Position Summary

Reporting to the Vice President, Athletic Development, the Our Beaver Nation/Athletic Development team is seeking an Associate Director of Athletic Events (Associate Director). This position is responsible for developing and implementing quality in-person, multi-access and digital events that advance the OSU Foundation’s and Athletic Development’s goals for engaging athletic donors, alumni, fans, and friends. The Associate Director will work closely with the Vice President, Athletic Development; Senior Director of Development for Athletics; and Director of Donor Relations, among others, to ensure OSU Athletics and the OSU Foundation are closely aligned on event strategy.

The successful candidate will be required to show proof of being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 prior to the first day of employment.

Work Location

This position will be based in Corvallis, Oregon, and will work out of Gill Coliseum.

The Foundation offers a program called Core Work Days, a hybrid approach combining remote and in-office work days. Unless traveling for work, Foundation employees are in office on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and work remotely, if preferred, on Monday and Friday.

Key Partners

This position requires collaboration with the following groups:

• OSU Athletics administration, including the Vice President and Director of Athletics, Athletics executive and senior staff members, the Athletics Marketing and Communications team
• OSU Athletics coaching and operations staff
• Senior Director of Development for Athletics, Director of Donor Relations for Athletics, Our Beaver Nation/Athletic Development fundraising staff
• Key volunteers, including Our Beaver Nation (OBN, the development unit for OSU Athletics) advisory board leadership and members
• OSU Foundation central events colleagues
• OSU alumni engagement program leaders, donor experience officers and volunteers
• Stewardship, fundraising and technology colleagues
• University event planning colleagues and other university partners

Measures of Success

The Associate Director will play a role in helping to create an environment where all OSU Athletic donors, alumni, fans and friends are driven to connect with and invest in the university to be part of something bigger than themselves through their meaningful engagement with OSU Athletics.

Specifically, the success of this position will be measured by the ability to:

• Create events and experiences that advance the OSU Athletics brand and engage constituents in creative and energetic new ways, as measured by post-event surveys and other applicable metrics
• Partner with Athletics development and marketing and communications colleagues in Athletics and the Foundation, among others, to achieve attendance goals for all events
• Execute carefully orchestrated events, both online and in-person, where guests have memorable experiences that leave them eager for further engagement with the university

Major Duties

Serve as the primary event planner for OSU athletic events; plan, coordinate and execute events, including preparing creative briefs and event agendas, determining programming and themes, and managing onsite logistics.

Serve as the primary liaison between OSU Athletics and the OSU Foundation regarding events and engagement opportunities, ensuring alignment in calendaring, promotion, and execution.

Coordinate and participate in various aspects of events, including logistics, registration, attendee tracking and follow up.

Serve as the primary liaison for speakers and participants at various Our Beaver Nation events.

Through collaboration with the OSU Foundation Director of Events, Director of Donor Relations for Athletics, and others, manage athletic facility groundbreaking and ribbon cutting events. Oversee the coordination of all partners within the athletic department and the Foundation for these events, including coaches, executives, and university leaders.

Manage large championship and post season events: examples include football bowl or championship games, College World Series, and NCAA or Pac-12 Tournaments.

Partner with department senior staff to support football away game stewardship experiences hosted by Athletic Director and Vice President of Development.

Collaborate to help execute strategic stewardship engagement activities/events around annual fund benefits.

Serve as the Athletics development contact for all sport specific giving events led by OBN, including management of auctions that correspond with events.

Create and manage the budgets for all athletics events. Track expenses against annual budget; bring variances and concerns to the attention of the Vice President, Athletic Development; prepare budget summaries and make budget suggestions for future years.

Identify, interview and select appropriate vendors for transportation, lodging, catering, venues, entertainment, photography, technology and other services. Establish and maintain effective working relationships with suppliers. Negotiate contracts as necessary.

Create and manage a master calendar of donor-related Athletic and Athletic Development events and manage Athletic events on the Foundation’s master events .

Oversee pre-event arrangements, day-of set up, and on-site event supervision of vendors and speakers.

Lead event kickoff meetings with priority stakeholders, including development officers and Foundation events colleagues, to launch timeline and develop themes, structure and event plans; ensure alignment with goals.

Lead event debriefs and record recommendations for future improvements.

Set up and maintain event files within established project management systems to ensure tracking and coordination within the Marketing and Communications department of the Foundation and all applicable Athletics departments.

Be an active contributor to the OSU Foundation events team and participate in group brainstorms/teamwork sessions to share ideas and implement changes for streamlining processes and developing quality events and experiences.

When available, be ready to support other OSU Foundation priority events as needed as a committed team member of the Foundation.

Perform other duties as assigned.

Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

Comprehensive knowledge or understanding of:

• Principles and practices of events organization
• Principles and practices of university athletics
• Event-specific contracts (digital production, caterers, florists, hotel and event spaces)
• Exceptional customer service

Proven Skill In

• Establishing project timelines and meeting deadlines while maintaining a customer-first attitude
• Delivering exceptional Athletics and/or university events
• Developing creative events that deliver agreed upon messages and themes
• Collaborating with internal and external partners on complex projects
• Composing business correspondence, including vendor contracts
• Problem solving and managing difficult situations

Demonstrated Ability To

• Ensure that the confidentiality and dignity of the donor and donor information is maintained at all times
• Work collaboratively across a large, complex organization, often serving as a liaison between partner units
• Take the initiative in providing support to staff, donors, athletes and visitors
• Be aware of, control, and express one's emotions appropriately, and handle interpersonal relationships maturely, thoughtfully, and empathetically, including the ability to work with individuals from diverse backgrounds
• Work within given budget parameters
• Stay current with industry trends and best practices, particularly in terms of digital and multi-access experiences
• Work in a high-paced, deadline-driven environment
• Travel to events, often occurring in the evenings and on weekends, often requiring multiple nights away
• Work for periods of time sometimes longer than eight hours per day and be able to occasionally do some light lifting and stand for long periods of time

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree and four years of experience planning events in a professional setting, including significant focus on university athletics and/or alumni and donor engagement is preferred. Must possess a valid Oregon Driver’s License or acquire one upon hire as this position will be expected to travel to off-site events during evenings and weekends, all OSU home football games, with overnight and out-of-state travel that on occasion will include several nights in a row out of town and may occur during the holiday season. Education and experience equivalencies will be considered.

Core Values

We strive to be one of the best places to work in the country. We know that our success depends in large part on the people who carry out our mission. It’s what we do –and how we do it - that makes the difference. Our core values reflect our approach to work and to each other, and we are committed to conduct consistent with these values.

collaborative · responsible · respectful · inclusive · innovative