Job Description
Special Instructions to Applicants: Please attach a cover letter and a resume in the Supporting Documents section of the application.
Position Summary
Rice University’s George R. Brown School of Engineering is a top-ranked program that empowers the next generation of leaders with strong technical and communication skills, creative problem solving and the ability to work in multidisciplinary teams.
Events management and execution is an important factor in our engagement with external entities ranging from faculty and technical experts to donors, corporate sponsors, and alumni. This position will be responsible for all School of Engineering events from large academic conferences and awards ceremonies to smaller external meetings and internal functions and oversee a team of two events staff. This person will serve as a project manager over all activities; account manager of event financials, deliverables, metrics, and reports; and personnel manager for events support staff and volunteers to plan and execute well-organized, complex, high-quality events.
The ideal candidate will possess extreme attention to detail, excellent analytical skills, and experience prioritizing, managing, and executing large conference and awards events with diplomacy and accuracy.
This position is hiring at a starting salary between $70,000 and $75,000 per year and entails work on Rice University’s campus, with the potential for some remote work/flexible work arrangements. Standard work week hours apply. Some events may require evening or weekend hours.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree
- Five years of related experience in project, event, and account management
- Skills Required
- Superior project and event management skills
- Ability to manage a diverse team of staff and contingent labor, holding them to deadlines and the highest quality output
- Ability to prioritize and manage complex workflows and to take initiative and own projects
- Ability to make strategic decisions
- Strong problem-solving skills
- Excellent analytical skills
- Strong budget and financial reporting skills
- Must be well organized with extreme attention to detail and deadlines
- Excellent communication, time management, and customer service skills
- Ability to accomplish goals working through formal and informal channels with diplomacy and tactfulness
- Demonstrated team player with strong interpersonal skills
- Ability to take direction and work to meet expected deadlines and schedules
- Excellent judgment and decisiveness, high integrity, enthusiasm
- Skilled at developing a staff of professionals and support personnel. Includes selection, motivation, and leadership of staff, as well as evaluation and development
Essential Functions
- Serves as project manager of multiple activities, scopes out project tasks/team assignments and guides team to create work plans and schedules, monitors progress, and meets milestones
- Oversees the management of event teams and/or production consultants to produce quality, multi-faceted events and productions
- Establishes and maintains relationships with internal and external university partners
- Acts as division representative at cross-division project meetings
- Operates as account manager for deliverables, program metrics, and status reports
- Works cross-departmentally to prepare and manage complex program budgets
- Oversees registration strategy and logistics and feedback collection
- Hires and oversees support staff, students, volunteers, and contingent event staff
- Trains and supervises junior event planners in proper execution and implementation of events
- Performs all other duties as assigned
Additional Functions
- Manages School of Engineering events calendar to ensure maximum impact of event timing
- Coordinates the execution of events that support and build the school’s brand, including faculty scholarship conferences, external relations/corporate events, faculty and student recognition events, visits by distinguished guests, and alumni engagement programming
- Designs, develops and manages systems and practices that continuously improve the quality of School of Engineering events
- Will be expected to work on campus various days of the week and be present for all events pre-and post event. Will be required to work some weekends and/or evenings for events.
- May be asked to travel
Preferences
- Possesses good graphic design sense
- Experience managing budgets
- Experience managing two or more direct reports
- Certified Professional Planner or PMP
- Engineering degree preferred
Workplace Requirements
- Must be able to drive
- Must be able to sit or stand for sufficient durations of time to support events
About George R. Brown School of Engineering
The George R. Brown School of Engineering ranks among the top 20 of undergraduate engineering programs (US News & World Report) and is strongly committed to nurturing the aspirations of faculty, staff and students in an inclusive environment
We seek greater representation of women, minorities, people with disabilities, and veterans in disciplines in which they have historically been underrepresented; to attract international students from a wider range of countries and backgrounds; to accelerate progress in building a faculty and staff who are diverse in background and thought; and we support an inclusive environment that fosters interaction and understanding within our diverse community.
Rice University HR | Benefits
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Rice Mission and Values
Mission and Values | Rice University
Rice University is an Equal Opportunity Employer with commitment to diversity at all levels, and considers for employment qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, genetic information, disability or protected veteran status.
Faculty and staff are expected (but not required) to have completed a full vaccination series for COVID-19 (currently defined as full course COVID-19 Vaccine (typically two shots of a WHO-approved COVID-19 Vaccine or one J&J) and a COVID-19 booster. Rice does not require documentation for COVID-19 vaccination at this time for faculty and staff. More information can be found here: https://coronavirus.rice.edu/policies