Special Events Operations Manager

This purpose of this classification is to perform managerial and administrative work functions associated with planning, developing, organizing, overseeing, and implementing activities for city-hosted events.  The job is to perform responsible work in the day-to-day operational management all city hosted or assisted events, including but not limited to: Druid City Arts Festival, the Mayor’s Cup 5K, Live at the Plaza, Celebration on the River, and Holidays on the Plaza.

This classification is authorized to act on behalf of the Director of Arts & Entertainment in absence of the same. 

The following duties are normal for this classification.  The omission of specific duties does not exclude them from the classification if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment for this classification.   Other duties may be required and assigned.  Specific duties listed may not be required for all positions within this classification, but are determined by the normal requirements for the particular position.

Ensures supervisors and staff are aware of and follow all City safety policies and procedures. Ensures supervisors and staff have the proper personal protective equipment necessary to mitigate job hazards. Consults with Safety Director to ensure proper safety training is provided to supervisors and staff.

Manages the operations of City of Tuscaloosa special events, including city-hosted events or other events or venue as assigned or directed; oversees day to day operational issues to include coordinating with consultants, third party vendors, subcontractors, and city staff to ensure logistics of events are executed according to plan and expectation of the city and/or client; ensures that the event complies with applicable local, state and federal regulations.  

Management of all event activities, including acting as a liaison between external vendors and internal departments, registrations of vendors, assigning and monitoring spaces of vendors, collecting fees and market data collection; enforcing all event, venue, and public safety regulations; event set up and break down, acting as the City's liaison to other venue and facility managers, media and patrons, as needed, enforcing all public safety regulations; managing special events at the assigned City venue or facility, including coordinating rental agreements, determining necessary resources for the event and assessing events costs, invoicing customers and collecting for reimbursements of costs, as necessary.

Oversees administration of special event permit processing, policies, guidelines, and procedures. Checks all permit submittals to ensure that all necessary documentation has been received in order that both the applicant and reviewers are meeting all necessary deadlines to keep the review on track. Corresponds with appropriate city departments for various services related to event permits. 

Oversees management of commemorative lighting requests, applications and policies for the Arts & Entertainment District, and other citizen requests as needed.    

Provides support to the venue and/or event staff and oversees the operations of the venue and/or event to ensure coverage; serves as the day-to-day liaison between the city and the public during venue and/or event operations. 

Supervises, directs and evaluates assigned staff, processing employee concerns and problems, directing work, counseling, disciplining and completing employee performance appraisals.   

Assists in the preparation of event budgets; monitors expenditures and revises; processes documentation pertaining to payroll and personnel; completes, reviews, approves and/or forwards as appropriate; maintains records; reviews all invoices, proposals and rental contracts from third party vendors for each venue to assure accuracy and billing for each event.   

Oversees staff and coordinates with subcontractors and to ensure safe and successful events in conjunction with the consultant, vendors and clients; determines resources necessary and available, such as equipment or labor, and compares with event requirements; coordinates obtainment of additional resources as needed (e.g. rental equipment, etc); develops and implements a recruiting, training, and/or internship program for seasonal, permanent, and volunteer staff.  

Coordinates and produces city-sponsored events as assigned by Mayor; acts as a community resource and information liaison related to city-sponsored events.   

Researches the needs, cost effectiveness, and possible available resources for new events and programs.   

Assists with risk management and financial controls pursuant to city's policies; conducts show settlements with city consultant and artist's representatives as needed; assists with executing cash handling procedures, draft approvals, payroll and accounts payable as designated by the city or by the city's consultant; sets up and monitors cash flow procedures, rental rates, and event settlements for permitted events.

Coordinates with managers and directors of city-owned facilities and venues to plan and promote events; serves as the initial point of contact for the public to secure special event permits.   

Composes, prepares, reviews, and/or approves a variety of forms, logs, requests, records, reports, correspondence, and various other documents associated with daily responsibilities of this position; maintains files and administrative records.    

Maintains a comprehensive, current knowledge and awareness of applicable laws/regulations; reads professional literature; maintains professional affiliations; attends meetings, workshops, and training sessions as appropriate.      

Remains on call during scheduled events and/or works various shifts, weekends, and/or holidays as deemed necessary; notifies appropriate personnel when unavailable for duty or call out.   

Ensures preventative maintenance is performed as assigned; directs preventative maintenance and repairs to audio/visual systems and FF&E.   

Assists with the implementation and execution of event and special event permit policies, procedures, programs, and agreements as developed by city or city's designee.   

Serves as a facility representative during events and responds to and resolves emergency situations and/or patron problems such as medical emergencies or security incidents; ensures all aspects of events are implemented and controlled according to plans.   

Coordinates with the Director of Arts & Entertainment or designee on scheduling of events; maintains private events calendar; books and schedules city facilities and services for outside organizations; promotes use of venues and facilities.   

Coordinates and produces city-sponsored events as assigned by Mayor; acts as a community resource and information liaison related to city-sponsored events.   

Serves in the capacity of public relations/liaison on matters relating to events and at department meetings; monitors the activities of personnel assigned event duties and responsibilities; coordinates event logistics to include adequate parking for all events, medical and security coverage.   

Maintains direct contact with personnel of various city departments and outside organizations associated with scheduled events.   

Monitors, determines, and/or arranges physical maintenance of event facilities as required; provides assistance and information to all parties regarding event facility use and capabilities.   

Performs fiscal and budget responsibilities to include budget supervision, payment of bills, and monitoring of all earned income.   

Corresponds with all involved parties to events via various methods of communication; tracks event attendance; develops marketing literature and/or other information pertinent to events.

Maintains positive relationships with all vendors; resolves any issues as they may arise.   

Responds to city or state officials, employees, and/or other citizens or patrons' questions and comments in a courteous and timely manner; communicates and coordinates regularly with appropriate others to maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of city operations and activities; may represent the city on related community matters and acts as liaison with community leaders.   

Assists with researching the needs, cost effectiveness, and possible available resources for new events and programs.   

Develops and implements programs to introduce venues and/or events into the community at all levels; continues marketing and promoting venues and/or events to the public.  

Coordinates with city departments and outside agencies to secure resources and gather information; maintains positive working relationships with community and neighborhood-based organizations, customer groups, private agencies, and other public agencies.

Work may involve some evening and/or weekend work as necessary; works events at city venues and events as required including those that occur during regular work hours, as well as those that occur in the evening, at night, and over the weekend; often a flexible schedule is used to accommodate multiple and lengthy events.

Coordinates and conducts a post-event debrief to review all incidents with the goal of correcting inadequate processes, procedures, or responses or addressing facility requirements.  

Reviews and provides feedback to the Director of Arts & Entertainment for all invoices, proposals and rental contracts from third party vendors for events to assure accuracy and billing for each event.   

Assists with researching the needs, cost effectiveness, and possible available resources for new events and programs. May travel to off site or out of town locations to research event practices.   

Assists in developing public events designed to meet the diverse needs of the general public and facilities.   

Coordinates with the city's communications department on special event marketing. Provides information for the development of marketing material for city events and venues as requested; provides public outreach when there are service changes such as adding new services, or eliminating or modifying existing services.   

Assists with coordination of all City sponsored event operations as needed. May be assigned by the Director of Arts & Entertainment to act as an event's Incident Commander, Command Staff or General Staff member as needed. 

Acts as a community resource and information liaison related to city-sponsored events, special event permits, and other information as needed.  

Oversees assigning and monitoring spaces of public users and in house users, collecting fees and compiling data; ensures that events comply with applicable local, state and federal regulations and permits.   

Processes and documents special event applications each year. Processing includes information gathering and providing recommendations to the Director of Arts & Entertainment.   

Processes and documents rental agreements for rental events.   

Maintains a working understanding of all city properties available to users.   

Enforces city ordinances, policies and procedures pertaining to special events and special event permits.   

Assists with the implementation and execution of event and venue policies, procedures, programs, and agreements as developed by the city.   

Documents any payments received and proof of insurance from users.   

Performs walkthroughs of city venues or facilities with clients, as needed; evaluates events and provide post-event reports to determine if events have been compliant with city requirements and have covered the city costs incurred.   

Coordinates with city personnel to assess availability of requested city resources and determine event-related costs.   

Communicates with applicant/renter/event manager availability, requirements, costs, status and/or restrictions associated with their application or event request.   

Makes event-specific preparations for each special event depending on the size, scope and type of event planned; coordinates with city departments and divisions to provide required city support and resources and external entities including ALDOT, the University of Alabama, PARA and others.   

Hosts a regularly scheduled events operations meeting to include all necessary city personnel and other agencies (Tuscaloosa Sports and Tourism, PARA, etc.) when applicable.   

Works with assigned personnel to invoice and collect rental fees, catering royalties, application fees, and other revenue streams.   

Manages Tripleseat and other booking software used for special events permits and rentals.  

Maintains the City's special events calendar for event permits, events and facility rentals; maintains and manages contacts database.   

Event Sponsorships    

Seeks out private and public funding sources to enhance current programming and develop new offerings for city special events as well as arts and entertainment venues.   

Maintains relationships with current sponsors to make sure contracted sponsor benefits are received and any issues are promptly resolved.

Negotiates terms for arts and entertainment community partnerships and sponsorships; executes all sponsor benefits for city special events.

Performs other related duties as required.

Attends meetings and serves on committees.   

Recommends policies and procedures that guide and support the provision of quality services by the Department.   

Incorporates continuous quality improvement principles in day-to-day activities.   

Must meet regular attendance requirements.  

Must be able to maintain good interpersonal relationships with staff, co-workers, managers and citizens.   

Must accomplish the essential functions of the job, with or without reasonable accommodations in a timely manner. 

Bachelor's degree in Public Relations, Marketing, Business Administration, Public Administration, or related field preferred; three years of experience in events planning or coordination, venue management, or related field required; or any equivalent combination of education, training, and experience which provides the requisite knowledge, skills, and abilities for this job.  Must possess and maintain a valid driver's license.

The following requirements are normal for this classification.  Specific requirements may not apply to all positions within this classification, but are determined by the normal requirements for the particular position.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:  Must be able to operate a variety of automated office equipment including computer, printer, typewriter, copy and facsimile machines, and telephone.  Physical demand requirements are at levels of those for light to moderate work to include lifting requirements and fieldwork.   

DATA COMPREHENSION:  Requires the ability to compare and/or judge the readily observable functional, structural, or compositional characteristics (whether similar to or divergent from obvious standards) of data, people, or things which may include forms, reports, contracts, legal reference materials, plan description manuals, procedural and training manuals, and computer program manuals.   

INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION:  Requires the ability to speak with and/or signal people to convey or exchange administrative and educational information, including giving/receiving assignments and/or directions to/from co-workers, assistants, managers, or supervisors as well as communicating with elected officials and the general public.   

LANGUAGE ABILITY:  Requires ability to read a variety of educational, administrative and legal documentation, directions, instructions, and methods and procedures. Requires the ability to write job related documentation and reports with proper format, punctuation, spelling and grammar, using all parts of speech.  Requires the ability to speak with and before others with poise, voice control, and confidence using correct English and well-modulated voice such as during public speaking situations. 

INTELLIGENCE:  Requires the ability to learn and understand relatively complex principles and techniques, to understand departmental policies and procedures, to make independent judgments in absence of supervision, and to acquire and be able to expound on knowledge of topics related to primary occupation.   

VERBAL APTITUDE:  Requires the ability to record and deliver information, such as in a public speaking situation, to explain procedures, and to follow verbal and written instructions.   

NUMERICAL APTITUDE:  Requires the ability to add and subtract, multiply and divide, calculate decimals and percentages; interpret statistical data, interpret charts, and interpret graphs.   

FORM/SPATIAL APTITUDE:  Requires the ability to visually inspect items for proper length, width, and shape using job related equipment which may include standard measuring and recording devices.   

MOTOR COORDINATION:  Requires the ability to coordinate hands and eyes in using automated office equipment.   

MANUAL DEXTERITY:  Requires the ability to handle a variety of items, automated office equipment, control knobs, switches, etc.  Must have the ability to use one hand for twisting motion or turning motion while coordinating other hand with different activities.  Must have average levels of eye/hand/foot coordination.   

COLOR DIFFERENTIATION:  May require the ability to discern color.