Director, Special Event Planning at Cuyahoga Community College District in Cleveland, OH

Job description

SUMMARY The Director, Event Planning advocates for clients while providing event planning, guidance, support, and problem-solving options for all aspects of the College’s and Campus events. Working and managing relationships with all main client contacts or client liaisons when conducting business, the Director, Event Planning provides the leadership, direction, and hands-on oversight of day-to-day operations within the Special Events department of Campus Services and Business Operations. This position requires a focus on facility set-up and execution of special events, coordination of event planning, and enthusiasm for client/customer satisfaction and loyalty. The Director monitors and supports individual clients’ events, College dining services catering program, and designated College events from start to finish and acts on performance issues to ensure consistent service delivery, customer satisfaction, attainment of revenue goals, and compliance with established contractual standards and performance targets. Directs and manages special projects on behalf of the department and College and has direct responsibility for several sites throughout the Cuyahoga Community College District. RESPONSIBILITIES Provides overall direction/management, coordination, and ongoing evaluation of event operations at the Jerry Sue Thornton Center. Plans for and leads preparation of the facility operations, hospitality, janitorial, catering and IT staff for upcoming event schedules on a weekly basis. Plans room layouts as needed for room set up. Develops relationships with clients by maintaining and following established procedures, answering client inquiries and meeting client expectations. Manages client relationships from start to finish including development, production, and delivery of events. Oversees events and motivates a cross functional team including student employees, staff, and vendors to successfully carry out events. Coordinates with clients and College contacts to ensure all event requirements from start to finish are documented and produces a BEO (banquet event order) for client review and approval. Consults with clients for special service/program/meeting needs and makes necessary arrangements to accommodate. Manages and facilitates weekly BEO meetings with appropriate staff members and vendors, ensuring they are knowledgeable and ready for the event. Enforces required deadlines to obtain payment in accordance with the college’s policies and procedures. Including setting up vendors on ACH payments, and prompt billing and collection of facility rental revenue. Finalizes information required for event delivery costs, billing and collects balances of event charges as agreed upon in client’s contracts. For College events, maximizes revenues and controls expenses within budgeted guidelines. Directly supervisors the Concierge Service at the Jerry Sue Thornton Center (JSTC) working with the Concierge on special events in the JSTC Ford Room and the Building. Manages the College’s Special Event budget and provides detailed budget information for Collegewide events to the Vice President of Campus Services and Business Operations. Manages and coordinates all aspects of client event while on-site using the event scheduling sheet provided and coordinating with staff as needed. Manages and maintains relationships with catering contractors to ensure the College’s and client’s satisfaction and fiscal goals are met. Provides oversight of catering operations, including menu offerings, pricing, product availability, service packages, and event execution, to ensure alignment with College expectations, contractual requirements, and evolving customer needs. Establishes and evaluates catering service and performance standards, including food quality, presentation, timeliness, staff professionalism, customer experience, and operational compliance; utilizes event observations, performance metrics, and customer feedback to identify trends and opportuniti