Panels Department Head

Overview

The Panels Department Head provides direction and leadership for the Panels Committee, Panels Senior Staff and Panels General Staff. Directly supervises Panelist Coordinator, Panels Shift Leads, Panels Dispatchers, and indirectly supervises all panels staff. Coordinate with Signature Events & Cosplay for scheduling and staff needs, accessibilities and security for attendee needs/requirements, customer service for at convention schedule/event updates, and other departments as needed. There are considerable pre-convention commitments, such as attending off season meetings, overseeing panelist selection, policy updates, programming division planning and data evaluation. 

Pre Con Responsibilities

• Oversee the Panel Committee/Panel selection process
• Update and manage Panels, Panelist and Panels Staff Policy
• Aid the Panels ADH with Featured Panelist selection and acquisition 
• Create Panels Staff at con schedule
• Track panels inventory and order required supplies
• Update panel door check bags 
• Attend leadership meetings
• Provide feedback for convention layout
• Aid in creation of Panels Schedule
• Manage Panels Staff list
• Provide and verify panels information for the website and app
• Other duties as assigned 

At Con Responsibilities   

• Supervise and train Panels Staff (Panels ADHs, Dispatchers, Shift Leads, General Staff)  
• Communicate effectively with the Associate Director of Program, Special Events DH, Cosplay DH, Customer Service DH, Accessibility DH, Security Staff and other Ohayocon Staff as needed
• Be on site to oversee the event before, during and after the events scheduled time
• On the spot problem solving
• Manage event preparation and venue set up, including room layout and technological requirements
• Oversee the aggregation (at con) and evaluation/interpretation (pre/post con) of panelist, staff, and attendee feedback
• Evaluate panel success using clear metrics gleaned from at con data collection  
• Other duties as assigned

Minimum Requirements

• Ability to establish priorities and execute plans within specified parameters
• Previous management experience
• Working knowledge of anime/fan/other conventions, programming specifically
• Ability to maintain a calm and collected demeanor during stressful or frustrating situations
• Effective communication skills, both oral and written
• Strong time management skills
• Basic tech skills 
• Well-organized with great attention to detail

 Preferred Requirements

• 2+ years of experience with professional event coordinating or equivalent experience 
• Scheduling experience for 20+ staff
• 2+ years of supervisory experience
• Proficient in MS Office Suite
• Experience with qualitative and quantitative analysis and related software 
• Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing to diverse audiences
• Experience with contract negotiation or presenter/guest acquisitions
• De-escalation and/or by-stander intervention training
• Strong problem solving skillset
• Flexibility and adaptability
• Previous Ohayocon staffing experience

Details

This position reports to the Programming Director/Assistant Program Director

Compensation: See Ohayocon Staff compensation information

To apply, those interested should email programming@ohayocon.org with a brief introductory paragraph and explanation of qualifications.