Outreach and Diversity Manager | McCormick Place Convention Center

Oak View Group

Oak View Group is the global leader in venue development, management, and premium hospitality services for the live event industry. Offering an unmatched, 360-degree solution set for a collection of world-class owned venues and a client roster that includes the most influential, highest attended arenas, convention centers, music festivals, performing arts centers, and cultural institutions on the planet.

Position Summary

The Outreach and Diversity Manager is responsible for leading and coordinating the organization’s efforts to provide tools and best practices to enable the organization and procurement teams to include diverse suppliers in their sourcing strategies.  The individual will also lead and coordinate the organizations efforts to build and maintain positive relationships with the community surrounding McCormick Place Convention Center.

This role will pay a salary of $60,000 to $65,000.

For FT roles: Benefits: Health, Dental and Vision insurance, 401(k) savings plan, 401(k) matching, and paid time off (vacation days, sick days, and 12 holidays)

job expires 3/14/2025

About the Venue

McCormick Place located in downtown Chicago is the largest and most flexible convention center in North America., With over 2.6 million square feet of exhibition space, the campus proudly hosts some of the world’s largest and most prestigious conventions, meetings, and trade shows, welcoming approximately 3 million visitors to Chicago every year.

Responsibilities

• Act as a liaison to foster and maintain positive relationships between the organization, diverse vendors, stakeholders and community members.
• Manage and create a formal supplier diversity program that includes defining and managing supplier participation requirements and processes, including tracking and reporting, benchmarking best practices strategies while maintaining Good Faith Effort programs and reporting outreach.
• Manage and maintain company compliance reporting (local and federal) and data collection.
• Research and review best practices and benchmarking data to develop supplier diversity solutions and improve the effectiveness of the overall program.
• Complete and submit reports required by OVG leadership and MPEA.
• Coordinate and oversee a Quarterly networking initiative which brings together our MBE/WBE partners and other diverse community and vendor resources to help define our role and new business relationships.
• Participate in industry-wide supplier diversity cooperatives and supplier diversity events.
• Review and communicate to VP/Assoc. VP of Hospitality all formal procurement activities directed at enhancing diverse supplier business utilization and participation.
• Ability to communicate and interface with OVG Leadership, MPEA, Vendors and Community Members.
• Ability to work with and facilitate teams, manage multiple projects and meet strict deadlines.

Qualifications

• Procurement knowledge highly preferred
• Minimum of more than 3-5 years supplier diversity experience
• Excellent time management and organizational skills with ability to manage detailed, concurrent tasks.
• Proven ability to work independently and to manage competing priorities.
• Strong analytical skills, including reporting, creative thinker.
• Excellent verbal and written skills
• Strong computer skills, i.e. PowerPoint, Excel, Word, able to type no less than 50 wpm.

Strengthened by our Differences. United to Make a Difference

At OVG, we understand that to continue positively disrupting the sports and live entertainment industry, we need a diverse team to help us do it. We also believe that inclusivity drives innovation, strengthens our people, improves our service, and raises our excellence. Our success is rooted in creating environments that reflect and celebrate the diverse communities in which we operate and serve, and this is the reason we are committed to amplifying voices from all different backgrounds.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Oak View Group is committed to equal employment opportunity. We will not discriminate against employees or applicants for employment on any legally recognized basis (“protected class”) including, but not limited to veteran status, uniform service member status, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information or any other protected class under federal, state, or local law.