Events And Operations Coordinator

Job Summary

The Events and Operations plays a critical support role in smooth operations and events taking place at the Science Center Plaza with additional event support to the Senior Events and Operations Manager at the Smith Campus Center. This position is a highly visible and active position, blending operational responsibilities and event planning (both Common Spaces created programs and supporting University activities at the Plaza and Smith Campus Center).

Clear, open communication and a high level of collaboration is critical to success as part of this small, dynamic team. The Events and Operations Coordinator must exhibit a high-level of commitment to producing quality events and attention to design and layout of the Plaza’s physical space, developing a highly tuned sensibility about what is possible in this unique space. The Coordinate will work collaboratively and effectively with students on their events held on the Science Center Plaza in addition to supporting events at the Smith Campus Center as needed. The Events and Operations Coordinator is the primary contact for day-to-day operations at the Science Center Plaza, working closely with landscape colleagues who perform daily maintenance, repairs, and seasonal change outs of furniture and other items. The Coordinator manages the Science Center Plaza food truck program, maintaining active communication with the 10+ trucks who vend at Harvard on an annual basis, updating the food truck calendar frequently with schedule changes, and processing billing each month for vending shifts with the finance office. The Coordinator will manage all incoming invoices for the department that need to be tracked and input into Harvard’s accounts payable system.

Position includes opportunities to work with both University and local community groups with opportunities to thoughtfully grow activation and use of the Science Center Plaza.

Job-Specific Responsibilities

• Plans and executes Common Spaces programs taking place at the Science Center Plaza including food truck program, Plaza WinterFest, Summer on the Plaza, pet therapy, wellness activities, art making activities, and partnership events.
• Facilities all student requests for use of the Plaza including event coordination for larger events and approving daily student tabling requests at the Science Center Plaza and Smith Campus Center and checking in with students each day to confirm their setup needs are meet and are compliant with campus policies.
• Works with Associate Director and Director on seasonal changeovers of the Plaza furniture and activation plans (four times per year).
• Collaborates with the Harvard Events office staff who manage school and department events in the Plaza tent during the fall and spring.
• Collaborates with Events Assistant to produce weekly music series on the Science Center Plaza.
• Tracks Plaza inventory of games, furniture, and equipment that is stored off-site and rotated seasonally on and off the Plaza. Communicates changeover schedule to landscape team and develops schedule for each seasonal changeover.
• Manages all invoices for the Common Spaces team, inputting invoices into Buy2Pay (accounts payable system) and tracks payments.
• Coordinates the annual food truck Request for Proposals (RFP) process including interviewing all current food truck vendors, meeting with new vendors who want to vend, creating an annual schedule that reflect the diverse food interests of the Harvard community, manages the weekly schedule, and keeps an accurate calendar for the Harvard community, and coordinates all billing to the food trucks for vending fees.
• Daily collaboration with Harvard’s landscape staff who support the Plaza and ensure its smooth operations. This involves daily visits to the Plaza, check-ins with staff, preparing of calendars, schedules, and event diagrams and briefings for landscape staff so they are continually updated on upcoming events and requests for additional support.
• Assists with communications duties including website updates, newsletter content, social media, and special event signage for Common Spaces events.
• Updates and prints a weekly Plaza poster using Canva as the design platform and printing to large-scale printer.

• Staffs evening or weekend events on the SCC or Plaza as needed.

Basic Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent relevant experience, 2-3 years of applicable events management and customer-facing experience in higher education, hospitality, municipal, or nonprofit sector.

Additional Qualifications and Skills

High degree of comfort working and effectively communicating with a variety of people and audiences in both programmatic and operational capacities. Interest in community building and audience engagement. The successful candidate must possess strong communications skills, and enthusiasm for working effectively with a diverse range of people within a complex organizational culture.

Technology Skills Required: Experience preferred in editing a web-based content management system (CMS) with calendaring and uploading images and event information. Experience using social media tools for program promotion. Experiencing resizing digital images. Comfort with all Microsoft office systems include MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Some prior experience with making promotional materials such as posters and social media posts preferred.

Physical Requirements

Must be able to lift up to 25 lbs., comfortable standing and moving during much of the working day.

Additional Information

Emergency Status Designation: Non-critical Personnel

Schedule: Sunday – Thursday, 8am – 5pm with additional evening hours as needed (1 or 2 evenings per week during peak months during academic year of September, October, November, February, March, April, and May).

Harvard University Central Administration’s commitment to Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging is rooted in our belief in drawing on the widest possible pool of talent to unify excellence and diversity. Our community strives to uphold these beliefs by honoring the rights, differences, and dignity of others and embracing individuals from varied backgrounds, cultures, races, identities, life experiences, perspectives, beliefs, and values. We aim to foster a campus culture where everyone can thrive, a key to which is ensuring that each of us experience a profound sense of inclusion and belonging.

Job Function

General Administration

Location

USA - MA - Cambridge

Job Code

403040 Coordinator II

Department

Common Spaces

Time Status

Full-time

Salary Grade

055

Union

55 - Hvd Union Cler & Tech Workers

Pre-Employment Screening

Education, Employment, Identity

Schedule

Sunday-Thursday
8-5

EEO Statement

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions, or any other characteristic protected by law.