Senior Coordinator, Operations & Events

The Senior Coordinator of Events and Operations is part of the Student Centers department within the Student Affairs division at Vanderbilt University and is a key individual contributor responsible for managing and executing events in facilities across campus for members of the Vanderbilt and Nashville community. This position also manages full time staff student staff including graduate assistants that work within student centers spaces and directly supports student organizations. This position requires an energetic responsive inclusive and hands-on leader who has strong customer service and communication skills excellent organizational and critical thinking capabilities and an ability to solve problems effectively and efficiently. Reporting directly to the Associate Director this position leads initiatives internal to Student Centers regarding our student employment program staff professional development and addition this position will engage with student leaders and student organizations sell and market event spaces to all stakeholders and plan manage and execute high profile events taking place in Student Centers facilities including but not limited to the Chancellors Office Provost Office Summer Conferences and Corporate events.

The Senior Coordinator of Events and Operations will lead the student employment program within Student Centers including hiring training promotions professional development and staff recognition. This position will provide support for professional staff supervisors to ensure a consistent and developmental employment experience no matter where a student works in our department. They will supervise student staff and the summer staff who support the entire student centers operations throughout the year while managing all aspects of large-scale events including but not limited to meetings banquets conferences receptions and student performances.

In addition this position will manage daily operations in multiple Student Center facilities to support student engagement opportunities. This includes formal and informal engagement for our student organizations providing space for and supporting meetings performances and any other engagement opportunities for our addition this position will assist with marketing student centers spaces to ensure Vanderbilt University is competitive within the Nashville market.

About the Work Unit
The Student Centers Office supports student engagement and leadership by managing facilities events event spaces as well as supporting student leaders through our role as student organization coaches. Our team includes operations and events coordinators audio/visual technicians facilities managers and student staff. We work as a team to support student engagement and help facilitate successful events for student organizations campus departments outside clients and guests in our facilities. The events we manage range from small meetings to large-scale events including weddings conferences and student performances.

About Student Affairs:
Student Affairs Students serves a central role in student learning and development at Vanderbilt advancing the Universitys mission of teaching research and service. Student Affairs at Vanderbilt cultivates vibrant inclusive communities that foster a students sense of belonging and wellbeing through collaborative partnerships transformative learning experiences and an accessible and holistic network of resources. We value connection belonging compassion development and innovation. Our staff are committed to continued growth in knowledge awareness skills and experience engaging with these priorities in a higher education environment.

Key Functions and Expected Performance:

Event Coordination
Oversee and coordinate all aspects of events in the Student Centers including but not limited to logistics a/v staffing needs housekeeping requests accessibility needs plant operations requests outside rentals security and invoices to assure their success and compliance with Student Centers and University Risk Management regulations.
Works with clients including high profile clients such as the Chancellors Office Provosts Office Signature Events Development and Alumni Relations Conferences and Events and others to plan manage logistics and execute their events (banquets receptions conferences lectures meetings concerts theatrical shows etc.).
Creates quotes and invoices for events.
Uses Event Management System (EMS) to track reservations within Student Centers spaces.
Collaborates with others in the department to prioritize facility improvements that best support successful events and client experiences.
Be proactive in resolving problems troubleshooting and answering inquiries to ensure successful events.
Flexible schedule based on events (nights and weekend work required).

Operations Management
Support Senior Director and Associate Directors with achieving Objectives and Key Results for the department and providing support for development of strategic plans.
Work closely with Associate Director to maintain and implement policies and procedures for the Operations and Events team.
Inspect and maintain the Student Centers facilities including: maintaining inventory of supplies and equipment submitting work orders and reports assisting with renovation projects and building recommendations to improve operations in our facilities.
Provide excellent customer service and communicate information efficiently and effectively for visitors clients and building associates to create a safe inclusive and welcoming environment.
Establish and maintain relationships with key stakeholders (i.e. catering vendors VUPD Parking Services building associates etc.) in order to facilitate successful events and building operations.

Student Organization Support
Assist student organizations in facilitating and planning successful events and programs that support and celebrate student experiences and adhere to University policies.
May serve as an advisor for student organizations assisting with goal-setting attending student organization executive board meetings and providing support for student leaders.
Support student organization initiatives with regards to training education and creating a sense of belonging to improve the experience for all members.
Inform students of changes to student organization policies and procedures that enable them to more effectively manage their organization.
Utilize budgeting skills to support successful financial management and use of Oracle by student leaders and organizations.

Staff Development and Training
Lead efforts to recruit hire train schedule and supervise student staff to assist in Student Centers operations including event management and event setups to provide excellent hospitality and event services to customers and clients utilizing the event spaces.
Effectively train other coordinators and support staff on policies and procedures to create successful team relationships and event management.
Support efforts to develop implement and evaluate a robust student training and professional development program.
Lead the OEC and Supervisors bi-weekly meetings discussing accountability training hiring and evaluations.
Collaborate on the development of a Student Centers student staff evaluation tool.
Coordinate all-student staff training throughout the year including the content and schedule.
Create and lead the student accountability program.
Other

Serve on divisional committees and working groups to enrich the experience and resources available to staff across the division.
Participate in division wide events as needed (Move-In Day Rites of Spring Diverse Dores Day MLK Day etc.) to support colleagues and ensure these events run smoothly.
Maintain an understanding of institutional and departmental financial policies related to areas such as travel procurement expense and time reporting to ensure compliance and proper stewardship of university resources.
Demonstrate a willingness to support colleagues across the division in order to encourage the implementation or fulfillment of divisional goals and strategic priorities.

Supervisory Relationships:
This position supervises professional staff members graduate students and undergraduate students. The position reports administratively and functionally to the Associate Director of Events.

Education and Certifications:
Bachelors degree is required.
Masters degree in Hospitality Management Higher Education Student Affairs or related field is preferred.

Experience and Skills:
Proven customer service and event management experience is required.
Two years of related experience is required.
Ability to multi-task in a fast-paced work environment is required.

Proven ability in establishing and maintaining relationships with clients and vendors of all backgrounds identities and experiences is strongly preferred.
Proven ability to manage diverse large-scale high-risk multi-faceted events and/or conferences is preferred.
Experience working in a University setting is preferred