Strategic Event & Venue Operations Leader

University of Pennsylvania; Philadelphia (Philadelphia County); On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton San Francisco seeks an Associate Director, Event and Venue Operations to lead strategic event planning, manage multiple venues, and oversee budgets, staffing, and vendor relations. The role requires hands‑on operations leadership, collaboration with faculty and external partners, and a focus on scalable, high‑quality event delivery.

The position emphasizes cross‑functional coordination, adherence to policy, and driving engagement across Wharton’s Bay Area

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent with 5–7 years in events/venue operations.
• Experience overseeing complex institutional events and operations.
• Experience supervising event staff and cross‑functional collaboration.
• Experience developing event policies, procedures, and standards.
• Experience managing event budgets, vendor relations, and performance metrics.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute event strategy across Wharton San Francisco venues.
• Serve as primary client contact from concept to post‑event closeout.
• Direct space setup, vendor activity, live execution, troubleshooting, teardown, and follow‑up.
• Create venue‑specific operating plans addressing layouts, access, and safety.
• Coordinate readiness, testing, opening, and ongoing operations with stakeholders.
• Build scalable systems to extend programming and revenue across venues.

Skills

Event strategy

Operations management

Team leadership

Budget management

Vendor management

Communication

Strategic planning

Evening/weekend availability

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Cvent

Eventbrite

EMS

Salesforce

Job description

University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton San Francisco seeks an Associate Director, Event and Venue Operations to lead strategic event planning, manage multiple venues, and oversee budgets, staffing, and vendor relations. The role requires hands‑on operations leadership, collaboration with faculty and external partners, and a focus on scalable, high‑quality event delivery.

The position emphasizes cross‑functional coordination, adherence to policy, and driving engagement across Wharton’s Bay Area