Event Planning Associate

Position Description

The Event Planning Associate will report to the Senior Director of Administrative Services, who reports to LISC's CFO. The Event Planning Associate will be responsible for the logistical planning and management (venue selection, audio visual arrangement, and food and beverage, in conjunction with activities, transportation and other operational organization) of all major LISC events such as leadership conferences, national staff meetings, annual program convenings, regional staff meetings, and retreats with LISC senior management.

Responsibilities

• Collaborates with business units to effectively negotiate terms and conditions with event venues to meet service expectations and ensure appropriate expense management.
• Strong knowledge of events contracts.
• Coordinates and tracks all event related contracts for each event and provides recommendations to business units with regard to event management decisions.
• Creates and maintains financial event reporting documents for tracking of company's overall event expenditures.
• Creating and managing event timelines and checklists to ensure all tasks are completed.
• Develops relationship with hotel venues nationally.
• Collaborates with the team to improve efficiencies of current systems and processes.
• Planning event logistics, including venue selection, scheduling, guest lists, seating arrangements, and transportation.
• Creating and managing event timelines and checklists to ensure all tasks are completed.
• Managing volunteers to assist with event duties.
• Assigning specific roles - Ensuring that all event logistics are handled, from setup to breakdown.
• Coordinating with staff and volunteers for event execution.
• Managing any issues that arise during the event promptly and effectively.
• Conducting debriefing sessions with national staff and volunteers to discuss what worked well and what could be improved.
• Gathering feedback from attendees, sponsors, and stakeholders.
• Knowledgeable about fair market value of events and meeting planning.
• Fostering and maintaining relationships with hotel vendors and other Event Planning professionals
• Preparing post-event reports for internal use.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Working toward a Bachelor's degree and/or Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) with a minimum of 3 years of national meeting management.
• Full-time availability preferred, part-time availability will be considered
• Ability to collaborate with coworkers and key stakeholders across all sectors.
• Experienced in budget planning for large/small events.
• Experience collaborating with vendors within the hospitality industry (hotel, entertainment, F&B)
• Excellent communication and organizational skills.
• High standards of integrity, judgment, and discretion.
• Ability to take initiative and work independently.
• Capacity to simultaneously work on multiple tasks and projects, set priorities for a challenging workload, meet deadlines, and act in a positive, solution-oriented manner.
• Excellent technical skills including competency in full Microsoft Office suite, and ability to quickly learn new applications.
• A strong team player with great organization, initiative, attention to detail and timely follow-through as well as high standards for accuracy and efficiency.

The ideal candidate is a flexible and enthusiastic self-starter, capable of working with minimal oversight. A passion for catalyzing opportunities in the communities where LISC works is absolutely essential. 5%-10% travel.

Compensation

LISC offers a competitive salary ($57,700 - $72,200; salary commensurate with relevant work experience and location) and excellent fringe benefits.