JOB OVERVIEW

 The Manager, Meetings reports directly to the Senior Vice President, Meetings. This person is a key member of the meetings and membership teams and supports the planning and implementation of meetings, selling exhibit space and sponsorships throughout the year.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Other duties may be assigned.

Meeting Preparation and Execution: Assist with planning and execution of meetings including Annual Conference and Exhibition, annual legislative fly-in, Fall Regional Meetings and legal and finance seminars with attendees ranging from 50 - 1850.

Meeting, Sponsorship and Exhibit Responsibilities

• Answer calls on the main meeting line
• Handle day-to-day administration of meetings as needed
• Assist with sales of booths and sponsorships for all meetings
• Assist in creating meeting, exhibit and sponsorship marketing materials
• Assist with RFPs from hotels/convention centers for future meetings
• Registration Management: Manage meeting registration processes, including the creation and maintenance of registration websites and databases. Handle attendee inquiries and provide customer service support related to meeting registration
• On-site Event Management: Provide on-site support during meetings, including managing registration desk, coordinating with exhibitors and sponsors, and assisting with meeting setup and breakdown. Ensure smooth execution of meetings by troubleshooting issues and providing excellent customer service
• Assist with Banquet Event Orders, including food selections, room set ups, AV and program schedule sequence with venue
• Post-Meeting Responsibilities: Assist in post-meeting evaluation and analysis, including the collection and analysis of attendee feedback. Prepare post-meeting reports and summaries for internal and external stakeholders
• Work with exhibitors and sponsors to ensure all meeting related needs are met
• Work with graphic designer to create signage, manage signage on-site and ensure placement is correct for each scheduled event
• Coordinate and purchase sponsorship order needs
• Assist with mobile app for Annual Conference
• Monitor hotel room blocks for trends, capacity issues
• Create customer invoices and tracking documents; ensuring that booth and sponsorship deliverables are received and meet customer expectations for visibility and brand recognition
• Available to attend ASLRRA meetings and some site visits.

Administrative Responsibilities

• Work alongside Membership department in adding new contacts to the database to receive proper communications and register for meetings, including assigning temporary contacts created in Salesforce to their proper accounts.
• Manage temporary contacts and assist in adding new contacts to accounts in Salesforce, issuing user credentials
• Back up to VP, Membership with ASLRRA inbox
• Re-sending invoices and receipts

POSITION REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university or relevant work experience
• Professional demeanor
• Ability to work with the latest software including Salesforce, iContact, Survey Monkey and Microsoft products
• Ability to organize and manage several priorities under pressure and within tight deadlines
• Ability to take ownership of a process and use problem-solving skills to resolve issues
• Strong written/oral communication and interpersonal skills, including the ability to communicate in an open and honest manner in a collaborative team environment
• Self-motivated team player with tact and diplomacy
• Travel to ASLRRA Annual Conference each year (usually 5-7 days)
• Shorter travel would be required for other ASLRRA meetings
• Ability to work off hours, weekends, and/or holidays periodically to meet deadlines.

 PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Minimum 3-5 years’ experience directly related to the duties and responsibilities outlined above, preferably in an association or non-profit setting
• Experience with onsite meeting management, including liaising with hotel, catering, A/V, and other vendors
• Experience with Salesforce
• Experience with Microsoft Office and Adobe
• Experience with email distribution systems and online survey tools and forms, such as iContact, Survey Monkey etc.
• Preferred Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) or position-related credential

About American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association

Founded in 1913, the ASLRRA is a national trade association representing the entrepreneurial owners and operators of short line and regional railroads throughout North America. Taken together, short line railroads operate 50,000 miles of track or nearly 30 percent of the national railroad network and handle in origination or destination one out of every four rail cars moving on the national system. They have grown from 8,000 miles of track in 1980 to 50,000 miles today. They operate in nearly every U.S. state, literally serving every corner of the country from the forests, to the heartland to the coal fields. In five states short lines operate 100 percent of the state’s total rail network, and in 15 states they operate more than 50 percent of the railroad network. Short lines haul a wide range of goods, including chemicals, food products, aggregates and intermodal.

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