Assistant Conference Director

Assistant Director, Congressional Program

The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit organization committed to realizing a free, just, and equitable society. Since its founding in 1949, the Institute has been driving change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve the most critical challenges facing communities in the United States and around the world. Headquartered in Washington, DC, the Institute has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, and an international network of partners.

The Congressional Program is an educational program - only for members of Congress - to gain a deeper understanding of critical national public policy issues by joining together at 5-day conferences, along with internationally renowned scholars and experts, to discuss and learn. The program, established in 1983, convenes conferences, four to six times per year, and more than 600 members of Congress have participated in these conferences. The only participants in the conferences are current members of Congress, their spouses, scholars and experts. No U.S. taxpayer dollars support the Aspen Institute Congressional Program.

About This Role

The day-to-day duties for this position will include managing all of the multiple logistics and planning elements of four to six conferences annually in foreign countries, including ethics filings, contracts, meeting space, air travel and all requirements related to air travel, meals, and ground transportation in foreign cities. Operational duties will include overseeing all accounting needs of the program and other program-wide planning needs. This position reports directly to the Deputy Director. The salary range for this position is $113,000 - $125,000. In accordance with our Reimagining Work policy, the potential candidates should be willing to be in-person in our D.C. office with colleagues a minimum of 40% of the time while having the flexibility to work remotely for the balance.

What You Will Do

Conference Responsibilities :

• Travel as the primary conference organizer to 4-6 international congressional conferences each year. Each conference lasts 7-10 days.
• Lead the design & implementation phases for each conference, based on the policy & educational priorities of the Congressional Program.
• Work in collaboration with the entire Congressional Program team to help identify country / city conference locations & manage the overall look and feel of each conference.
• The Assistant Director will be responsible for organizing all conference-related logistics. Including : Identifying meeting spaces, organizing meals & security (when necessary), identifying in-country logistics and travel operators to assist with conference logistics and managing ground transportation services.
• Lead liaison with contracted airline travel agent to secure air reservations for all conference participants.
• Lead liaison with contracted hotel travel agent to secure rooming blocks for all conference participants.
• Lead liaison with contracted visa procurement agency for obtaining travel visas when necessary.
• Oversee insurance requirements and coverage for each conference.
• Primary point of contact for all vendors for each conference, including contract management.
• In some cases, assist program deputy director with site inspection visits and in-country advance work.
• Work closely with program deputy director and program finance manager on creating and managing conference budgets, ensuring that all expenditures are within pre-determined spending limits.
• Manage pre-travel and post-travel House and Senate ethics process ensuring the pre-travel forms are approved by Aspen Institute legal counsel and filed by participating members, prior to the ethics deadline.
• Lead communicator for all travel participants. Including : travel & contact details, ethics forms, conference updates, etc.
• Lead the management and creation of conference notebook printed and digital.
• Lead the management and creation of a conference mobile app that is utilized by each travel participant.
• Work with contracted print companies to create the necessary printing for each conference.
• The Assistant Conference Director works closely with Congressional Engagement Manager and develops and maintains key relationships among congressional schedulers and members.

Operations Responsibilities :

What You Will Need To Thrive

The Aspen Institute offers a generous benefits package including health, dental, vision, and prescription benefits, retirement benefits, and paid leave.

The Aspen Institute is an Equal Opportunity Employer and complies with all District and federal laws. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or protected veteran or disabled status and will not be discriminated against. The Aspen Institute welcomes individuals with disabilities to participate in its programs, including the interview process. If you would like to request accommodations or have questions about accessibility, please email hrsupport@aspeninstitute.org or call 202-736-2127 in advance of your visit. Requests for ASL or CART services should be made at least two weeks in advance when possible. We will make every effort to fulfill requests, subject to availability.