Director of Camps and Conferences

Overview

Reporting to the Associate Vice President for Advancement, the Director of Camps and Conferences leads the College’s camps, conferences, external facility rentals, and related programs while developing new mission-aligned opportunities that extend the resources, facilities, and educational expertise of Ursinus College to broader audiences and generate additional revenue and other resources in support of the College.

The Director manages a repeatable framework through which new opportunities are identified, researched, assessed, modeled, piloted, evaluated, and, where successful, scaled. Working collaboratively across the College, the Director convenes and leads teams that leverage faculty, staff, and institutional expertise to assess market demand, financial and operational feasibility, mission alignment, potential for earned revenue and external support, and opportunities for student engagement.

The Director oversees a developing portfolio that may include non-credit-bearing lifelong and short-form learning, workforce and professional development, youth and pre-college programming, and other programs and services beyond the traditional undergraduate curriculum under the umbrella of the Ursinus Academy.  

Specific Responsibilities 

Camps, Conferences & Facility Rentals 

• Lead the management and growth of the College’s external camps, conferences, meetings, retreats, facility rentals, and other appropriate programs that utilize campus assets. 
• Manage the College’s event and facility rental program, establishing efficient and customer-focused approaches to inquiries, pricing, scheduling, contracting, coordination, and service delivery. 
• Build awareness of Ursinus as a destination for camps, conferences, meetings, events, and other external uses and develop new and repeat business. 
• Partner with appropriate campus departments to ensure effective program delivery, risk management, and stewardship of College resources. 
• Identify and leverage technology, third-party platforms, and other solutions that streamline administration, improve the client experience, and support growth. 
• Monitor utilization, client experience, financial performance, and other measures and recommend opportunities for improvement and expansion. 

Program Development & Portfolio Strategy

• Develop and manage a repeatable framework for identifying, researching, assessing, modeling, pressure-testing, piloting, and evaluating mission-aligned programs and services with the potential to generate additional revenue or resources for the College. 
• Identify opportunities to extend College expertise, facilities, programs, and resources to broader audiences in ways that advance the College’s mission and financial sustainability. 
• Assess opportunities for earned revenue as well as philanthropic, government, grant, sponsorship, or other external support, partnering with appropriate colleagues to evaluate and pursue potential funding opportunities. 
• Establish consistent criteria for determining whether concepts should be piloted, refined, expanded, replicated, or discontinued. 
• Maintain a pipeline of emerging opportunities and recommend priorities for development and investment. 
• Partner with Marketing & Communications and other campus colleagues to support promotion and audience development.

Lifelong Learning 

• Work closely with the Provost’s Office to lead the business development of the Ursinus Academy as a platform for non-credit-bearing educational experiences beyond the traditional undergraduate curriculum and across stages of life. 
• Partner with faculty and other subject-matter experts to translate College expertise into educational offerings for broader audiences, with faculty and experts providing instruction and educational content. 
• Explore and develop opportunities in lifelong and enrichment learning, workforce and professional development, training and development, youth and pre-college learning, and other short-form educational experiences. 
• Work with faculty and campus partners to determine appropriate audiences, formats, delivery approaches, and financial or funding models. 
• Evaluate programs based on participation, quality, mission alignment, audience response, and financial sustainability. 

Financial Management & Assessment 

• Work closely with the Director of Auxiliary Revenue to develop and manage budgets, revenue projections, pricing approaches, and financial goals for programs within the portfolio ensuring a positive return on investment. 
• Monitor participation, utilization, revenue, expenses, contribution margin, and other measures of program performance. 

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree required. 
• Minimum of 3 years of progressively responsible experience in conferences and events, hospitality, sales, advancement, or related field. 
• Demonstrated experience implementing new programs or services, including responsibility for budgets, revenue, or other measurable outcomes. 
• Strong planning, analytical, project management, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to lead complex, cross-functional initiatives from concept through implementation and evaluation. 
• Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills, with the ability to work effectively with faculty, staff, senior leaders, external partners, and clients. 
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications and ability to learn and effectively use technology platforms relevant to the position. 
• Commitment to professionalism, collaboration, sound judgment, and responsible stewardship of College resources. 

Work Environment:

• Ability to sit for extended periods while performing computer-based work. 
• Ability to occasionally lift and transport materials weighing up to 25 pounds. 
• Ability to move throughout campus and College facilities in support of programs and events. 
• Ability to work evenings and weekends.
• Ability to travel for meetings, program development, and other College business as needed. 

Departmental Accountabilities:

• Develops strong working relationships with faculty and academic and administrative partners whose expertise, facilities, services, and programs may support new initiatives. 
• Coordinates with colleagues responsible for fundraising, grant development, external partnerships, APEX, career development, enrollment, alumni engagement, and other College priorities to connect programs, funding opportunities, and relationships appropriately. 
• Provides support to office leadership, as needed, for priority projects. 
• Possesses knowledge and experience with technology and systems that support program development, financial administration, and College operations.