Director of Signature Events & Engagement

SUMMARY

In support of the university’s mission and objectives, the Director of Signature Events & Engagement serves as the university’s lead for high-profile institutional events, distinguished speakers, executive guests, donors, and signature campus experiences. Acting as a strategic liaison between university leadership and external partners, this role ensures events are executed with excellence, professionalism, hospitality, and precision. This position ensures oversight of event communication, speaker coordination, executive logistics, run-of-show development, and cross-functional planning for high profile events, commencement activities, major lectures, donor engagements, and other signature university experiences.

Executive Event Management

• Leads the planning and execution support for major university events involving executive leadership, distinguished guests, keynote speakers, donor events, and key stakeholders.
• Develops and manages detailed event timelines, production schedules, and run-of-show documents.
• Coordinates event logistics including itineraries, transportation, lodging, hospitality, backstage operations, green rooms, and executive-level accommodations.
• Ensures all event deliverables, approvals, and communications are completed accurately and on schedule.

Distinguished Guests & Speaker Relations

• Serves as the primary university liaison for speakers, celebrity talent, author representatives, agents, executive assistants, and distinguished guests.
• Coordinates all pre-event communication related to schedules, biographies, introductions, audiovisual needs, security considerations, and hospitality requirements.
• Delivers a high-touch, concierge-level experience for guests from initial outreach through event completion and post-event follow-up.
• Cultivates positive relationships that enhance the university’s reputation and supports future engagement opportunities.

Event Production & Communication

• Creates briefing documents and executive schedules for university leadership.
• Coordinates script development, speaker flow, stage management, and event sequencing.
• Identifies and proactively resolves logistical or communication challenges before they impact the event experience.
• Maintains high standards for professionalism, confidentiality, and institutional representation.
• Collaborates effectively within event production and cross-functional planning environments.

Cross Departmental Collaboration

• Partners closely with the Marketing, Communications, and Public Relations to provide speaker biographies, headshots, schedules, talking points, promotional assets, and event details needed for marketing campaigns, media materials, and public relations initiatives.
• Coordinates with Advancement, the President’s Office, Campus Operations, Security, Production, Academic leadership, and other university partners to ensure seamless event planning and execution.
• Facilitates planning meetings and maintains clear communication among stakeholders to ensure alignment on event expectations and timelines, responsibilities, and outcomes.

EDUCATION

Bachelor’s degree in communications, hospitality, event management, marketing, public relations, or related field, required.

EXPERIENCE

5 years of experience in executive event planning, guest relations, hospitality, university events, or high-level production coordination. Must possess exceptional organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills. Prior experience interacting with executives, public figures, donors, or distinguished guests, preferred.

ESSENTIAL COMPETENCIES (Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities) 

• Customer Service Orientation – Keeps internal and/or external key stakeholder(s), students, parents, faculty, staff and community partners in mind at all times. 
• Professionalism – Displays a high level of professionalism, e.g. timeliness, reliability, communication, and work ethic.
• Christ-first Faith – Provides spiritual support to community members, including students, on their Christian faith journey.
• Adaptable/Flexibility – Ability to change or adjust to change.
• Analytical Thinking & Decision Making – Identifies and understands trends and/or issues, connects data points through analysis and logical conclusions/actionable strategies.
• Attention to Detail – Ability to efficiently and accurately focus on a specific task or number of tasks. Reviews details with a critical eye.
• Business & Financial/Budget Acumen – Demonstrates knowledge and understanding of financial concepts, accounting, marketing and organizational functions.
• Confidentiality – Maintains the necessary confidentiality and discretion required for the position.
• Conflict Management – Functions professionally and wisely during difficult conversations, while under stress, and while managing challenging situations.
• Continuous Improvement – Implement or brainstorm ways to optimize a process.
• Creativity – Ability to think creatively and design creative solutions to problems.
• Develops Others – Ability to promote continuous improvement within teams and/or individuals.
• Effective Communication – Expresses ideas and information in a clear and concise manner both verbally and in writing to convey clear, well-articulated messaging across a wide variety of audiences.
• Establishes Trust – Gains the confidence of others by actions and words that promote being honest, forthcoming, and vulnerable.
• Leadership/Influence – Ability to motivate, coach and develop others, as well as influence a group of people to achieve common goals, and implement university strategies. Strong supervisory skills.
• Problem-solving – Anticipates, evaluates, diagnoses, and resolves problems in a systematic and fact-based manner.
• Project and Time Management – Effective planning and priority setting. Ability to manage several complex projects simultaneously while working under pressure to meet deadlines.
• Results Orientation & Accountability – Takes accountability and identifies, executes and drives actions to consistently achieve desired results.
• Self-development – Grow one’s self-awareness, abilities, skills, and/or talent.
• Strategic Mindset – Ability to step out of the everyday details, view the situation from above and provide an objective perspective.
• Teamwork & Collaboration – Creates a climate that fosters commitment to a common vision and shared values that promote cooperation and working together through trust and support of others both departmentally and cross-functionally.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

• Ability to travel 25% of the time.
• Ability to work non-routine hours during certain times of the year.
• Ability to sit for prolonged periods of time.
• Ability to traverse campus and stairs.
• Ability to lift/move objects up to 50 pounds.