OVERVIEW

From August 19-22, 2024, Democrats from all over the country will gather together in the City of Chicago to participate in the Democratic National Convention, where we will nominate President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for re-election. The Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) is assembling a diverse team with skills in community engagement, event logistics, finance, operations, IT, and more. The DNCC team will oversee and deliver on all aspects of the planning and execution of this Convention, from housing the delegates to convening Platform Committee meetings to producing the Convention’s live programming, which will be seen by hundreds of millions of people around the world.

SUMMARY

The Deputy Director of Arena Operations (Planning) is responsible for the collection, organization and fulfillment management of all internal stakeholder requirements at the Arena, including space, fixtures, furniture, equipment, power, signage, and hospitality. This Deputy Director will manage the space planning process with the Event Architect, thinking through optimal ways to provide the best Convention ‘experience’ for each stakeholder group and communicating via orders and diagrams all spatial needs to be displayed on the project map set.

Working closely with the Director of Arena Operations and coordinating with all DNCC departments, this Deputy Director will ensure that all orders are organized in a fashion that is concise, clear and timely for staff counterparts and prime vendor teams such as Expo Services to easily decipher and execute upon.

REPORTING STRUCTURE

• The Deputy Director of Arena Operations (Planning) reports to the Director of Arena Operations.

• The Deputy Director of Arena Operations (Planning) will oversee an immediate team of 2-4 people.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Manage the day-to-day vendor communications and activities related to all space planning at the United Center, ensuring the Event Architect is clear on all requirements to be designed.
• Collaborate with and help guide other internal stakeholder requirements, ensuring that all departmental space and infrastructure needs are collected.
• Ensure adherence to the general project timeline and service delivery expectations.
• Communicate clearly all requirements for furniture, fixtures, or other equipment (FF&E) requests and needs at the United Center.
• Ensure that ‘client’ buildout requests for both internal and external assigned spaces are completed on time and as expected.
• Manage the development of a comprehensive hospitality plan and team.
• Manage the operations required to support the Suite Levels during convention week.
• Collaborate on a building access plan for Limited and Unlimited Access Periods, ensuring key stakeholders and personnel can access the building as required.
• Assist with development and management of the volunteer program for the Arena Operations team.
• Serve as a strong leader for the department, providing support, feedback, and professional growth opportunities for the team.
• Create a collaborative, encouraging, and supportive work environment for your team.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Significant demonstration of experience in large-scale events and hospitality planning projects, with proven abilities to deliver on time and on budget.
• Excellent project management skills, with the ability to manage several projects, vendors, and clients at the same time.
• Exemplary organization, problem-solving, interpersonal, presentation, and communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines in a fast-paced environment while adhering to proper protocols, procedures, and regulations.
• Thorough knowledge of Google Docs collaborative suite.
• Exceptionally well organized with superior attention to detail.
• Strong interpersonal skills, sense of humor and ability to work well on a team.
• Willingness to be a proactive team member to help accomplish the goals of the Convention.

WORK ENVIRONMENT/PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The DNCC will mainly operate out of the Headquarters Office, but will also maintain a number of satellite offices and additional venues. All of these spaces are professional office environments, and will require the operation of office equipment such as computers, phones, and copy machines. This position mainly uses an assigned workstation but may require movement or maintaining a stationary position for short or long periods of time. Employees may be asked to do tasks requiring dexterity or lifting items weighing up to 10 lbs. All employees may request a reasonable accommodation to perform their job tasks.

ANTICIPATED START DATE: March 2024 (ASAP)

LOCATION: Chicago, IL

TRAVEL: This position may require limited travel outside the Chicagoland area - less than 10%.

FLSA ELIGIBILITY: This is an exempt position under the FLSA.

SALARY & BENEFITS: The anticipated starting salary for this position is $110K. The DNCC offers a benefits package that includes medical, dental, and vision insurance, Flexible Spending Accounts, and disability and life insurance.

COVID-19 Policy

To center the safety and well-being of our teams, The DNCC requires all employees to be "up to date" on COVID-19 vaccination status as prescribed by the CDC as a condition of employment, unless otherwise prohibited by applicable law. If you seek a reasonable accommodation in relation to the DNCC’s COVID-19 policy, you should speak to the HR team prior to reporting to an office location.

Equal Opportunity Employer

The Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC), is committed to diversity among its staff, and recognizes that its continued success requires the highest commitment to obtaining and retaining a diverse staff that is best able to deliver a Convention that reflects the values and diversity of our Party and Country. The DNCC is an equal opportunity employer and it is our policy to recruit, hire, train, promote and administer any and all personnel actions without regard to sex, race, age, color, creed, national origin, religion, economic status, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity or expression, ethnic identity or disability, or any other legally protected basis. The DNCC will not tolerate any unlawful discrimination and any such conduct is strictly prohibited.

Reasonable Accommodation

The Democratic National Convention Committee is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, the DNCC will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations for the hiring process. If a reasonable accommodation is needed, please contact hr@demconvention.com.