Operations Coordinator

Northeastern Illinois University; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 50,000 - 61,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, and vision benefits

State Universities Retirement System

CMS employee benefits page

Job summary

Northeastern Illinois University is seeking an Operations Coordinator to manage event operations in the Student Union and Education Building, and provide AV and production support for campus events, commencements, and related activities. You will supervise student and freelance staff and coordinate with faculty, partners, and renters.

Responsibilities include setting up equipment, operating conference room technology (including Zoom), maintaining inventory, and assisting with policy and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree is required.
• One year of education, training, or work experience in the area of specialization.
• Additional education or experience in diagnosing and repairing A/V equipment may be required.
• Ability to lift up to 70 pounds and work on ladders and catwalks.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate operations for events in the Student Union and Education Building.
• Advance event needs with faculty, staff, renters, and external partners.
• Oversee setup/strike of tables, chairs, staging, and AV equipment.
• Supervise student workers, freelance staff, and contractors.
• Administrate venue calendars and update scheduling systems.

Skills

Event coordination

Staff supervision

AV technology

Live sound

Scheduling

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

QLab

Vectorworks

CAD

Microsoft Office

Google Workspace

Zoom / web conferencing

Job description

Northeastern offers a rewarding working environment for our students and employees. Our faculty and staff are smart, dedicated people who work to create an excellent urban university experience for bright and motivated students. Job Summary: As part of the Student Union, Events and Conference Services department (SUECS), and Production and Technical Services department (PTS), the Operations Coordinator reports to the Operations Manager and is responsible for coordinating event operations in the Student Union, Education Building, as well as providing event operations services for other PTS-supported events on campus, Board of Trustees meetings and other PTS-supported events at El Centro and CCICS campuses, and NEIU commencements. Responsibilities include planning staffing and operations services with SUECS staff, student groups, faculty, staff, rental groups, and other clients, supervising the work of student staff, freelance staff, and contractors, executing equipment setups, operating conference room technology, including web conferencing, and setting up portable amplification systems. After the Production Unit, the Operations Coordinator provides production support for events in the Sasha Gerritson Theatre, Recital Hall, as well as other spaces at all NEIU locations.

Job Description

• Coordinates operations for all events in the Student Union, Education Building, and for other SUECS/PTS-supported events on the north campus.
• Advances event needs with NEIU faculty, staff, and external partners, renters, and other event organizers.
• Executes the following: setup and strike of tables, chairs, portable staging, lecterns, and other event equipment, the configuration and operation of conference room AV technology including live sound amplification, projections, AV recording, and remote conference technologies such as Zoom, and coordination of event equipment loans.
• Supervises and provides direction for a staff of student workers, freelance employees, and contractors to meet the operations needs for events in the Student Union, Education Building, and other SUECS/PTS-supported events on the north campus.
• Creates training and protocol documentation.
• Suggests improvements to administrative systems in support of departmental responsibilities.
• Enforces University policy, and assists the Production Manager with creating and revising policy for the Production Unit.
• Maintains equipment and records, including repairing event equipment, verifying and updating inventory documentation, creating and updating room signage, and notifying the Operations Manager of any issues outside of this scope.
• Reports facilities maintenance requests to Facilities Management.
• Administrates venue calendars via the University scheduling system.
• Ensures activities in venues are accurately reflected in the scheduling system.
• Provides production support as needed in the Sasha Gerritson Theatre and Recital Hall.
• Covers and assists with the duties of the Production Unit when necessary.
• After the Operations Manager, serves as secondary liaison to faculty, staff, rental clients and others, and advises and educates on equipment operations and facilities use.
• Serves as primary or secondary event liaison to Police and Building Service Workers during SUECS/PTS-supported events.
• Provides administrative support and management for rental events, including meeting with prospective clients, attending pre-production meetings for contracted rentals, serving as primary day-of production point-of-contact for NEIU venues, and reporting on space and staff usage for accurate invoicing.
• Participates in the planning and execution of commencement and board meetings, and other off-campus or satellite PTS-supported events. This includes but is not limited to: organizing equipment, loading trucks, driving trucks, moving furniture, setting up, configuring, and operating AV equipment and conference room technology, and other duties normally performed on-campus.
• Participation at all commencement ceremonies is required.
• Performs other related duties as assigned, or as needed.

Minimal Qualifications

1. 1. Bachelor’s degree.
2. 2. A total of one (1) year (12 months) in education, training and/or work experience in the area of specialization inherent to the position. (Note: Master’s Degree in an area consistent with the duties of the position may be substituted for one (1) year of work experience.)
3. 3. Based on position requirements, additional education, training, and/or work experience in the area of specialization inherent to the position, may be required.
4. Additional education, training and/or work experience in the area of specialization: Diagnosing, troubleshooting, and repairing audio, video, lighting, and networking equipment. (Required)
5. Ability to lift up to 70 pounds, work on ladders (up to a 24-foot working height), lifts (up to a 30-foot working height), catwalks and crawl spaces.(Required)

Departmental Preferences

• 2 years of experience managing a team
• Knowledge of video recording, livestreaming, video editing, and webconferencing
• Experience managing rental events
• Familiarity with Microsoft Office suite, Google suite, and email correspondence.
• Understanding of event related software, including QLab, CAD and/or Vectorworks.
• Ability to interpret and implement layouts and diagrams.
• Demonstrated problem solving ability.
• Self-motivated, ability to carry out tasks with minimal direction.
• High attention to detail and solid organizational skills.

Schedule

Flexible schedule based on departmental needs and event schedules. Evening and weekend hours may be required.

Location

NEIU Main Campus (5500 North St. Louis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60625). Travel to other NEIU campus locations is required as needed.

Setting

In-office, not eligible for hybrid or remote work.

Applicant Requirements

Applicants must be legally authorized to work for any employer in the United States. This position is not eligible for sponsorship of work visas. This position requires a background check.

Salary Range

$55,000

Benefits

• University employees may be eligible for a variety of State of Illinois benefits. These benefits are administered through the Illinois Department of Central Management Service (CMS). Please visit our Employee Benefits page to learn more about our comprehensive benefits package including health, dental, and vision benefits, sick and vacation days, and participation in the State Universities Retirement System.

Northeastern Illinois University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer and invites applications from Women, Minorities, Veterans and Persons with Disabilities, as well as other qualified individuals.

Northeastern Illinois University's Main Campus is located on 67 acres in a residential area on the Northwest Side of Chicago. The University has three additional locations in the metropolitan area: the Jacob H. Carruthers Center for Inner City Studies, El Centro and the Center for College Access and Success. Northeastern also is a founding member of the University Center of Lake County consortium campus in suburban Lake County, north of Chicago. Northeastern offers more than 40 undergraduate degree and certificate programs and more than 50 graduate degree, certificate, licensure and endorsement programs.