Guest Services Manager (Event Services Leader)

Department Information

Since opening its doors in 1941, IU Auditorium has served as a university and community gathering place, hosting a diverse array of world-class artists, entertainers, musicians, and lecturers in its 3,200-seat theatre. The Auditorium has been host for over 75 years to the world’s top performers and speakers, from the Metropolitan Opera and Les Miserables to Kevin Hart and John Kerry. As the leading performing arts organization in South Central Indiana in terms of quality, leadership, innovation, and overall guest satisfaction, IU Auditorium exists to create world-class arts and event experiences at Indiana University.

In addition to the wide variety of arts and entertainment events, the Auditorium continues to serve as the community’s gathering place, hosting a variety of university ceremonies, orientation programs, conferences, weddings, and special events. With a focus on student exposure and interaction with the arts, the Auditorium is ensuring its vital role in the greater university for years to come.

We are excited to welcome into our Auditorium family a dynamic team member who can uphold our reputation of providing expert and professional event and guest services, and serve and engage with a diverse array of artists, tours, and local clients.

For more information about the Auditorium, visit our website

For information about the generous benefits offered by IU, click here

Job Summary

Department Specific Responsibilities

• Responsible for ensuring the safety and well-being of visitors to the Auditorium by recruiting, hiring, and coordinating all Guest Services student and non-student staff, creating, and implementing training and incentive programs, and managing event planning and execution efforts for over 200 events per year.
• Serves as the chief guest services officer to over 250,000 guests annually.
• Responsible for ensuring all visitors receive exceptional service and the Auditorium is presenting the best possible image to its guests, clients, and performers.
• Responsible for recruiting, hiring, and staffing three Auditorium departments and actively supervises two full-time and over 60 part-time front-of-house employees, and 500-600 volunteers.
• Creates schedules, assigns duties, and procures and delegates resources for all Auditorium public events and programs.
• Provides assistance as needed for special event coverage of off-site events handled by the Auditorium¿s Event Services unit, including events at Assembly Hall, Memorial Stadium, and other IU facilities.
• Creates and manages a $300,000 annual budget for Auditorium Concessions, Guest Services, and Building Services departments including payroll, and contracted services.
• Attends event planning meeting and serves as contact for clients on all Guest Services planning items.
• Acts as Manager on Duty, as needed.
• Coordinates communication with contracted services for all IU Auditorium events including EMT, Police, Concessions, Merchandise, and additional services as needed.

General Responsibilities

• Provides day-to-day operational management of event services staff.
• Establishes short-term operational objectives.
• Identifies operational issues and/or areas of improvement and implements solutions to improve processes and/or operational efficiency.
• Analyzes, monitors, and evaluates performance of assigned staff; establishes work priorities, conducts performance reviews, and provides corrective action as needed.
• Ensures adequate staffing and effective scheduling; participates and informs employment decisions for assigned staff.
• Provides direct supervision and oversight of assigned staff and activities; impacts, and is held accountable for, the performance of team and/or assigned staff.
• Ensures and provides training to assigned staff to improve event services; researches and identifies development opportunities for assigned staff.
• Researches and stays up-to-date on new industry event services standards, best practices, and emerging technology; keeps next-level leader(s) informed of trends as well as significant problems.

Qualifications

Combinations of related education and experience may be considered. Education beyond the minimum required may be substituted for work experience. Work experience beyond the minimum required may be substituted for education. 

EDUCATION

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in business or arts management or a related field

WORK EXPERIENCE

Required

• 2 years of experience in business, conferences, events, venue management, theatrical house management, customer service, or a related field

SKILLS

Required

• Proficient communication skills
• Maintains a high degree of professionalism
• Demonstrates time management and priority setting skills
• Demonstrates a high commitment to quality
• Excellent collaboration and team building skills
• Excellent organizational skills
• Effectively coaches and delivers constructive feedback
• Instills commitment to organizational goals
• Demonstrates knowledge of event staffing, crowd management, event security, public assembly facility emergency protocols, and event ticketing
• Excellent interpersonal and intercultural communication skills, including the ability to establish and maintain internal and external relationships, and effectively and tactfully deal with the public, donors, sponsors, and VIPs
• Possess an interest, enthusiasm, and affinity for working with people
• Ability to work well in multicultural teams and with diverse constituencies
• Self-motivated, work well under pressure, with ability to handle several projects at one time
• Ability to exercise good judgment, excellent problem solving skills, and strong diplomacy skills
• Knowledge of effective management principles, including human resource and supervisory
• Ability to interpret, implement, and create written procedures and policies
• Ability to assess office needs (make recommendations on staffing, equipment, and other program requirements)
• Experience ensuring compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Life Safety Code
• Strong organization, computer, and financial management skills

Working Conditions / Demands

This role regularly requires the ability to effectively communicate. This role frequently requires the ability to handle cash and equipment. This role frequently requires the ability to remain stationary and ascend/descend ladders/stairs. This role requires the ability to move objects weighing up to 25 pounds. The role requires the ability to detect items in close proximity as well as far away; discern between colors; detect objects in peripheral space of self; discern items in detail; and to have good depth perception. The person in this role must be able to perform the essential functions with or without an accommodation.

Work Location

Bloomington, Indiana

Advertised Salary

$44,242.00 – $54,000.00 annually

Work Hours

This job often requires working on evenings, weekends, and holidays.

To Apply

We would like to invite you to visit the Indiana University careers site and initiate your application process.

Directions on how to apply:
1.  Non-IU employees should click on the first link below to access the careers site; current IU employees should click on the second link below.
2.  Review the job description and then click on “Apply for Job” to begin your application.
3.  Non-IU employees will need to sign in to access your account.  If you do not already have an account, click on “Register Now” to create an account.  Current IU employees will be recognized through CAS Authorization.
4.  Complete the application process.

If you are NOT an IU employee currently, please CLICK HERE

Current IU employees should use this link