Commencement Ceremonies and Events Specialist

Founded in 1965, UC Irvine is a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities and is ranked among the nation's top 10 public universities by U.S. News & World Report. The campus has produced five Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UC Irvine has more than 36,000 students and offers 224 degree programs. It's located in one of the world's safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County's second-largest employer, contributing $7 billion annually to the local economy and $8 billion statewide.

To learn more about UC Irvine, visit www.uci.edu.

The Division of Student Affairs is committed to developing the whole student by ensuring your life outside of the classroom complements your academic endeavors. This means providing enriching opportunities that affirm your experiences. Our efforts are guided by student learning outcomes within the following domains:

* Civic & Community Engagement
* Leadership Development
* Diversity & Global Consciousness
* Professional & Administrative Skills
* Personal Responsibility

The UCI campus is an exciting and dynamic place where you will engage in experiences that will be inspirational, life changing, and may also challenge your current thinking.

The Commencement Ceremonies and Events Specialist in the Commencement Office is responsible for coordinating high visibility university events-Commencement ceremonies (for graduate and undergraduate students), and any special events hosted or co-sponsored by the Office of the Vice Chancellor Student Affairs.

Manages or assists in planning, organizing, and implementing up to 17 UCI Commencement ceremonies, Convocation and several division-wide programs or meetings.

The Commencement & Events Specialist ensures great customer service as they assist with all email inquiries, voicemails, and phone calls- addressing and answering questions, concerns and complaints with the utmost professionalism at all times. Specialists will answer all inquiries in a timely manner and ensure that answers are given that are accurate and helpful for each individual inquiry.
Specialist works closely with UCI Police Department, Consultation team, Academic Counselors, Student Affairs Directors, Vendors, and other campus partners for management of any possible event disruptions or protests.

For Commencement:
Commencement Ceremonies and Events Specialist will serve as the Commencement team lead for the Grad Hooding Ceremony- managing the communication, preparation, logistics, training and day of staff on site for the new Grad Hooding line up and seating process. Specialist will work with all school academic advisors to ensure seating for Grad Hooding goes smoothly, managing faculty check in, graduate and faculty report to lineup and proper assigned seating inside the venue. The Specialist assists and supports will all aspects of Commencement planning as directed by the Director including organizing and sending volunteer thank-you letters, volunteer management and training, creation of the digital commencement program, updating and printing scripts, national anthem singers, managing the student volunteer banner carrier program, preparing faculty readers, purchasing supplies and handling delivery of orders, processing financial documents for purchases or event services, organization of supplies in storage, management of vendors, communication to campus partners, setting up all areas of events, managing equipment and other planning as assigned.

For non-commencement events:
Specialist assists with many different aspects of event planning, logistics, and run of program including event space set up and testing, vendor management, communications, and taking lead on event management during hybrid events. Specialist will manage any webinar and livestream components during events as needed- assisting with technology set up, speaker scripts, communication to attendees and managing Q&A through zoom or any other event platform.

This position will also independently manage or co-manage small, non-complex events or programs within the Division of Student Affairs: Administrative Professionals Luncheon and the Student Affairs Quarterly Update Meetings. This position is also part of the UCI FAC (Family Assistance Center) team, which is part of the larger UCI emergency response team, and the Specialist will participate in training and meetings as a member of this team to be prepared if the FAC is activated. This position will act as back up support for two, non-complex monthly events or programs within the Division of Student Affairs: Student Affairs Employee of the Month and Employee of the Year programs.

Total Compensation

In addition to the salary range listed below, we offer a wealth of benefits to make working at UCI even more rewarding. These benefits may include medical insurance, sick and vacation time, retirement savings plans, and access to a number of discounts and perks. Please utilize the links listed here to learn more about our compensation practices and benefits.

The expected pay range for this recruitment is $28.07- $29.69 (Hourly).

Required:

• Working knowledge of the campus, its programs, policies, mission, goals, objectives, achievements and infrastructure.
• Working organizational skills, including skill in effectively coordinating and organizing multiple details. Excellent organizational abilities appropriate to effective calendar management and student and / or volunteer scheduling.
• Good interpersonal communication skills and political acumen, including skill in effectively representing the campus, medical center or other university organization to its publics.
• Good judgment and effective decision-making and problem resolution skills, including skill to recognize and deal effectively and appropriately with real and potential problem areas, including skill to determine the issues / problems that need to be brought to the attention of higher level staff and / or management.
• Ability to work in diverse groups, including but not limited to students, staff, faculty, general public, production personnel, technical operators and performing artists.
• Ability to work professionally under pressure and under tight deadlines ensuring excellent customer service support.
• Ability to work calmly in a fast-paced, hectic, high-profile environment.
• Display organizational skills as well as the ability to prioritize and complete assignments in a manner accurately reflecting the relative importance of job responsibilities without constant supervision.
• Ability to make decisions on immediate problems, within scope of authority, based upon proper knowledge of policies and procedures, including all pertinent UCI event policies.
• Ability to identify and resolve problems independently, to learn new processes and procedures, and take a proactive approach to process improvement.
• Ability to follow all university policies, procedures, and guidelines including but not limited to safety, civility, information security, and non-discrimination policies and procedures.
• Ability to interact positively with staff and on- and off-campus vendors.
• Ability to work and stay focused under time constraints and with conflicting deadlines, frequent interruptions and distractions.

Preferred:

• Working knowledge of concepts, principles and practices of event planning and production and public relations.
• Demonstrated skill in dealing with customer complaints to sort out the facts and resolve the problem to the satisfaction of both the client and department.
• Experience working with a wide variety of event ticketing options and management of registration lists.
• Demonstrated skill in developing methods of data collection, and ability to determine information needs and how best to accumulate and report this data.
• 3-5 years in planning and implementing small and large-scale special events. (This includes all logistics associated with event planning and execution).

Special Conditions:

• Must be able to work occasional nights and weekends for special events
• May need to travel short distances for events.

Conditions of Employment:

The University of California, Irvine (UCI) seeks to provide a safe and healthy environment for the entire UCI community. As part of this commitment, all applicants who accept an offer of employment must comply with the following conditions of employment:

• Background Check and Live Scan
• Employment Misconduct*
• Legal Right to work in the United States
• Vaccination Policies
• Smoking and Tobacco Policy
• Drug Free Environment

*Misconduct Disclosure Requirement: As a condition of employment, the final candidate who accepts a conditional offer of employment will be required to disclose if they have been subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct; received notice of any allegations or are currently the subject of any administrative or disciplinary proceedings involving misconduct; have left a position after receiving notice of allegations or while under investigation in an administrative or disciplinary proceeding involving misconduct; or have filed an appeal of a finding of misconduct with a previous employer.

The following additional conditions may apply, some of which are dependent upon business unit or job specific requirements.

• California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act
• E-Verify
• Pre-Placement Health Evaluation

Details of each policy may be reviewed by visiting the following page - https://hr.uci.edu/new-hire/conditions-of-employment.php

Closing Statement:

The University of California, Irvine is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age or protected veteran status.

For the University of California's Affirmative Action Policy please visit: https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/4010393/PPSM-20.

For the University of California's Anti-Discrimination Policy, please visit: https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/1001004/Anti-Discrimination.

We are committed to attracting and retaining a diverse workforce along with honoring unique experiences, perspectives, and identities. Together, our community strives to create and maintain working and learning environments that are inclusive, equitable, and welcoming.
UCI provides reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities upon request. For more information, please contact Human Resources at (949) 824-0500 or eec@uci.edu.