A very hip/cool/funky/quirky office space on Barracks Row, in the heart of Capitol Hill. Just 2 blocks from the metro!