Community Specialist

“Whenever possible, say yes” - Eric Schmidt

The Office of Eric Schmidt aims to support Eric Schmidt in his personal and professional endeavors, advance the mission of his philanthropic and for-profit entities, and drive forward his initiatives. The Office of Eric Schmidt encompasses 1) a personal administrative and research team (EST), 2) a political team (OneOne), 3) a technology team (Technical Projects Group), 4) an event management team for Eric’s personal and professional events (Community), and 5) his personal communications team.

We are looking for a Specialist to join the Community Team to assist in the planning and executing a wide range of convenings for various programs/initiatives across our organizations. In addition, this position will provide administrative support to the Managing Director and Head of Community along with the Community team as a whole.

The Role 

Reporting to the Manager, Community, the Specialist will assist the team on the design, planning and production of consistently best-in-class, community-driven, and action-oriented convenings from start to finish. This Specialist will focus on collaborating with community and program team members on both early-stage convenings and supporting well-established programs/initiatives. As the organization’s work continues to form and evolve, this role will work hand in hand with the community lead and various program teams to produce the vision and goals of each respective convening consistent with those of the organization. More broadly, this role helps set the stage for opportunities to connect, engage, and maintain strong relationships as Schmidt entities continue to grow their exceptional community of diverse talent and high-potential individuals across all program teams.

The Community Specialist’s role will include:

• Assisting in piloting and creating convenings for programs at the early stages of their development, along with well-established programs/initiatives.

• Collaborating on designing and implementing our Program Teams' convening strategy.

• Collaborating with the larger community team on signature events for the organization.

•Leveraging resources to meet needs in the planning and production of a convening.

• Executing smaller convenings that advance our principles and program-specific objectives, especially events in the Washington, D.C. area.

Key Responsibilities

Develop Covenings

• Support the Community Team throughout the entire planning process, serving as a backup to the convening's assigned portfolio manager. 

• Engage directly with program teams, vendors, and other key stakeholders to determine the resources needed to meet and exceed their convening goals practically and efficiently.

• Drive forward a detailed work plan for each convening.

• Coordinate event budget implementation, conduct site visits, and drive contract negotiation with venues, hotels, and other vendors, and ensure timely payment processing.

• Coordinate accommodation blocks at hotels or hosting venues as needed.

• Source external vendors and coordinate on-site labor and services as needed. 

• Coordinate between legal and accounting teams on relevant documentation.

• Coordinate with the program teams on principal management, communication plans, Airtable management, agenda build-outs, etc.

Execute and Support Covenings

• Onsite support from the building and execution phase forward.

• Liaise with the program team, the venue, our legal team, and all additional vendors and stakeholders to implement program needs in real-time.

• Act as the point of contact for external vendors to ensure successful installations that meet Schmidt Entity standards and specific team requirements.

• Coordinate all load-in and load-out logistics on-site with the venue and external vendors.

• Ensure smooth and effective A/V logistics throughout the convening.

• Source all additional materials needed for each convening, ensure they are properly received and distributed on-site, and store or return them accordingly following each convening.

• Conduct debriefing and feedback sessions with program teams following each convening.

Community Team Support

• Support the Managing Director and Head of Community on special projects as assigned.

• Collaborate with the Facilities and People & Culture team to organize internal events. 

• Help plan and manage Community Team retreats, along with assisting with the planning of larger entity retreats.

• Assist with processing contracts and vendor payments. 

• Serve as a point of contact for external vendors and contacts. 

• Assist with completing expense reports and other priorities as assigned. 

• Proactively maintain Community folders, documents, templates, and platforms.  

• Serve as backup on convenings to the community and program leads.

• Enthusiasm and energy for collaboration
• Drive to work in high-impact philanthropic ventures and for an individual
• Commitment to building robust relationships and to supporting colleagues effectively
• Advanced administrative, organizational, and time management skills
• Experience using event-management platforms or relational databases and project management tools (Airtable preferred) 
• Impeccable verbal and written communication
• Experience interacting with C-Suite level executives
• Ability to maintain a high degree of confidentiality, professionalism, poise, tact, and diplomacy to accomplish work objectives
• Proactively suggest improvements that contribute to the growth of events as well as the collaboration and efficiency of the team

• 1-2 years of event coordination and/or experience in a professional office environment
• Ability to prioritize tasks and execute on deadlines in an organized and efficient manner
• Ability to swiftly shift gears in a fast-paced setting
• Effective communication skills in a highly collaborative environment
• Attention to detail and a drive to provide seamless support to an individual and team
• Strong integrity and the ability to maintain confidentiality at the highest levels
• A bachelor’s degree or equivalent from an accredited institution
• Ability to travel within the U.S. and internationally on an as needed basis (up to 20% of the time) as following company policy and permitting circumstances
• Ability to work a hybrid schedule with a minimum of three days in the office (Tuesday - Thursday)
• Willingness to work flexible hours, including evenings, weekends, and non-traditional schedules, to support event execution ahead of and onsite at the convening

Location

This role is open to applicants within commuting distance of Crystal City, VA and New York, NY.

Hillspire, LLC is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer that proudly pursues and hires a diverse workforce. We do not make hiring or employment decisions on the basis of race, color, religion or religious belief, ethnic or national origin, nationality, sex, gender, gender-identity, sexual orientation, disability, age, military or veteran status, or any other basis protected by applicable local, state, or federal laws or prohibited by Company policy. We strive for a healthy and safe workplace and strictly prohibit harassment of any kind.

This is a non-exempt role.