What are the responsibilities and job description for the Director, Conference and Event Services position at American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)?
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) represents more than 160,000 members of the civil engineering profession in 177 countries and is seeking an experienced event industry professional to provide strategic planning, risk management, financial forecasting, professional development, and leadership of the Conference and Event Services team. The Society is planning a significant new event that will start in 2027, and this position will have responsibility for and be a key member of the team to deliver this on-going event.
Key responsibilities include:
- Provide strategic thinking and planning to meet the organization's mission and goals
- Responsible for developing and implementing new conference products and services in alignment with ASCE's strategic plan
- Provide leadership and develop, implement, and monitor all meeting and conference plans and timelines for each conference hosted by ASCE
- Develop and implement pre-conference and onsite risk and crisis management. Make recommendations to senior leadership
- Provide financial forecasting and management to the overall C&ES team budget
- Provide leadership support to volunteer committees as appropriate in creating proposals for future conferences and guide volunteer committees in the use of innovative and creative formats and practices to enhance conferences' value to participants
- Guide and direct staff and organizing committees and ensure productive relationships and teamwork between all parties
- Identifies, evaluates, and acquires new products and services for planning, organizing, managing, marketing, conducting, and evaluating conferences
- Direct the development of the request for proposal (RFP) process and the analysis of site options for the various conferences and supervise the negotiation of all facility and supplier contracts with third-party vendors
- Provide overall direction for the successful management and coordination of on-site operations and logistics. Direct staff in implementing operations and logistics for A-V, food and beverage, tours, ground transportation, registration set-up, exhibits, meeting room assignments, special events, speaker's provisions, shipping of materials, and all on-site requests
- Work in collaboration with Marketing & Sales, Customer Service, Accounting, Engineering Programs, IT, and Publications to successfully coordinate conference services
- Direct the preparation of final conference reports and the maintenance of conference histories and archives
- Recruit, hire, train, coach, and motivate the C&ES team
Ideal candidates will have:
- Bachelor's degree in hospitality or related field
- A minimum of five years of progressively responsible meeting planning experience. Experience in successful planning and execution of conferences with over 6,000 attendees is highly preferred. Experience in association management desirable
- Willingness and desire to travel frequently
- Excellent financial management, budget, writing, proofreading, and research skills
- A thorough command of MS Office
ASCE is a nonprofit professional membership association dedicated to the advancement of civil engineering to serve the public good. To accomplish ASCE's mission, ASCE staff works together as a team, based on a foundation of trust, striving for individual and organizational excellence. To achieve our shared goals, we maintain a relentless focus on members and a commitment to grow and improve individually and collectively continuously.
We cultivate a culture of inclusion for all employees that respects their individual strengths, views, and experiences. We believe that our differences enable us to be a better team – one that makes better decisions, drives innovation, and delivers better business results. All qualified candidates, including historically excluded individuals, protected veterans, women, and individuals with disabilities, are encouraged to apply.
Based in Reston, VA, this position has hybrid work-from-home flexibility in the Northern VA/DC Metro area.
For consideration, submissions of interest must contain a resume and cover letter.