Meeting Manager #2023-2771

The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) is the world’s largest and most respected international organization devoted to advancing research in vision and ophthalmology. The ARVO Annual Meeting is the premier gathering for eye and vision scientists at all career stages, students, and those in affiliated fields to share the latest research findings and collaborate on innovative solutions. In this role, your primary focus will be on the Annual Meeting (a city-wide meeting with 10k attendees from around the world, 16+ concurrent sessions, and special events over 5+ days). You will manage several core components of planning the meeting and provide operational support on-site. You will oversee all Ancillary Events, manage ARVO-sponsored social events, and oversee speaker management. You will also support the Imaging in the Eye Conference and provide additional administrative assistance to the program team. Efficiently managing multiple tasks and complex timelines with accuracy will be critical to success. This role will provide you with an opportunity to take your organizational, communication, and project management skills to the next level.

ARVO is a fast-paced and collaborative environment where you will be proud of the work you do and like the people you work with. This role works across the organization and requires a great deal of accuracy and coordination, good judgment, and the ability to see multiple projects through to completion with minimal or no errors. Reporting to the Chief Officer of Meetings and Community Engagement and working closely with the Director of Programming you will ensure ARVO’s events meet our high standards of excellence while continually evaluating procedures to improve future conferences. We regularly review our offerings to ensure they are reflective of our community’s needs. As the Meeting Manager, you will collaborate with the team to support new offerings as they arise. Your ability to keep processes running smoothly will have a vital impact on not only the success of the Annual Meeting but the broader dissemination of key research and knowledge in vision and ophthalmology and enable us to pursue our common goals of improving people’s vision and lives.

A Snapshot of the Work You’ll Do

• Within the first two years, you will play a key role in the logistics of the Meeting and support the administration of the program. This includes preparing timelines and maintaining the internal Teamwork project plan; managing invited session proposals and speaker management; ensuring internal staff and external partners are updated on timelines/deadlines, and coordinating supplies and shipments. You will manage all staff needs and travel arrangements, manage shipment and supply orders, and support marketing and communications efforts with accurate event-related information.
• Working closely with the Chief Officer of Meetings and Engagement while you come up to speed, you will own the complex Ancillary Event process. This includes creating the portal for and organizing initial requests and implementing and enforcing policies. You will work closely with up to 400 meeting organizers and hotel partners and are responsible for, scheduling and all other communications for the Ancillary Events.
• You will lead all aspects of planning and execution for ARVO-sponsored social events held in conjunction with the Annual Meeting.
• You will coordinate with event organizers for ARVO’s Imaging in the Eye Conference. This includes setting up timelines/deadlines and keeping the organizers on track, assisting with abstract management, and other support as needed.
• During off-cycle times of the year, you will manage the invited component of the meeting, including setting up proposal submissions, tracking confirmed speakers, facilitating imports to our presentation database and monitoring submissions.

Work Environment, Salary, and Benefits

• You’ll enjoy a flexible hybrid work environment, including two days collaborating with colleagues in our Rockville, MD, office and three days working remotely. Some domestic travel is required, including 7-10 days at the ARVO Annual Meeting.
• The budgeted salary range for this position is $65-75K. We offer an outstanding benefits package including comprehensive medical insurance, employer-paid vision, dental, life, and disability insurance, flexible spending accounts for medical and childcare expenses, matching retirement savings, employer-paid parking or monthly contribution for public transportation, generous PTO (12 paid holidays, 12 days of vacation increasing to 18 during 2nd year, and 10 days of sick leave), and tuition reimbursement for professional development.
• We recognize the value of our employees and strive to create an environment that is both flexible and conducive to a high-performing organization. Your colleagues are collegial, collaborative, and eager to help each other succeed.

Responsibilities

Annual Conference Support

• Manage the Ancillary Events (200-400 per year). Review each request and apply policies to determine handling and create comprehensive trackers to keep the team organized and informed. Additionally, you will be responsible for informing organizers of ARVO policies for the events and ensuring compliance.
• Take ownership of the social event planning including recommending venues, arranging entertainment and managing the catering. Working with destination marketing organizations (DMOs) or convention and visitors bureaus (CVBs) to source venues within budget and organize engaging events for 2-3K attendees.
• Collaborate with ARVO communications staff to provide specific event-related information for inclusion in print, digital, e-mail, and social media campaigns.

Annual Conference Logistics

• Work with the team to coordinate conference logistics including meeting room assignments for educational programs, committee meetings, and any ancillary events.
• Oversee the supplies and shipments for the conference. You will own the process of ensuring shipments and supplies are organized and delivered to the appropriate spaces.

Annual Conference Program Development & Speaker Management

• Support the Director of Programming on the invited speaker content by setting up the proposal submission site; tracking the confirmed presenters and their submissions, and sending reminders.
• Manage speaker needs/requirements (e.g., registration, housing, and travel expenses as appropriate).

Qualifications

• 3-5 years of experience in event/conference management and logistics coordination for large-scale events (2-10K+ attendees) at an association.
• Demonstrated experience in event project management, including creating schedules and timelines, complex data collection and tracking, managing deadlines for multiple stakeholders, ensuring compliance with organization regulations, facilitating material submissions, approvals, and follow-up, and identifying and resolving logistical issues that may arise before and during the event.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office products (Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) is required. Familiarity with other relevant software such as Open Water, ScholarOne, ATIV (or another mobile conference app), TeamWork (or another project management system), and Optimizely (or similar CMS) is preferred but not required.
• Professional certification such as a certified meeting professional (CMP) is a plus but not required.

About Us

The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) is the largest and most respected eye and vision research organization in the world. Our members include nearly 12,000 eye and vision researchers from over 75 countries. Our mission is to advance research worldwide into understanding the visual system and preventing, treating, and curing its disorders.

To Apply

We encourage you to apply even if your experience is not a 100% match with the position description; we will consider people from a variety of backgrounds and career experiences.

Use the “Apply” button on this page or simply email your resume to Lilly Khan at resumes@staffingadvisors.com with “ARVO – Meeting Manager#2023-2771 SA” as the subject of the email.

Job responsibilities are similar to the following positions: Meeting Planner, Meeting Coordinator, Meeting Operations Manager, Events and Programming Associate.

• Staffing Advisors is committed to reducing bias in every aspect of the hiring process. We have long recommended a competency-driven approach to hiring. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status, or any other basis protected by law.

Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO)