Conference and Meeting Planner - ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA SORORITY, INC.

• Determines the purpose, message, or impression the organization wants to communicate and be able to communicate the needs clearly to the meeting sites staff and other suppliers.
• Searches for prospective meeting sites.
• Issues request for proposals to all the sites.
• Reviews proposals and makes recommendations to top management.
• Arranges support services, coordinates with the facilities, prepares site staff for meetings, and sets up all forms of electronic communication needed for the meetings and conventions.
• Manages meeting logistics.
• Arranges transportation, lodging reservations.
• Ensures that all necessary supplies are ordered and transported to the meeting site on time.
• Ensures meeting rooms are equipped with sufficient seating and audio-visual equipment.
• Ensures that all exhibits and booths are set up properly.
• Adheres to fire and labor regulations.
• Oversees food and beverage distribution.
• Ensures all logistics for events are correct and coordinate with Regional Director or GM, event staff, and catering staff (set-up and breakdown of event, decorations, food and beverage offerings, theater rentals, film schedule, special arrangements, etc.
• Collaborates with team members, volunteers and contractors to successfully deliver meetings and conferences.

• Negotiate contracts with facilities and suppliers.
• Estimates how many people will attend the meetings based on previous meetings attendance and current circumstances.
• Oversees the finances of the meetings and conventions.
• Oversees the organization budgets and create a detailed budget, forecasting what each aspect of the event will cost.
• Ensure that the events meet income goals based on operating budget.

• Stressful and/or energizing.
• Fast paced and demanding.
• Oversees multiple operations at one time.
• Faces numerous deadlines.
• Orchestrates the activities of several different groups of people.
• Will spend majority of time in office; but during meetings and conventions, will work on-site.
• Travel regularly to attend meetings and to visit prospective meeting sites.(Potentially up to 70%)
• Work hours may be long and irregular; more than 40 hours per week during time leading up to meetings.
• During meetings or conventions will work exceptionally long days, as early as 5:00 a.m. until midnight and some weekends.

• Long hours of standing and walking
• Lifting and carrying boxes of materials, exhibits, or supplies

• Bachelor's degree in marketing, public relations, communications, business, hotel or hospitality management, CMP preferred or equivalent work experience.
• Excellent written and verbal communications and interpersonal skills.
• Must be detail-oriented with excellent organizational skills.
• Must be able to multi-task, meet tight deadlines, and maintain composure under pressure in a fast-paced environment.
• Quantitative and analytic skills are a must.
• Knowledge of general office software, particularly the Microsoft Office Suite and the ability to use financial and registration software.

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated had its humble beginnings as the vision of nine college students on the campus of Howard University in 1908. Since then, the sorority has flourished into a globally-impactful organization of nearly 300,000 college-trained members, bound by the bonds of sisterhood and empowered by a commitment to servant-leadership that is both domestic and international in its scope.As Alpha Kappa Alpha has grown, it has maintained its focus in two key arenas: the lifelong personal and professional development of each of its members; and galvanizing its membership into an organization of respected power and influence, consistently at the forefront of effective advocacy and social change that results in equality and equity for all citizens of the world.