At The Obama Foundation, our mission is to inspire, empower, and connect people to change their world. We seek to build an active democratic culture where people are equipped and motivated to make change in the communities where they live, work, and play. Right here on the South Side of Chicago, we’re building a home for this vision, a global center for change with a range of opportunities - coordinated programming, community outreach events, educational moments, and more - that invite visitors from down the block or across the globe to turn hope into action.

Achieving our ambitious goals starts with an exceptional team built on our Hope to Action Values - Courage, Empathy, Integrity, Accountability, Community, Inclusivity, Pragmatism, Resilience, Imagination, and Hope. A Framework that anyone, anywhere, can use to build trust, activate participation, and expand opportunity in their community.

Purpose of the Role

The Manager, Venue Management for the Obama Presidential Center (the Center) will be responsible for the planning, coordination, and execution readiness of events across the Center, ensuring that internal events, external rentals, institutional gatherings, partner activations, and high-profile campus engagements are executed with operational excellence, clear communication, and a high level of client and stakeholder service.

As the Manager, Venue Management, you’ll be reporting directly to the Senior Director of Revenue for the Obama Presidential Center.

Core Job Responsibilities

• Operations & SOPs: Lead the daily operations of the Venue Management function, including event planning, execution readiness, internal coordination, onsite support, and post-event follow-up for assigned internal and external events. Implement and continuously improve Venue Management SOPs, including event intake, event assignment, internal event planning, Museum Event Order (MEO) content creation, client communication, event readiness tracking, onsite execution, post-event closeout, and escalation protocols.

• Team Management: Manage and mentor a team responsible for MEO creation, event coordination, client communication after contract handoff, internal event support, and onsite event execution. Establish clear expectations, workload assignments, communication standards, and accountability practices for direct reports.

• MEO Ownership & Distribution: Own the creation and accuracy of MEO content for assigned events, ensuring that event details, timelines, room sets, staffing needs, vendor requirements, equipment needs, security needs, guest flow, accessibility considerations, parking needs, and operational dependencies are complete and clearly documented before distribution. Partner with Contract Revenue to ensure that final MEOs are distributed appropriately and that open items are prepared for MEO meetings.

• Client & Rental Handoff: Partner with Event Rentals to support successful handoff from contract to execution, provide operational feasibility feedback, identify potential upsell opportunities, and ensure that client expectations align with operational realities. Serve as the primary post-contract client and stakeholder contact for assigned events, ensuring timely communication, clear expectations, and a consistent service experience from handoff through closeout.

• Cross-Functional Coordination: Coordinate closely with Operations, Security, Visitor Experience, Facilities, Food & Beverage, Retail, Parking, Technology, Programming, and other internal stakeholders to ensure that event requirements are understood, assigned, tracked, and executed.

• Internal Events & Ticketing: Manage internal events across the Center, including institutional meetings, public programs requiring reservation support, partner events, stakeholder engagements, and other non-rental or internally driven use of space. Ensure internal events that require public reservations, timed entry, or visitor-facing capacity controls are entered accurately in Ticketure in coordination with Scheduling/Ticketing and other relevant stakeholders.

• Staffing Plans: Create and maintain short-term and long-term event staffing plans, including coverage for high-volume periods, executive-level events, public-facing events, and other complex engagements.

• Billing & Closeout: Support billing and closeout processes by ensuring that final event details, onsite changes, additional services, damages, labor needs, vendor activity, and other relevant information are accurately documented and communicated to the appropriate teams.

• Perform other duties as assigned.

Key Deliverables / Outcomes

• Clear, scalable Venue Management SOPs that define how events are planned, coordinated, executed, escalated, and closed out.

• Accurate and timely MEO content creation for all assigned events, with clear ownership of open items, operational needs, staffing requirements, and cross-functional dependencies.

• A reliable event readiness process that ensures relevant teams are informed, prepared, and accountable.

• Effective management of internal events, including accurate coordination, appropriate Ticketure entry when public reservations are required, and clear alignment with Scheduling/Ticketing.

• A tiered staffing and prioritization plan that ensures high-risk, high-visibility, revenue-generating, and executive-level events receive appropriate attention and coverage.

• Strong client and internal stakeholder satisfaction, demonstrated through timely communication, clear planning, responsiveness, and professional execution.

• Accurate event closeout documentation that supports billing, reconciliation, performance reporting, vendor accountability, and continuous improvement.

• Staff productivity, training, performance outcomes, and operational resilience.

Required Qualifications

• 4-6 years of progressively responsible experience in venue management, event operations, event services, hospitality operations, cultural institution operations, convention services, performing arts venue operations, museum/attraction events, hotel events, or a comparable high-volume visitor-facing environment.

• Ability to work flexible schedules as required by operational needs, including evenings, weekends, holidays, peak visitor periods, and special events.

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience in hospitality, event management, arts administration, business administration, venue operations, or a related field.

• Demonstrated experience managing event execution in a venue-based environment, including internal coordination, room sets, vendor coordination, staffing plans, run-of-show development, guest flow, client communication, and operational readiness.

• Demonstrated ability to identify risks, document issues, recommend solutions, and escalate appropriately without over-relying on senior leadership for routine operational decisions.

• Experience supervising staff, assigning work, coaching performance, managing competing priorities, and building a high-performing service-oriented team.

• Experience with Infor, event management software, MEO/BEO processes, work order systems, or comparable venue management tools.

The salary range for this role is between $87,020 and $108,775.

This is an onsite role based at the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park.

Don’t check off every box in the requirements listed above? Please apply anyway! If you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to still consider submitting an application. You may be just the right candidate for this role or another one of our openings!

Equal Opportunity Employer

The Foundation is committed to creating a diverse work environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. The Foundation does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, age, disability, parental status, veteran status, or any other protected status under applicable laws. We encourage individuals of all backgrounds to apply. If you are a qualified candidate with a disability, please e-mail us at [email protected] if you require a reasonable accommodation to complete this application.