At The Obama Foundation, our mission is to inspire, empower, and connect people to change their world.  We seek to build an active democratic culture where people are equipped and motivated to make change in the communities where they live, work, and play. Right here on the South Side of Chicago, we’re building a home for this vision, a global center for change with a range of opportunities - coordinated programming, community outreach events, educational moments, and more - that invite visitors from down the block or across the globe to turn hope into action.

Achieving our ambitious goals starts with an exceptional team built on our Hope to Action Values - Courage, Empathy, Integrity, Accountability, Community, Inclusivity, Pragmatism, Resilience, Imagination, and Hope. A Framework that anyone, anywhere, can use to build trust, activate participation, and expand opportunity in their community.

Purpose of the Role

Reporting to the Convenings Manager, the Convenings Associate will lead an assigned portfolio of events while serving as the team’s functional lead for attendee management, registration, hospitality, and event-related travel. They will oversee the attendee journey from invitation and registration through arrival and onsite experience, ensuring processes are efficient, welcoming, accessible, and aligned with Foundation standards.

This is a fast-paced, highly collaborative role that requires exceptional organization, attention to detail, and management of multiple events and attendee workstreams. Evening and weekend availability and occasional travel are required.

This is a term-based, onsite role with an end date of December 2027, located at the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park. 

Core Job Responsibilities

• Lead the planning and execution of assigned OPC and Foundation convenings, managing timelines, budgets, internal coordination, and onsite delivery.
• Lead attendee management and registration, including registration builds, invitation workflows, attendee data, capacity management, reporting, check-in, and onsite registration.
• Serve as the primary Convenings point of contact, managing priorities, timelines, deliverables, and attendee services.
• Partner with internal teams on attendee communications, including invitations, confirmations, reminders, logistical information, event updates, and post-event communications.
• Lead food and beverage planning, including catering coordination, menus, dietary needs, service plans, guarantees, and onsite delivery.
• Manage hotel accommodations and room blocks, including sourcing, rooming lists, pickup tracking, guest needs, and reconciliation.
• Coordinate event-related travel and transportation for attendees, speakers, program participants, and other guests as required.
• Develop and maintain attendee management standards, workflows, templates, and tools across the Convenings portfolio.
• Coordinate accessibility and accommodation needs and support high-touch attendee requirements with discretion.
• Lead onsite attendee operations, including registration, check-in, hospitality, transportation, and guest services.
• Manage attendee and hospitality vendors, budgets, invoices, and service expectations.
• Provide attendee management and hospitality expertise for convenings led by other members of the team.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Key Deliverables / Outcomes

• Attendee management plans covering registration, communications, data, check-in, staffing, and guest services.
• Accurate, efficient registration processes and attendee reporting.
• Attendee communications developed in partnership with External Affairs that provide clear and timely information throughout the event journey.
• Food and beverage plans that balance attendee experience, dietary needs, operational requirements, and budget.
• Hotel, travel, and transportation plans that support smooth attendee logistics.
• Effective management of attendee-facing partners.
• Welcoming, accessible, and well-executed onsite attendee experiences.
• Post-event evaluations using attendee feedback, data, and operational lessons to improve future convenings.

Required Qualifications

• 3 years of experience in event planning, attendee management, hospitality, conference management, venue operations, or related event functions.
• Willingness and availability to work evenings and weekends and travel as required.
• Demonstrated experience managing registration and attendee operations for complex events.
• Experience managing food and beverage, hotel accommodations, travel, transportation, or other hospitality services.
• Experience working with event registration platforms (Cvent or Ticketure preferred) and managing attendee data.
• Experience managing external agencies, vendors, budgets, and project timelines.
• Proven ability to manage multiple events and priorities simultaneously with strong attention to detail.
• Strong project management, communication, collaboration, customer service, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to manage sensitive attendee information and high-touch guest needs with discretion.
• Ability to work across a large indoor/outdoor campus for extended periods during event setup, execution, and breakdown.
• Strong alignment with the Obama Foundation’s values.

The salary range for this role is between $59,755  and $74,670. 

This is a term-based, onsite role with an end date of December 2027, located at the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park. 

For an overview of our benefits package, including insurance, paid time off, retirement & more, please visit https://www.obama.org/careers/.

Don’t check off every box in the requirements listed above? Please apply anyway! If you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to still consider submitting an application. You may be just the right candidate for this role or another one of our openings!

Equal Opportunity Employer

The Foundation is committed to creating a diverse work environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. The Foundation does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, age, disability, parental status, veteran status, or any other protected status under applicable laws. We encourage individuals of all backgrounds to apply. If you are a qualified candidate with a disability, please e-mail us at [email protected] if you require a reasonable accommodation to complete this application.