Venue Manager / Live Events Producer

Taoti is Hiring: Live Events & Venue Manager / Producer

The Big Picture

Taoti started off (back in the 90s) as a web dev shop.  Then we evolved into a full-service creative / marketing agency.  During the pandemic, we started producing virtual and hybrid events (mostly because our clients simply needed those service, so we dug in and figured it out.)  Since live events very much compliment the work we’re already doing for many of our clients, we further leaned into that realm, bought a new building, and spun up our very own event venue on Capitol Hill (which you can see/learn more about at www.The507Events.com.)  As our live events and productions business area continues to grow, we’re looking to add a new, dedicated role to the team to help us manage and produce these events—both in our own venue, but also for our clients across the DMV area.

The Day-to-Day

This is one of those ‘never a dull moment’ type of roles since live events tend to be very different, dynamic, and hands-on.  In a nutshell, your job is to help market, sell, and execute/produce live events—both in Taoti’s own events venue (“The 507,”) as well as for our clients at other venues in the DC area (such as community events put on by EventsDC, various non-profit conferences, DC Lottery brand activations, etc.)  The ‘how’ of the role is a bit all over the place given the very different needs of our clients.

 Some examples of events that you might help plan and produce:

• A fundraising gala for a school in our upstairs “lounge” space at The 507
• A conference for a trade association in our downstairs “event hall” space at The 507
• Bar mitzvahs, weddings, parties, and other social events (also usually in our space)
• Brand activations at The Wharf or in Georgetown
• A DC Lottery giveaway at Audi Field (Soccer stadium)
• Holiday events at the DC Convention Center (or other DC venues in the District)
• Family fun days at the “Fields at RFK” complex
• Interactive events, like “Sip and Paint” or “Culinary Classes” or “Wine Tastings,” etc.

Really, the sky is the limit.  And your role will vary as much as the events do.  Sometimes you may just give tours of our space to interested parties and rent the space ‘cold and empty’ if that’s all they want.  Other times, you may go into full-blown event-planner/producer mode in helping to figure out the event theme, run-of-show, catering selections, décor, etc.)  Like most live event roles, you’ll need to be both ‘big picture’ when it comes to concepting and event planning, but also ‘in the weeds’ when it comes to actually managing the event and dealing with the minutia that inevitably pops up once things get going.  You’ll need to be uber-resourceful in figuring out how to problem-solve on the spot, despite whatever the challenges may be.  You’ll need to be mindful of budgets, timelines, personalities, and juggle multiple parties (customers, vendors, caterers, etc.)  Being super organized is of course a must.  But what makes you great at this job is your ability to think 10 steps ahead of everyone else and anticipate real-world issues that may pose a risk or complication.  As the say, the show must go on.  And it’s your job to make sure it does, come hell or high water.  You’ll generally be the person in charge (at least from Taoti’s side), so successful execution of the event (and customer satisfaction) ultimately lies with you.

Especially for events in our own space, you’ll generally need to be on-site for the duration of those events, just to make sure everything goes smoothly.  That means helping with setup, assisting with any technical or A/V needs, handling last minute requests (such as printing a quick sign or figuring out where to get extra ice, knowing how to turn off the HVAC to make it quiet when someone gives a toast, etc.)  Sometimes the job gets (a little bit) physical, and you may need to help set up tables and chairs, put linens out, hang some décor from the ceiling, etc. 

Of course, events don’t happen every day (they probably happen to 4-6 times per month, but we expect that number to increase as we do more marketing for our own venue.)  When you’re not actively running an event, your focus will be on helping to drive bookings for our space, “The 507.”  Keep in mind, Taoti is fundamentally a marketing agency.  So of course, we have lots of marketing resources to help you—from designers to social media managers, to marketing strategists.  We don’t expect you to be a one-person marketing team in a vacuum.  That said, there are a lot of marketing activities that just need execution in between the live events.  Those duties may include things like:

• Respond to booking inquires, fields those phone calls and emails, and arrange tours of the space
• Negotiate booking pricing and contracts
• Create/post content on social media that promotes our space
• Actively manage digital outlets that promote our space (Facebook marketplace, DestinationDC, Eventective, TheKnot, and other sites that we list our space on)
• Suggest and work with caterers and other vendors on behalf of our customers
• Do research and source unique client requests (from arcade games to belly dancers to ice cream trucks.  And everything in between.)
• Bet the point of contact for our events customers
• Help plan events for our customers*

* We don’t expect you to be a full-blown wedding planner.  For complex events like that, we would refer customers to people who do that sort of thing full time (and we have a growing rolodex of those folks.)  We also have other people (both on staff as well as third-party vendors we go to for specific services (like cleaning, bar tending, fabrication, etc.)  But we do get a lot of much simpler events that don’t really have the need (nor budget) for a dedicated, professional planner but nevertheless still need some guidance when it comes to catering, services, décor, etc.  And that’s where get to channel your inner event planner.  We recognize that everyone’s comfort level with some of these sorts of tasks will be different, and before we make any hires, we’ll of course want to have a candid discussion about where you draw the line between what you can/will reasonably do and where we need to plan to hire outside/additional help. 

Job Logistics

Being that this job involves live events in physical spaces (all within the DMV), we need someone willing to be on-site, daily—whether that’s at our own venue or at a client venue.)  Even on days when we don’t have events scheduled (which are most days—at least for now), we do get drop-ins to our venue, so you need to be generally here and able to give those tours or take those meetings when you’re available.  Of course, the nature of live events is that many of them happen outside of normal business hours.  So you need to be the type of person with the personal flexibility and willingness to deal with a sporadic schedule that will vary from week to week.  As with all Taotians, we ask for a 40 hour work week, and that goes for you too.  But we want to be fair about it, so if you have to be on duty after hours or on a weekend, we would effectively ‘trade’ that time during the week so that you could be off and recharge your batteries (obviously, plenty of flexibility on both sides of the equation is required here.)  You’ll have a lot of freedom and autonomy to come and go as needed.  It’s just important that you’re willing and able to commit to being available for the events, no matter what (extreme circumstances notwithstanding.  But you can’t really call in sick or take a personal day if you’re running an event.  Again, the show must go on.)

Career Growth

Five years ago, Taoti didn’t even think about the event space.  Fast forward a few years, and now we have our own 15K square foot venue, multiple event contracts with the likes of EventsDC, dozens of successful events under our belts (with lots more on the calendar), etc.  Suffice it to say, expanding our events and productions business is a strategic focus for the agency.  This role used to be handled ad hoc by others in the agency, but it’s time for it to be its own position.  It won’t take long before one position becomes a small team.  Which will grow into a larger team, and eventually its own division.  One nice thing about working to build up a division within an established, full-service agency is that you have lots of support and resources that most events companies wouldn’t have at this stage of their evolution.  Aside from all the subject matter experts we have to support you (digital, creative, marketing, technical, project management, etc.) we also have all the business basics figured out (licenses, accounting, facilities, etc.)  So it’s like getting in on the ground floor of something, but without the risk of doing so.  And having a huge running start to boot!  This is a great opportunity for someone with an entrepreneurial spirit who wants to really grow something (but not all by his/her/themselves.)

What’s the corporate culture like?

“Fun but focused,” as one Taotian put it, is a great way to sum up our culture.  We’re a fun and casual shop.  The kind of place where you can wear whatever, come and go as you please, and have autonomy over your own day for the most part.  But we take the work seriously and believe deeply in the mission to make meaningful and measurable impacts for our clients.  All the perks and shenanigans and borderline irreverent tone are fun, but to really fit in here, you need to be committed to the work and the results it generates.

We believe in something we call our “QIST Culture.”  Quality.  Innovation.  Service.  And Teamwork.  We are always striving to improve these four areas (to the extent that we have a fund of a quarter million dollars per year that anyone can spend from in the interest of going above and beyond towards any of these four values.   We also believe in total transparency and open communication across teams and across ranks. Instead of chain-of-command, we want everyone to have and share their own voice. Every other Thursday, the CEO holds ‘CafeClutch’ just so he can hear ideas and feedback directly from the team instead of through the filter of management. 

Want to see what life at Taoti looks like?  Check out our Instagram or ‘about us’ video. 

What about benefits?

• 5 weeks of PTO (including 11 holidays).  This number goes up automatically with each year of tenure.
• 100% company-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance.  (50% for qualifying dependents.) 
• Paid family leave for men and women (including PTO plus short and long-term disability options.) 
• 3% retirement plan matching (plus access to a financial advisor).  
• Home buyer help (including a $1200 closing credit) 
• Mobile phone reimbursement 
• You can opt for a company-supplied PC or Mac laptop.  Or if you want to use your own, we’ll reimburse you for it. 
• Charitable contribution matching 
• Tax-free metro benefits 
• A sincere respect for work/life balance (in this role, there is a lot of nights/weekends.  So we have a 'traded day' policy such that if you have to work a Saturday or staying late for an after-hours event, you can take off a normal business day (or part thereof) so that you don't just end up working more days.  Of course, some flexibility is required, but we try to make it all balance out in the end.)
• Money and time off allocated for professional development (also increases with tenure) 
• A diverse team hailing from over 12 countries last time we checked 
• A very hip/cool/funky/quirky office space on Barracks Row, in the heart of Capitol Hill.  Just 2 blocks from the metro!  

 Of course, the above is a quick list.  Our handbook covers all the gory details.

A bit more about Taoti…

Established in 1996, Taoti Creative is a boutique, full-service creative agency located on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.  We are privately owned and have no corporate overloads (nothing personal, WPP.)  We do stuff like web development, social media management, branding, experiential marketing, video, AR/VR, etc.  We even have our own event venue and are growing an event management/production division. Our mission is to ‘move the needle’ for our clients.  We leverage technology, creativity, and innovation to generate meaningful and measurable results for our clients—that’s what drives us.  Speaking of clients, they’re about 50% non-profits, 20% commercial, and 30% government.  Some of our customers include World Bank, USAID, DC Water, Discovery Education, American Chemical Society, Jane Goodall Foundation, and dozens of ‘National Association of _________,’ etc.  Our full-time team of about 60 employees is about 65% in-house and 35% remote.  We hail from over 8 countries.   There’s of course plenty of additional information on our website.  If you’ve not done so already, be sure to check out our culture video: https://vimeo.com/289302105. 

Next steps… 

If you’re qualified and interested, please apply on our website (www.taoti.com/careers.)  Please note that these job ads often get placed onto other websites with their own application systems (we’re looking at you Jooble!)  and some sites (looking at you Indeed!) have made up random salary ranges, so if you see one of those, know that it's not from us.  We aren't able to respond to applications that don’t come through our own website (Because we use software to manage our hiring process, and without it, it would be the wild west here. So please be sure you’re applying on our website.)   

Pretty please, no recruiters.