Associate Director of Guest Experiences

Every position at Lauritzen Gardens is essential to the organization’s success and contributes to accomplishing the strategic goals and, ultimately, achieving its vision for the future. This role encompasses every employee’s goal of engaging with colleagues, partners, and stakeholders to support the organization’s mission. Engagement includes participation on teams and committees, exerting extra effort to help the organization succeed, and investing time in the guest experience. Success in this position involves taking pride in working for this organization, committing to effective communication, being solution-focused, and embracing a culture of positive change. Lauritzen is continuously working to build a culture where employees each work with an enthusiastic desire to contribute their skills, wisdom, and ideas towards their team’s performance and to experience a sense of satisfaction in their essential role.

The Associate Director of Guest Experiences is responsible for developing key relationships with clients, potential clients, and internal partners and maintaining a sales pipeline. This position also handles budget, negotiations, logistics, and client function setup. The associate director works with other departments to determine the needs for the planned function, such as defining the goal of the event, projected attendance, and budget. This position is responsible for directing all sales activities within the organization and ensuring annual revenue growth year over year. As well as assists with the planning and booking process for public and private events.

Principal Responsibilities/Duties/Functions/Tasks:

· On-site position

· Responsible for providing excellent internal and external customer service and responding to client inquiries, concerns, and complaints.

· Serves as a link in developing and implementing operational goals, objectives, policies, and priorities; works to achieve objectives; implements resulting policies and procedures.

· Identifies and executes opportunities for improving service delivery methods and procedures; identifies resource needs; reviews with appropriate management staff; and implements improvements

· Assists clients and event planners with site tours, insurance and license agreements, facility rental payments, bid proposals, contractual terms, lease agreements, and booking guidelines and rates for conventions, meetings, and trade shows.

· Monitors and ensures successful facility utilization to maximize facility usage.

· Provides facility usage information, including building capacity, technical services, and facility guidelines and regulations such as fire codes, health regulations, food and beverage requirements, and security requirements.

· Coordinates and assists with third-party vendor functions; provides set-up, needed equipment, decorators, staging, catering, move-out, etc.

· Reviews and verifies client references regarding research event history, press coverage, and past attendance.

· Processes and maintains client files, forms, statistical and monthly reports, and other related documents.

· Prepares cost estimates, equipment, space availability, room arrangement, and information on staff needed to clients; verifies and receives rental payments from clients; maintains receipts and outstanding balances for all services rendered.

Designs and implements social media strategies that align with the new image of events at the Garden in partnership with the marketing department.

· Research industry trends to keep Garden current through webinars, blogs, industry leaders, researcher’s data, etc.

· Assists marketing by gathering photographs and or other promotional material to create content

· Participates in the planning, preparation, and filling of employee roles for various public events/exhibits

Position Type, Expected Hours of Work, Travel:

This is a full-time, on-site position, and the regular hours of work and days are Saturday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 6 p.m.; however, flexible work hours are required to meet the needs of the Organization.

Working in the evenings and on holidays will be required.

Flextime is a work schedule arrangement that may or may not be appropriate for this position.

Work Environment:

This job operates in a professional office environment. It routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, and filing cabinets. The position will also work outside during public exhibits/events in Nebraska climate conditions.

Required Education and Experience:

· HS Diploma/GED and four years of responsible customer service and sales experience, including two years of administrative and lead supervisory experience.

· Knowledge of the operational characteristics, services, and activities of a public events facility

· Education in the principles and practices of public events arrangements and procedures

· Experience with efficient and safe techniques in facility management.

· Education in marketing, advertising, and promotions methods, techniques, procedures, and practices.

· Leadership experience with proven ability to use it to motivate and energize staff to make proactive decisions and communicate with clients effectively.

· Knowledge of the policies and requirements of food and beverage handling, traffic, safety, and signage

· MS Office experience with demonstrated proficiency in Word, Excel, Teams, and Outlook

Additional Eligibility Qualifications:

· Ability to effectively plan and prioritize with confidence to make decisions.

· Ability to successfully establish and maintain effective working relationships.

· Excellent organization and time management skills.

· Confidence in analyzing problems, identifying solutions, projecting consequences of proposed actions, and implementing recommendations supporting goals.

· Effective oral and written communication skills with the ability to prepare clear and concise administrative and financial reports.

· Ability to interpret, follow, and apply policies and procedures.

· Excellent communication skills with the ability to help staff and board members with varying levels of financial acumen understand budgets and financial reports

· Keen attention to detail with excellent organization skills and ability to prioritize work to meet deadlines

· Self-motivated individual with the ability to work under time constraints and work well with others and as part of a team

· High ethical conduct to ensure credibility and effectiveness with others.

Compensation: $65,000/year

At Lauritzen Gardens, we strive to create a workplace that reflects the communities we serve and work with, where we all feel empowered to bring our whole, authentic selves to work. We know creating a diverse and inclusive culture that champions equity and belonging is not only the right thing to do for our employees but is also critical to our continued success.

We welcome your unique background, culture, experiences, knowledge, innovation, self-expression, and perspectives, which you can bring to our global community. Our recruitment team is looking forward to meeting you.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $65,000.00 per year

Experience:

• Microsoft Excel: 1 year (Required)
• Sales: 4 years (Required)
• Administrative experience: 1 year (Required)
• Microsoft Word: 1 year (Required)

Ability to Commute:

• Omaha, NE 68108 (Preferred)

Work Location: In person

Salary : $65,000