Career Opportunities

Position Purpose: The Director of Purchasing, Athletic Facilities, Rentals, Events, and Bookstore supports the Athletics Department and Operations with marketing, organizing, administrating, and coordinating all aspects of the Spartan Athletic Park facilities and events at Aurora University Athletic Facilities, procuring relationships with vendors to ensure the best usage of university funds, and overseeing the operation of the campus bookstore.

Core Competencies:

1. Represents Aurora University in the most positive manner with prospective, former and current students, clients, suppliers and the community we serve. Interacts effectively with a diverse group of faculty, staff, students and other customers of our service, learns and uses operating practices of the department and Aurora University.
2. Upholds the Mission Statement: Aurora University an inclusive community dedicated to the transformative power of learning.
3. Handle confidential information with tact and discretion.
4. Supports learning through performance of essential job functions and performing other duties and functions as necessary or as assigned.

Essential Job Functions:

1. Collaborate with the Operations and Athletics Department to build a portfolio of rentals to maximize facility utilization and increase revenue-generating ability.
2. Coordinate with the facilities maintenance company to prepare fields and confirm requirements/specs with coaches/teams and/or renters to ensure a successful event(s).
3. Develop and maintain a list of preferred vendors and negotiate pricing to leverage the university's buying power. Communicate the list to campus and work with various departments to educate them on how to use the list.
4. Develop a receiving and distribution system at our current warehouse or other campus locations to confirm that what is being ordered is what we received and that it is distributed to the party that ordered it in a timely manner.
5. Oversee all operations and staff of the campus bookstore.
6. Oversee all operations and staff of the mailroom. Develop and implement processes to combine mail services with a receiving and distribution system across all AU locations.
7. Work in conjunction with Campus Public Safety and other campus administrators to assure the athletic facilities are properly monitored and secured at all times.
8. Assist with maintaining equipment inventory, care for and provide maintenance of athletic equipment, buildings/facilities at the athletic complex, and athletic venues on campus.
9. Manage rental application process, collect funds for rentals, confirm insurance, and communicates with renters the rules around using Aurora Athletic Facilities. Work closely with the Finance Office to minimize any risk involved with third parties using our facilities.
10. Oversee the setup and breakdown of facilities for home athletic events, including, but not limited to: Confirmation of event setup, game personnel, and security as necessary for home athletic contests and renters; greet renters; assist with the coordination of Campus Public Safety with respect to crowd control and traffic concerns as needed; coordinate event facility breakdown.
11. Assess any risk management and emergency issues, including, but not limited to: weather; field or court conditions; parking and seating issues. Immediately notify campus and department personnel, such as the Director of Athletics and Campus Public Safety, of any event and/or crowd issues.
12. Coordinate with organizers of third-party rentals and university-sponsored camps to ensure appropriate liability and oversight are achieved.
13. Helps train Athletics Event Supervisors to ensure they properly perform the functions of the job.
14. Train, schedule, and supervise student workers selected to work for the athletic department. Supervise student workers during events, paying special attention to the completion of specific game operations tasks. Closely monitors the student worker budget and processes student workers' timesheets.

Essential Job Requirements:

Education:

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university or 5-plus years of relevant experience in business, operations, vendor management, and leadership.

Experience:

• Strong understanding of business, marketing, and leadership is essential for success in this role. Experience in event and facilities management desired with the ability to manage large events. Ability to coordinate schedules, work with Campus Public Safety, and facilities to guarantee every event is a success.

Skills:

• Excellent verbal and written skills are required.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to work with a wide range of constituents: student-athletes, parents, coaches, media, alumni, administrators, support staff, campus community, and the community at large.
• Ability to set and achieve or exceed goals, meet deadlines, and have strong strategic thinking and problem-solving abilities.
• Attention to detail.
• General computer knowledge with a proficiency in Word and Excel.

Special Requirements:

• Evening and weekend availability are required.
• Flexibility in an evolving work environment is important.

Physical Requirements:

• Physical ability to operate small machinery as well as endure physically strenuous work-outs and physical exercise on a daily basis, including standing and/or walking for long periods, bending, stooping, lifting; manual dexterity; lifting of up to 50 pounds.

Aurora University is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to becoming a model university of the 21st century. Toward this effort we are determined to have a faculty, staff, and student body reflecting the cultural demographics of the greater Chicago area.