Assistant Manager, Venue Reservations and Operations Venue and Production Management

About the position

The Assistant Manager, Reservations & Operations supports the Venue and Production Management (VPM) team, overseeing reservations and operations for venues on Duke University's campus, such as Page Auditorium, Reynolds Theater, the Arts Annex, and the Rubenstein Arts Center. This role is a key component of the VPM team and customer facing services. The Assistant Manager will be responsible for a complex operation of managing reservations, event logistics, and cultivating relationships across the university and community. The Assistant Manager ensures smooth coordination of reservations, event workflows, and internal teams, supporting a variety of events, from complex university functions, one day performances, and community performances. On-site event support is required, which will include nights and weekends.

Responsibilities

• Manage the reservation process, requests, and space agreements for multiple venues.
• Ensure seamless event tracking by formalizing space agreements and managing event logistics.
• Manage and maintain consistent workflows and data management practices within the departmental event database.
• Collaborate with the management team to schedule advancing meetings and finalize billing settlements.
• Assist in the settlement process of events as needed.
• Deliver a customer-focused, high-quality experience for all interactions.
• Demonstrate strong listening skills to effectively comprehend and address requests.
• Work closely with academic units and student organizations to understand their needs.
• Uphold policies and procedures of the department, division, and university.
• Schedule and attend client advancing meetings to discuss event logistics.
• Lead weekly event staff meetings to review past and upcoming events.
• Schedule and coordinate services for events, workshops, and programs.
• Manage the monthly calendar for campus partners, communicating event details.
• Work directly with student councils and organizations to coordinate reservations.
• Coordinate with VPM staff on organizing student participation in university-wide events.
• Maintain standard procedures in data management for event reservations.
• Assist in training of VPM staff on locating and accessing information for events.
• Conduct assessments in accordance with division strategic goals.
• Assist with additional event management tasks as needed.
• Perform related duties as assigned to meet departmental goals.

Requirements

• Two or more years of experience in theater, production, event operations, entertainment or a related field.
• One or more year working with a relational database.
• Experience working in a higher education environment is beneficial.
• Strong communication skills - verbal, written and in-person.
• Self-motivated with the ability to work independently.
• Valid NC driver's license required.

Nice-to-haves

• Experience with databases, reservation and ticketing systems.
• Experience in customer record management and maintenance.
• Ability to explain and interpret documents and complex processes to others.
• Experience with digital media concepts and marketing.

Benefits

• Comprehensive and competitive medical and dental care programs.
• Generous retirement benefits.
• Wide array of family-friendly and cultural programs.