Director, Private Events Program

We are seeking a Director of Private Events Program who will work closely with the curators and directors of the JHU Historic Museums, George Peabody Library, and other library spaces across the Johns Hopkins University, to manage private, corporate, and JHU event rentals within these spaces. Event rentals include catered dinner events, wedding ceremonies and receptions, filming and photoshoots, fundraisers as well as scholarly symposia. The Private Events Program generates significant funding to support library and museum operations.

This position must balance an understanding and appreciation of preservation, conservation, and curatorial needs and expectations within each space, with the need to achieve annual revenue goals through appropriate maximization of event rentals. This position leads a diverse team that supports ongoing event management; looks for, analyzes, and strategically pursues opportunities to grow the program; and manages communications with high-level stakeholders throughout the institution on all matters related to the Private Events Program.

Specific Duties & Responsibilities:

Direct Private Events in Museum & Historic Venues

• Works with curators, directors, conservators, special collections librarians, and facilities management to ensure that all event clients, vendors, and staff understand and enforce specific space rules, guidelines, and regulations to protect museum and special library collections, works of art, furnishings and property.
• Collaborates with curators and museum directors on integration of historic property history and features into the communication and outreach activities of the private events program. Speaks knowledgeably about the history and value of each historic venue and its associated collections.
• Participates in property planning meetings by providing expertise and insight for physical property improvements from a private events perspective.

Achieve & Oversee Financial Goals

• Responsible for sales and marketing strategies to achieve annual revenue goals while containing overall program expenses.
• Identifies new sales and marketing opportunities to grow the program by expanding opportunities to leverage venues in new ways, draw new clients, and generate new business.
• Completes annual review of marketing effectiveness, sets annual marketing priorities, and oversee the execution of annual plans.
• Annually establishes and adjusts venue pricing by monitoring costs, competition, and supply and demand.
• Manages approved equipment and property reinvestment and associated planning for projects in each venue.
• Maintains oversight and review of invoices and expense payment, tracking of all client contracts and payments, and payroll.

Client Management & Program Administration

• Oversees all aspects of client management to ensure outstanding customer service and staffing support for over 120 large scale catered events annually. Ensures that all sites visits, client contracting, and payment processing is responsive and timely.
• Maintains solid relationships with influential clients including directors, presidents, and other highly placed individuals, to ensure satisfaction and repeat business.
• Maintains pandemic and crisis planning and communication for the Private Events Program and manages all unexpected matters related to weather, utility, and other disruptions that may impact private event rentals.
• Monitors and tracks all fire codes, space occupancy limits, health code expectations to ensure client, vendor and staff safety.
• Works with team and vendors to follow city, state, federal, and local laws, ordinances and regulations.
• Oversees scheduling of staff, security and cleaning for events and follow-up on any security or cleaning related concerns.

Private Event Team & Vendor Management

• Manages a diverse team of approximately twenty-seven (27) full-time, part-time, casual, and student staff.
• Directs onboarding and training of the events staff to meet program and customer protocol expectations.
• Responsible for managing the performance process for staff including goal setting, planning for professional development, and annual reviews.
• Manages contracted vendor relationships (catering, cleaning, tenting, etc.) including the annual assessment of service quality; contributes to rebid of contracts.
• Maintains professional and technical knowledge by attending educational workshops; reviewing professional publications; establishing personal networks; participating in professional societies.

Ongoing Expansion of the Program

• Analyzes and evaluates new property prospects for event rental and filming potential. Specifically analyzes potential client value and attractiveness, space concerns and constraints, security needs, vendor access, health and safety risks.
• Provides expert advice on management of large scale events outside the Private Events program, including vendor and client contractual recommendations and considerations.

Builds partnerships with colleagues to support broader revenue generation and outreach endeavors of the Sheridan Libraries and University Museums. Provides an in-house consulting for the university, on the use of additional campus space for events and future potential programs.

• Bachelor’s Degree required.
• Five years related experience including supervisory and management experience.
• Experience managing and establishing new client relationships, managing client accounts, cultivating donors, or similar client engagement.

* Applicants who do not meet the posted requirements but are completing their final academic semester/quarter will be considered eligible for employment and may be asked to provide additional information confirming their academic completion date.

Special Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Experience working in a historic venue, museum, or special library.
• Experience managing contractual vendor relationships in event industry.
• Ability to manage budgets, track expenses, and oversee revenue tracking.
• Knowledgeable in health, fire, and other event related codes.
• Understanding of marketing strategies, particularly social media.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and work along-side a diverse and talented team.
• Excellent interpersonal and relationship building skills.
• Diplomacy in managing demanding and highly placed clients, colleagues and community representatives; must have solid negotiation skills.
• Must demonstrate initiative and the ability to introduce innovative ideas to ensure continued growth of the program, including collaborations with colleagues and/or vendors.
• Must be highly organized, solutions-focused and detail oriented.
• Must be able to work independently, represent the University professionally and use good judgement in to address unexpected situations that may impact the Libraries and Museums of JHU as well as the surrounding communities.
• Minimum of 5 years related experience with historic or cultural venue events sales and management, preferably in an academic or nonprofit setting.
• Additional education may be substituted for some experience.

Additional Information:

• Due to the presence of alcohol, candidate must be at least 21 years of age.
• Candidate must be available to work occasional evenings and weekends when events are scheduled. Candidate must be available to take calls from event staff as needed after-hours.
• Candidate must have access to reliable transportation to travel to and from multiple work locations weekly.
• Candidate must be able to occasionally travel locally or out of state for work related activities.
• The worker is subject to subject to both internal and external environmental conditions. Activities occur inside and outside including in inclement weather.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Advanced degree in non-profit management, museum studies, hospitality, business, marketing or related field preferred.
• Candidates that live within a 20-25 minute drive of the George Peabody Library and the Evergreen Museum & Library.

Physical Requirements:

• Ability to frequently ascend or descend stairs, ramps, ladders, and the like both within building structures and outside property is required.
• Ability to remain in a stationary position for sustained periods of time.
• Ability to frequently move about on foot to accomplish tasks, particularly for long distances or moving from one work site to another.
• The incumbent will be required to communicate regularly via telephone, email, and face to face with internal and external audiences and must be able to exchange accurate and timely information in these settings.
• Dexterity of hands to operate a computer keyboard, mouse pad and other office machinery.
• The worker is required to have close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; extensive reading.
• The worker is required to have visual acuity to determine the accuracy, neatness, and thoroughness of the work assigned (i.e., custodial, food services, general laborer, etc.) or to make general observations of facilities or structures (i.e., security guard, inspection, etc.)

Classified Title: Special Events Manager
Working Title: Director, Private Events Program
Role/Level/Range: ATP/04/PD
Starting Salary Range: $59,870 - $82,250 annually (commensurate with experience)
Employee group: Full Time
Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:30am - 5:00pm.
Exempt Status: Exempt
Location: Homewood Campus
Department name: Entrepreneurial Library Program
Personnel area: Libraries

The successful candidate(s) for this position will be subject to a pre-employment background check.

If you are interested in applying for employment with The Johns Hopkins University and require special assistance or accommodation during any part of the pre-employment process, please contact the Talent Acquisition Office at jhurecruitment@jhu.edu. For TTY users, call via Maryland Relay or dial 711.

Johns Hopkins has mandated COVID-19 and influenza vaccines, as applicable. Exceptions to the COVID and flu vaccine requirements may be provided to individuals for religious beliefs or medical reasons. Requests for an exception must be submitted to the JHU vaccination registry. For additional information, applicants for SOM positions should visit https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccine/ and all other JHU applicants should visit https://covidinfo.jhu.edu/health-safety/covid-vaccination-information/.

The following additional provisions may apply, depending on campus. Your recruiter will advise accordingly.

The pre-employment physical for positions in clinical areas, laboratories, working with research subjects, or involving community contact requires documentation of immune status against Rubella (German measles), Rubeola (Measles), Mumps, Varicella (chickenpox), Hepatitis B and documentation of having received the Tdap (Tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis) vaccination. This may include documentation of having two (2) MMR vaccines; two (2) Varicella vaccines; or antibody status to these diseases from laboratory testing. Blood tests for immunities to these diseases are ordinarily included in the pre-employment physical exam except for those employees who provide results of blood tests or immunization documentation from their own health care providers. Any vaccinations required for these diseases will be given at no cost in our Occupational Health office.

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All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.

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