Director of Event Strategy and Policy Programming
Company: Columbia University
Location: New York
Posted on: April 22, 2024
Job Description:
- Job Type: Officer of Administration
- Regular/Temporary: Regular
- Hours Per Week: 35
- Salary Range: $160,000 - $175,000
The salary of the finalist selected for this role will be set based
on a variety of factors, including but not limited to departmental
budgets, qualifications, experience, education, licenses,
specialty, and training. The above hiring range represents the
University's good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of
possible compensation at the time of posting.
Position Summary
Reporting to the Senior Director of Communications and Policy
Strategy, the Director of Event Strategy and Policy Programming
will manage the events team and oversee all public, private, and
online events for the Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP) at
Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs
(SIPA).
The Director of Event Strategy and Policy Programming will advance
CGEP's thought leadership and research focused on global energy and
climate policy through events, meetings, and other public and
private convenings. The incumbent and their team will be
responsible for planning and executing CGEP's annual global energy
summit; events at major national and international energy and
policy conferences; and all CGEP-hosted public and private events,
including briefings, workshops, and webinars for policymakers,
industry executives, researchers, Columbia University students and
faculty, as well as the general public.
The Director of Event Strategy and Policy Programming will work
closely with CGEP's Founding Director, Senior Director of Research,
Communications and Policy Strategy Team, research scholars and
other staff on events organized by - or including CGEP staff - to
generate programming; speaker and topic ideas; manage content,
run-of-show, invitations, and event logistics; develop and execute
event marketing plans and creative promotional content; and staff
and execute day-of event logistics. They will also communicate
regularly with key internal and external stakeholders, as well as
event participants and attendees to ensure all aspects of CGEP's
events are planned and executed successfully. They will also be the
Center's liaison with Columbia University events staff, and
responsible for working closely to ensure CGEP events are in-line
with University standards and acceptable guidelines.
The Director of Event Strategy and Policy Engagement will be
responsible for supervising and mentoring a team of events staff
with significant authority to delegate planning and execution to
team members as multiple events take place concurrently within CGEP
year-round. Candidates must have experience working with senior
executives, supervising direct reports, and collaborating with
other mid- to senior-level colleagues within the Center's
organization.
The majority of events will take place on the Columbia University
campus in New York City, with additional event locations at other
venues throughout New York, within the United States, or alongside
high-profile international energy industry conferences. This role
will interact with a wide array of Center stakeholders including
senior policymakers, private sector executives, NGO leaders, and
Columbia faculty.
A particular focus for the organization is the impact of issues of
racism, environmental justice, gender equality, and inclusion in
our energy and climate systems. The Center supports a culturally
diverse, inclusive and equitable work environment, reflected across
our staffing, leadership, scholarship and operations. This position
will be responsible for ensuring these values are reflected
throughout the Center's public and private events and
programming.
Responsibilities
- Working with Communications and Policy Strategy Team,
Operations Team, Founding Director's Office, Senior Director of
Research, and Research Scholars, construct and manage a structured
process to facilitate an intellectual exchange of ideas through
expert panel discussions, roundtables, workshops, webinars, and
briefings. Serve as event content developer on organization-wide
projects and programs as needed.
- Working with Columbia University facilities management on
execution of on-campus events.
- Provide creative leadership for all CGEP events, working with
teams across the organization to envision, plan and execute
innovative events that help strengthen the Center's research,
brand, engagement, and partnerships.
- Independently manage and direct the events team as a center for
excellence, ensuring information, event resources (including
budgets, templates and best practice guidelines) are accessible to
teams across CGEP.
- Oversee all event activities including: preparing project plans
and tracking deliverables; coordinating all event logistics
(including A/V, catering, venue selection, online marketing and
registration, speaker and participant communications); developing
and maintaining a library of event media (including events photos
and videos).
- Ensure comprehensive planning, on-time delivery, and
exceptional execution for in-person, hybrid, and virtual
convenings, while managing contingencies, changes and evolving
needs and expectations. Draft and oversee planning documents, such
as marketing and communications plans, agendas, speaker
invitations, and tracking for all events.
- Create, develop, and manage CGEP's events calendar with senior
leadership and research teams, to define optimal cadence, formats,
and goals.
- Manage budgets, work plans, external agencies, CGEP and
university-wide stakeholders and vendors, to juggle complex
parallel events, assigning appropriate staff and
resources.
- Draft topic and speaker ideas, considering regional, topical,
and speaker diversity. Consider how events and topics will position
CGEP in the energy landscape of institutions engaged in research
and analysis, how they further the Center's agenda and mission, and
topics relevant and forward-thinking on energy and climate
issues.
- Develop briefing materials for senior CGEP leadership as well
as external stakeholders participating in official event
programming, and conducting pre-event briefings with program
participants as needed.
- Project manage, execute logistics, and lead content development
for CGEP's presence at marquis global events, such as Davos, the
Munich Security Conference, CERAWeek, Climate Week and other key
energy and climate gatherings.
- Lead and manage CGEP's annual Columbia Global Energy Summit
which brings together approximately 500 global and domestic
policymakers, business executives, and thought leaders to address
the most pressing energy and climate issues.
- Keep apprised of the energy sector and key stakeholders,
organizations, news, and like-minded programs in the field. Factor
in audience development, identifying new and diverse constituents
and deepening relationships with existing contacts.
- Develop strong working relationships with scholars, faculty,
staff, and external partners associated with the program; manage
scope of delivery and regularly inform stakeholders of program
related activity and/or decisions. Track and analyze program
content and materials and recommend improvements.
- Work with the CGEP finance team on budget development and
tracking related to events and CGEP development team to engage
potential partners in the event series.
- Collaborate with CGEP's Communications team on promotion of
events to ensure a targeted audience attendance.
- Track and report on event metrics. Analyze data for attendance
trends to help develop and implement continuous improvements to
maximize impact of CGEP events.
- Increasing diversity efforts of CGEP through events by ensuring
diverse panelists, topics of discussions, audiences, inclusive
program materials, and others.
- Ensure compliance with University policies and procedures and
applicable legal rules and regulations.
- Perform other duties as assigned and assist in special
projects.
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor's Degree.
- 10 years of related work experience, including 5-7 years of
experience with managing and executing events involving high-level
public figures, national and international political leaders and
policymakers, c-suite business executives, and organizers of
large-scale convenings.
- Minimum of 5 years supervising direct reports and leading a
team of event staff with responsibilities for budgets, performance
reviews, goal setting, and mentorship.
- Proven experience working directly for an organization's top
official on events, logistics, and protocol, such as an elected
representative, senior policymaker, CEO or C-suite executive, or
head of a large NGO or school at a university.
- Experience briefing or preparing an elected representative,
senior policymaker, CEO or C-suite executive, or head of a large
NGO or school at a university on public event participation or
stakeholder engagement.
- Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and handle multiple
projects simultaneously, while meeting deadlines, maintaining
strong attention to detail, and possessing organizational and time
management skills.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills, maintain
professionalism, and possess the ability to exercise excellent
judgment, tact, confidentiality, and diplomacy in all
interactions.
- Extremely well organized, obsessive attention to detail, and
the highest standards of service-delivery and audience/participant
engagement.
- Considerable demonstrated experience and expertise in virtual,
and hybrid events, and relevant technology and tools; existing
relationships with virtual platform vendors strongly
preferred.
- Professional attitude, with experience working with people at
all levels, both externally and internally.
- Excellent judgment, and creative problem-solving skills,
including contract negotiation, dispute resolution, and contingency
planning.
- Self-starter, and a team player who thrives in atmosphere
focused on building an organization rather than individual
success.
- Comfortable with flexible working hours and dependable to be
available via phone or email during these times.
- Strong Microsoft Office Suite, Google Suite and content
management skills.
- Ability to foster an inclusive workplace where diversity and
individual differences are valued and leveraged to achieve the
vision and mission of the organization.
- Travel will be required on occasion.
Preferred Qualifications
- Direct public or private sector professional expertise related
to energy, climate change, public policy, and/or international
affairs.
- Possess deep knowledge of the energy sector and key
stakeholders, organizations, news, leading industry events, and
like-minded programs in the field.
- Master's degree in a relevant field
- Events marketing experience (e.g. Mailchimp,
Greenvelope).
- Experience with graphic design (e.g. Canva, InDesign,
PPT).
- Experience with Salesforce or other database management
systems.
- Prior political campaign events or Advance experience.
Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran
Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local
residents.
Keywords: Columbia University, North Bergen , Director of Event Strategy and Policy Programming, Executive , New York, New Jersey
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