Operations Manager

Summary: The Operations Manager is an engaged advocate for the good stewardship of the people, resources and facilities of the Gambrell Center for Arts and Civic Engagement. This position manages comprehensive responsibilities (logistics, contracts, finance) to ensure the comfort and safety of our guests.

The Operations Manager is a management level position responsible for establishing and implementing financial and operational procedures necessary to manage venue scheduling, event management, and contracting for a busy multi-venue department. This position requires a dependable, self-motivated individual who confidently delivers a high level of service in a team-oriented creative work environment. The selected candidate will be an organized and flexible multi-tasker with solid financial skills, ability to act with agility in a fluid work environment and maintain a good sense of humor. They should enjoy working in an educational arts environment with frequent interaction with campus faculty, students, and staff, and community volunteers, vendors, and patrons. The work schedule includes regular business hours and weekend and evening work.

The Operations Manager reports to the Executive Director of the Gambrell Center. This position is exempt from provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and is not eligible to earn overtime pay or compensatory time off for additional hours worked. This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include:

Facility & Event Management

• Serves as the point person for scheduling and contracting venues and events services utilizing campus scheduling software for the Gambrell Center public assembly spaces. Events include internal university events as well as rentals to external clients, with revenue generation as one of the role’s primary aspects.
• Works closely with diverse user groups, contractors, and stakeholders to identify, secure and schedule the necessary resources for events throughout scheduling, load-in, rehearsals, performances, and load-out ensuring quality event execution and policy compliance.
• Provides event reporting to enhance internal communications utilizing campus scheduling software.
• Reviews event needs, assists with, and monitors hiring, training and scheduling of event staff, campus services (custodial, Campus Police, Chartwells Dining) and contracted service providers.
• Manages event hospitality for designated events.
• Performs facility and house management duties for designated events which require the ability to climb stairs, bend, and twist, lift medium weight objects like tables and boxes and assist patrons.
• Create systems that support cooperation, stewardship and safety throughout the Gambrell Center.
• Regularly inspect facilities to ensure proper upkeep. Coordinates custodial staff and event custodial needs/staff. Enforces theatre policies and procedures. Develops and implements safety/emergency procedures that comply with governmental codes, law and ordinances and university policy.
• Works closely with Executive Director to develop and maintain the Gambrell Center strategic plan.
• Provides leadership and logistical support for special projects as needed.

Fiscal Management & Reporting

• Ensures accurate and timely purchasing, AR/AP, daily deposits, billing, settlements and financial reporting.
• Negotiates with vendors for purchase or rental of production and stage equipment.
• Creates and maintains systems for tracking income and expenses to assist staff in budget compliance and reconcile with university accounting. Ensure accurate billing from vendors.
• Maintenance and care of office systems and procedures.
• Contract, lease and maintenance agreement administration.

Non-Essential Duties:

• Other duties and special projects may be assigned to meet department and University needs.

Experience, Knowledge and Skills Required:

• 2 years’ management, customer service and staff supervision experience, event management experience preferred.
• 2 years’ computer experience – venue scheduling software, Ad Astra, Access, Word and Excel skills a plus.
• Proven skills in recruiting, selecting and developing a cohesive, high-performing team.
• Effective skills in budgeting, planning, and scheduling.
• Demonstrated organized and unflappable approach to work.
• Creative problem solver able to work effectively and efficiently with minimal supervision.
• Strong team player and positive can-do approach to work and challenges.
• Proven experience fostering a professional work environment that encourages teamwork and promotes diversity and inclusiveness.
• Excellent verbal, written, interpersonal and customer service skills and experience interacting with multiple and diverse constituencies (patrons, vendors, faculty, staff, community partners).
• Demonstrated organization and follow-up / follow-through skills to ensure objectives are met within established timeframes.
• Well-developed attention to detail, accuracy, and timeliness to effectively prioritize assignments and competing demands to meet given deadlines and objectives.
• Possess high levels of professional acumen, judgment, and leadership to serve in a variety of capacities, as needed, in the absence of the Executive Director.
• Proven ability to work effectively independently and as a member of a team.
• Must be willing and able to work a flexible schedule to meet requirements of the position, including early mornings, nights, weekends and holidays.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of experience and education, preferably in arts management, music, theatre or business major preferred.

Application Process
Does this sound like a good fit? Click on the green “I’m interested” button and submit:

1. A cover letter addressing the position qualifications and experience
2. Current résumé
3. Salary requirements
4. Contact information for three professional references.

Applications received by February 17, 2025, will receive first consideration. Queens will continue to accept applications until the position is filled.

About the Gambrell Center  

On the oak-lined corner of Selwyn and Wellesley in the heart of Charlotte’s Myers Park neighborhood, Queens University has provided a home for fine arts programs since 1966.  In 2020, this artistic home was transformed into the Sarah Belk Gambrell Center for the Arts and Civic Engagement expanding to 63,000 SF to include even more of the campus creative programs.  This vibrant cultural center now boasts acoustically stunning theatres and light-filled galleries as well as 3 floors of state-of-the-art learning spaces for academic arts programs.  Annually hosting over 600 events and 58,000 visitors, the Gambrell Center is the creative heartbeat of the campus featuring world-class performances in the Spotlight Series and many free cultural events produced by campus academic and student programs.  Together, these programs comprise the Arts at Queens.     

About Queens University of Charlotte

Located in the heart of the nation’s second fastest growing metropolitan area, Queens University of Charlotte leverages the city’s diverse and thriving environment as an extended classroom. Nationally recognized for undergraduate programs in international and interdisciplinary education, Queens blends the best of liberal arts learning with professional preparation and community engagement. Focused on supporting success for diverse learners, faculty build close and collaborative relationships with students and help them build intentional and individualized roadmaps for flourishing at Queens and beyond. At the graduate program level, the University offers innovative educational experiences that help learners advance professionally and retool for new opportunities. Our environs afford faculty myriad opportunities to advance their own professional growth and teaching and research interests by collaborating with vibrant industry, non-profit, and community organization sectors. 

Because of our history of innovation and our legacy of strong leadership, Queens is positioned to be among the new forerunners of American higher education. This is a defining moment for Queens. While other institutions are focused on sustaining and surviving, we are thinking much bigger. 

Institutions that understand what is needed and are willing to reimagine what is possible can position themselves to thrive and strengthen their market position after the pandemic with innovative approaches that are deeply connected to the world and its greatest challenges. 

By 2030, Queens aspires to become the leading, private, national university of Charlotte with deep, meaningful, and reciprocal connections to the needs of our local community and economy; inventive and multidisciplinary academic programs that are connected to the world’s most pressing challenges and biggest areas of opportunity; a fully connected, integrated, and innovative set of experiences that support holistic wellness and wellbeing; a culture of continuous improvement and investment that enables faculty and staff to flourish and achieve their full potential; and a comprehensive approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion that begins on campus and radiates throughout the community. 

Queens University of Charlotte aims to be a leading comprehensive university, distinguished by its commitment to transforming the lives of its students and enhancing the intellectual and cultural fabric of its community. Queens is a campus where diversity, equity, and inclusion are core values. The mission of Queens is to provide transformative educational experiences that nurture intellectual curiosity, promote global understanding, encourage ethical living, and prepare individuals for purposeful and fulfilling lives. To this end, the University recruits talented faculty, staff, and students from across the United States and around the world. Queens encourages applications from women, people of color, people with disabilities, and members of other protected classes and historically minoritized communities. The University also invites applications from individuals who are prepared to provide a rich and varied educational experience to our increasingly diverse student body and to collaborate with colleagues to make Queens an equitable and inclusive place to live, learn, and work. 

Queens works to provide an accessible living, learning, and working environment for current and prospective faculty, staff, and students and visitors to our campus. If there are accommodations, we can provide to make your application process more accessible, please contact the Director of Human Resources ([email protected], 704-337-2297). The position duties and responsibilities listed above should be able to be completed with or without reasonable accommodations. HR works in partnership with employees to manage the workplace accommodations process. 

Benefits

Queens offers comprehensive benefits to eligible employees, including: medical, dental and vision insurance, domestic partner benefits, a 403b retirement plan, with two options (pre-tax or post-tax (Roth) contributions) with a generous match, vacation and generous paid holidays, tuition remission and tuition exchange, Queens-paid life insurance, supplemental life insurance, dependent life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment insurance, disability insurance, flexible spending accounts (medical, dependent care, Health Savings Account), sick leave and long-term disability leave, paid parental leave, FMLA leave when eligible, reduced cost meals at Morrison Dining Hall, employee assistance program (EAP), free access to the Levine Center, wellness programs. In addition, employees may choose benefits such as pet insurance, critical care insurance and legal assistance.