Associate Director, Institutional Events and Commencement

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The Associate Director, Institutional Events & Commencement reports to the Director, Advancement Events on the Advancement Communications & Institutional Events team within the Office of Institutional Advancement. Serving as a central pillar of the College's experiential brand identity, the Associate Director is as an organized, thoughtful, and strategically minded project manager. Beyond executing a flawless Commencement season, the Associate Director actively manages and supports a portfolio of other signature events within Emerson's comprehensive Institutional Events portfolio. Operating under the leadership of the Events Directors, the Associate Director will be assigned select events to manage completely, while providing matrixed support for major enrollment, presidential, and advancement milestones.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Associate Director, Institutional Events & Commencement reports to the Director, Advancement Events on the Advancement Communications & Institutional Events team within the Office of Institutional Advancement. Serving as a central pillar of the College's experiential brand identity, the Associate Director is as an organized, thoughtful, and strategically minded project manager. Beyond executing a flawless Commencement season, the Associate Director actively manages and supports a portfolio of other signature events within Emerson's comprehensive Institutional Events portfolio. Operating under the leadership of the Events Directors, the Associate Director will be assigned select events to manage completely, while providing matrixed support for major enrollment, presidential, and advancement milestones.

ESSENTIAL JOB DUTIES

• Under the direction of the Events Directors, create, produce, and manage the complete execution of the annual multi-day commencement exercises, graduate hooding ceremonies, and associated VIP platform parties, ensuring a dynamic academic event that elevates the guest experience.
• Formulate and track master project plans, detailed timelines, exhaustive checklists, ground plans, budgets, role descriptions, crew assignments, scripts, and definitive minute-by-minute run-of-show documents.
• Research, design, and pivot ceremony formats as needed to deliver highly impactful in-person, hybrid and virtual graduation experiences. Manage event load-in and load-out as needed.
• In partnership with Marketing & Communications and Student Life, coordinate the delivery of clear, consistent, and multi-layered event communications to students, parents, faculty, staff, and leadership via specialized email workflows, direct inquiries and manage regular website updates.
• Evaluate and deploy specialized technical systems to enhance process efficiency and graduate engagement, including electronic guest ticketing, automated graduate messaging architectures, graduate name pronunciation systems, customized slides, professional portraits, and video captures.
• Research, procure, and supervise premier external event vendors, talent, and production houses; issue structured service contracts, and collect compliant insurance certificates, partnering with Procurement.
• Directly manage select high-profile institutional events as assigned by leadership, steering them from inception through budgeting, registration, vendor procurement, onsite coordination, and post-event analysis.
• Provide crucial operational alignment, staff management, and delivery support for high-volume Admissions Open Houses and Admitted Student Days to strengthen the prospective-to-admitted student lifecycle.
• Monitor and reconcile distinct budgets and transaction pipelines using designated enterprise software, ensuring absolute adherence to division fiscal controls.
• Support the execution of select President's Office, Board-level, and faculty & staff signature activities including internal milestone community forums, retreats, and institutional celebrations.
• Proactively build and maintain high-touch, collaborative working relationships with key campus divisions, specifically the Offices of Student Life, the Registrar, Marketing & Communications, Procurement, Risk Management, and the President's Office, to ensure unified messaging and seamless student and executive engagement.
• Coordinate and deliver critical logistical synergy and staffing support for major on-campus Master Classes, alumni events, and the annual multi-day Alumni Weekend, maximizing constituent affinity and strategic engagement.
• Solicit, organize, and conduct rigorous operational training for networks of staff volunteers, institutional stakeholders, and hired student workers r