Assistant Director, Programs and Events

University of Chicago; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 58,000 - 63,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Chicago Booth School of Business’s Rustandy Center seeks an Assistant Director, Programs and Events to lead end-to-end event support for student, alumni, and public audiences. You will manage pre-event logistics, day-of execution, and post-event evaluation across signature programs and conferences.

The role emphasizes collaboration, attention to detail, and effective communication, with hybrid work in Chicago and involvement across multiple Booth venues.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a related field required or equivalent.
• 2–5 years of work experience in a related role.
• Experience in event planning, administrative support, and customer service preferred.

Responsibilities

• Provides project management support to Rustandy Center program owners through regular check-ins and tracking progress of events and programs using project management software.
• Supports pre-event logistics: securing dates within the Center’s programming calendar, booking appropriate space, ordering catering, coordinating event setup, and staffing across the Rustandy program team.
• Oversees day-of logistics: room set-up, A/V and IT coordination, registration, and catering.
• Assists with post-event evaluation: surveys/interviews/focus groups, and provides feedback to program owners and leadership.
• Maintains the Rustandy Center program team’s event calendar and coordinates across the academic year to prevent conflicts.
• Supports use of event management tools (Airtable, CRM) by the program team.
• Provides end-to-end event support for conferences including planning, vendor coordination, on-site execution, and post-conference evaluation.
• Analyzes program budgets and makes budgetary recommendations.

Skills

Project management

Communication

Attention to detail

Team collaboration

Event planning

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Microsoft Outlook

Google Sheets/Docs

Zoom

Slack

Airtable

Job description

## Assistant Director, Programs and EventsApply: Hybrid: Chicago, IL: Full time: Posted Today: JR35472**Department**Booth Rustandy Center: Research, Strategic Initiatives, and Operations**About the Department**The University of Chicago Booth School of Business is the second-oldest business school in the U.S. and second to none when it comes to influencing business education and business practices. Since 1898, the school has produced ideas and leaders that shape the world of business. Their rigorous, discipline-based approach to business education transforms students into confident, effective, respected business leaders prepared to face the toughest challenges. Chicago Booth has the finest set of facilities of any business school in the world. Each of the four campuses (two in Chicago, one in London, and one in Hong Kong) reflects the architectural traditions of its environs while offering a state-of-the-art learning environment. Chicago Booth is proud to claim: -an unmatched faculty. -degree and open enrollment programs offered on three continents. -a global body of nearly 56,000 accomplished alumni. -strong and growing corporate relationships that provide a wealth of lifelong career opportunities. As part of the world-renowned University of Chicago, Chicago Booth shares the University's core values that shape the distinctive intellectual culture. At Booth, they constantly question and test ideas, and seek proof. This extraordinarily effective approach to business leads to new ideas and innovative solutions. Seven of the Booth faculty members have won Nobel Prizes for these ideas - the first business school to achieve this accomplishment. For more information about the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, please visit: http://www.chicagobooth.edu/.**Job Summary**The Rustandy Center’s mission is to advance research, promote innovation, and develop the people and practices to accelerate solving the social problems confronting our world. The Assistant Director, Programs and Events supports the Rustandy Center’s mission by providing end-to-end operational support to our events and programs in order to create engaging and thought-provoking experiences for our students, alumni, and public facing audiences. Responsibilities include project management for staff- and student-led events and programs, event execution support including coordinating staffing, catering, A/V, facilities, and guest speakers as well as collecting and maintaining feedback from events and programs for continual improvement. This position is not eligible for employer-sponsored employment authorization.**Responsibilities*** Provides project management support to Rustandy Center program owners through regular check-ins and tracking progress of events and programs using project management software. Programs supported may include but are not exclusive to the Edwardson Social New Venture Challenge, Edwardson Civic Scholars Program, Impact Investing competitions, Civic Chicago , and the suite of nonprofit leadership programs, and public thought leadership events showcasing academic research, as well as leading planning for the center’s annual advisory council meeting and special events like the celebratory dinner for supporters of the Center.* Supports pre-event logistics for Rustandy Center events, including securing dates within the Center’s programming calendar, booking appropriate space at the Harper Center and other Booth venues, ordering catering, coordinating event setup, and coordinating staffing across the Rustandy program team. This includes the Center’s recurring signature events such as the Edwardson Social New Venture Challenge, the annual advisory council meeting, a celebratory dinner for supporters of the Center, and the Polsky/Rustandy Open House.* Oversees day-of logistics for Rustandy Center events and programs, including room set-up, A/V and IT setup/coordination, registration, and catering. Programs supported include the Edwardson Social New Venture Challenge, the Center’s impact investing competitions including the Turner MIINT program, Civic Leadership convenings, and public thought leadership programs showcasing Rustandy-affiliated faculty research.* Assists with post-event evaluation for Rustandy Center programs, including collecting, maintaining, and interpreting participant and staff feedback through survey distribution, 1:1 interviews, and/or focus groups, and providing that feedback to Rustandy program owners and center leadership to inform future program design.* Maintains and coordinates the Rustandy Center program team’s event calendar, sequencing the Center’s student, alumni, and public-facing programs across the academic year and preventing conflicts within the wider Chicago Booth network.* Maintains and supports Rustandy program staff in the use of the Center’s event management processes and tools, including the Center’s event management platform, the Rustandy program team’s Airtable environment, and the team’s usage of an internal CRM system.* Provides select course support for Rustandy Center supported classes, including Social Impact Lab, Perspectives on Capitalism, and Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation**,** such as putting together speaker gifts, securing parking for guest speakers and Executives in Residence, and coordinating printing needs.* Provides end-to-end event support for the Center conferences including pre-event planning and vendor coordination, speaker and attendee logistics, on-site execution across multi-day programming, and post-conference evaluation.* Uses moderate/solid understanding and experience to administer the delivery of services to program participants and/or beneficiaries.* Analyzes program budgets and recommends or makes budgetary recommendations.* Performs other related work as needed.**Minimum Qualifications****Education:**Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.**Work Experience:**Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 2-5 years of work experience in a related job discipline.**Certifications:****---****Preferred Qualifications** **Education:*** Bachelor’s degree. **Experience:*** Event planning, administrative, and/or customer service experience.* Background planning and executing events. **Technical Skills or Knowledge:*** Proficiency with project management software.* Intermediate user of Microsoft Outlook, Google Sheets/Docs, Zoom, and/or Slack.* Survey creation and evaluation experience.* A/V support experience.* Familiar with building or using no-code development tools, particularly Airtable. **Preferred Competencies*** Demonstrated project management skills with keen attention to detail.* Interest or experience in process design and improvement* Strong verbal and written communication skills.* Interest in the Center’s program areas such as social entrepreneurship, business and democracy, impact investing, and/or nonprofit board service. **Working Conditions*** This position is currently expected to work a minimum three days per week in the office. **Application Documents*** Resume/CV (required)* Cover Letter (required)The University of Chicago uses AI-assisted tools to streamline and augment some recruitment processes; however, AI is not used to make hiring decisions. When applying, the document(s) **MUST** be uploaded via the **My Experience** page, in the section titled **Application Documents** of the application.**Job Family**Administration & Management**Role Impact**Individual Contributor**Scheduled** **Weekly Hours**37.5**Drug Test Required**No**Health Screen Required**No**Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required**No**Pay Rate Type**Salary **FLSA Status**Exempt **Pay Range**$58,000.00 - $63,000.00The included pay rate or range represents the University’s good faith estimate of the possible compensation offer for this role at the time of posting.**Benefits Eligible**YesThe University of Chicago offers a wide range of benefits programs and resources for eligible employees, including health, retirement, and paid time off. Information about the benefit offerings can be found in the Benefits Guidebook.**Posting Statement**The University of Chicago is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or expression, national or ethnic origin, shared ancestry, age, status as an individual with a disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.