Senior Special Events Program Coordinator

From fine dining restaurants to residential dining,  USC Hospitality  serves over 65,000 students, athletes, faculty, and staff, as well as our many visitors. Hospitality is one of the six core business units that comprise USC Auxiliary Services and one of the largest employers on campus. The team at USC Hospitality is led by innovative chefs and directors who strive every day to craft nourishing and wholesome alternatives for our hungry Trojan Family and our guests. We are driven to succeed by our commitment to uphold our unifying values.

We are seeking a  Senior Special Events Program Coordinator to join our rapidly growing team.

Position Overview:

As a Senior Special Events Program Coordinator, you will strategize and plan special events and new, unique experiences while aligning messaging and supporting the needs of the evolving USC Hospitality and USC Hotel departments. You will oversee departmental public relations efforts and social media presence; lead efforts regarding new revenue streams; and maintain customer experience continuity and consistency for USC Hospitality and USC Hotel departments. Finally, you will lead, coordinate, and supervise staff or student workers, providing guidance, approval, and support as assigned.

Key Accountabilities

• Collaborates with chefs, sales and operations management, and other team members across multiple units, activating various venues, creating unique experiences, executing special events at a high level of service, and implementing effective communications, engagement, and culture solutions to support the department’s vision and revenue goals. Brings fresh ideas to the table and proactively and appropriately incorporates them into our offerings. Maintains currency with technology, standards, and best practices. Supports process improvement efforts within and across multiple teams.

• Participates in development of marketing and sales goals, objectives, plans and strategies. Assists in determining target markets. Administers programs to promote awareness of USC Private Events, Conferences, Restaurants, and Special Events services and products within the university community and to the general public, such as direct mail, telemarketing, advertising, publicity, community relations, promotional activities, special events, etc.

• Champions and advances USC Hospitality food offerings and beverage programs, aligning them with industry standards, while exceeding expectations of our guests. Conducts guest outreach to gather and follow up on feedback.

• Creates and implements systems for reviewing profitability of special events. Monitors revenue, expenses and overall profitability of our new and unique USC experience programs to maximize earned revenue, and ensure goals are met.

• Oversees and reviews content creation and development, ensuring clear, engaging communications are developed and disseminated to staff, faculty, and broader range of customers, partners, stakeholders. Develops content for publications and presentations (social media pages, websites, newsletters, promotions, partnerships, marketing campaigns, etc.)

• Designs and produces sales and marketing reports for department and/or university use. Coordinates use of surveys and other market research instruments to collect appropriate information necessary to market department goods and services.

• Establishes new and maintains existing networks of professional contacts within and outside of USC. Maintains currency with professional organizations and publications. Attends and participates in meetings, conferences, etc. Represents university and USC Hospitality and USC Hotel units, as assigned or appropriate.

• Leads the planning, coordination and implementation of events and conferences. Represents organizations, schools, and departments at events, and acts as their liaison with suppliers, vendors, guests, and donors. Tracks progress and ensures completion of event projects, orders, and initiatives. Coordinates logistics, and provides detailed instructions to all appropriate stakeholders prior to and during events (e.g., room setups, internet and electrical services, itineraries, conference agendas).

• Researches and selects venues, vendors, goods, and services. Organizes and facilitates planning meetings with internal/external stakeholders and event staff to establish objectives, budgets and goals. Proactively assesses and manages workload to maximize efficiency and meet event and project deadlines. Develops marketing and promotional campaigns and strategies.

Performs other related duties as assigned or requested. The university reserves the right to add or change duties at any time

No set schedule. May be required to work weekends, evenings and/or holidays. Must have full availability to support the needs of the business.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor's degree

• Two years of experience.

• Experience with special events planning, fundraising management, or alumni and volunteer relations management.

• Experience in project management. Proven scheduling abilities. Ability to effectively manage and develop complex event and program budgets.

• Excellent written and oral communications skills.

Preferred Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree, preferably in Hospitality, Business Administration, Communications, Marketing, or related field(s).

• Four years of experience.

• Experience in hotel or event management. Excellent managerial skills.

• Experience with donor/constituent- relationship management database software (e.g., FileMaker Pro, DonorPerfect, Raiser's Edge), email marketing programs (e.g., Mailchimp, Constant Contact), and managing social media for a company or brand.

• Experience with office management communication software and tools (e.g., Google suite, Slack, Skype).

• Comprehensive understanding of all relevant state and local event regulations. In-depth knowledge of local community.

• Fluent in one or more languages in addition to English (e.g., Spanish, Korean).

In addition, the successful candidate must also demonstrate, through ideas, words, and actions, a strong commitment to USC’s Unifying Values of integrity, excellence, community, well-being, open communication, and accountability.

Employee Benefits

USC offers a wide variety of benefits and programs that support our staff and their families.

This support advocates work-life balance and employee well-being.

USC employees are connected by the traditions and history that make us proud to be Trojans, and the work culture thrives on mutual respect, trust, and synergy amongst all its members.

Join us!

The annual base salary range for this position is $79,000 - $80,000 .  When determining an offer, the University of Southern California considers factors such as the scope and responsibilities of the role, the candidate’s experience, education, training, key skills, internal peer alignment, applicable laws, contractual requirements, grant funding, and market conditions.

Bachelor's degree. Two years of experience. Experience with special events planning, fundraising management, or alumni and volunteer relations management. Experience in project management. Proven scheduling abilities. Ability to effectively manage and develop complex event and program budgets. Excellent written and oral communications skills.