Omai technical events director

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Job Category:

Academic Staff

Employment Type:

Regular

Job Profile:

Technical Director

Job Summary:

The Technical Events Director (TED) at the Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives (OMAI) is an innovative event producer who is a technical expert at cultivating inclusive, multicultural events. The TED is generally responsible for planning, designing, implementing and managing the monthly, semesterly, and annual events produced by OMAI. They are a self-starter creative collaborator, with a diverse skill set in project management and event planning (both in the performing arts and other community gatherings). As a producer, the TED's main responsibility is to elevate the platforms - through project management and leading the planning of logistics - for multicultural arts, to foster legitimate theatrical and academic forums to promote positive social dialogue, and to center the broad influence of hip hop and urban arts. In addition, the TED is responsible for managing, guiding and training First Wave Scholars as interns and volunteers on their technical events team. This position reports to the OMAI Director.

Key Job Responsibilities:

• Inspects, maintains, and repairs equipment to ensure optimal and safe operation
• Instructs students in the preparation, construction, and operation of performance art productions, systems and equipment
• Cleans and maintains organization of theater and technical production equipment
• May develop unit operating budgets and identify opportunities for new unit income generating programs and services
• Develops and directs implementation of operating policies and procedures with health and safety regulations, institutional policies, and unit objectives
• Directs the planning, staffing, and execution of technical production and theatrical operations before and during performances
• Creates a project plan, sets priorities, allocates tasks, and collaborates with project staff to meet project targets and milestones, monitors progress and performance against the project plan, identifies, resolves, or escalates risks and issues
• Schedules logistics and secures resources for all aspects of events including space, vendors, and staff; coordinates details and resolves operational issues; monitors and processes event related transactions and event data and records

Department:

The Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives within the Division for Teaching and Learning at the University of Wisconsin-Madison provides culturally relevant and transformative arts programming to promote positive social dialogue and to give cultural art forms a legitimate academic forum. By harnessing the broad cultural influence of spoken word, hip hop, and emerging as well as traditional art forms, OMAI’s events and programming create learning environments that directly affect UW-Madison’s campus climate, improving retention and graduation metrics, and preparing future leaders to reinvest in their communities. By continually refreshing this paradigm that integrates traditional academics and cutting edge arts activism, OMAI empowers transnational leaders with new tools for inclusive community building.

One of OMAI’s most prominent initiatives is the First Wave Hip Hop and Urban Arts Scholarship Program, a cutting-edge multicultural artistic program for incoming students which offers a four-year full tuition scholarship to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Bringing together young artists and leaders from across the United States and beyond, First Wave offers students the opportunity to live, study and create together in a close-knit, dynamic campus community. First Wave is the first university program in the country to offer full tuition scholarships for urban arts, spoken word and hip-hop culture.

Compensation:

• Minimum salary: $60,000. Actual pay is determined at hire and is based on experience.
• This position offers a comprehensive benefits package, including generous paid time off, competitively priced health/dental/vision/life insurance, tax-advantaged savings accounts, and participation in the nationally recognized Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) pension fund. For a summary of benefits, please see here.

Required Qualifications:

• Minimum 3 years of professional experience with production management and/or event management (with strong preference for a focus in Hip Hop, arts, activism, and multicultural arts)
• Knowledge and experience with budget management, program planning, and event execution
• Minimum 3 years of professional experience demonstrating strong organizational skills, time management skills, ability to work well under pressure, ability to multitask and to work collaboratively
• Minimum 3 years of professional experience developing curricular and co-curricular multicultural art engagement practices, and evidence of multicultural art outreach/community engagement
• Ability to work evenings and weekends during OMAI programming
• Occasional travel

Preferred Qualifications:

• Strong skills relative to interpersonal communication and collaborative multifaceted projects
• Excellent problem-solving skills exercising initiative and creativity to enhance programming for both campus and public audiences
• Minimum 2 years of technical production experience and/or conference planning
• Minimum 2 years of professional experience with project management
• Experience with mentorship and/or instruction of young artists
• Significant knowledge and passion for Hip Hop, urban arts, multicultural arts
• Experience working with unionized theater staff, particularly lighting and sound designers, stage managers, choreographers and directors

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree, required
• Degree or significant course work related to Hip Hop, urban arts, event management, technical theater and/or production, preferred

How to Apply:

• Candidates will be required to upload a cover letter referring to related work experience and a resume/CV detailing educational and professional background not to exceed six pages. Candidates will also be presented with the option to manually enter Certifications, Education, Languages, and Website information.
• As a part of this application, please briefly respond to the following in your cover letter: Detail your experience coordinating and managing multifaceted events and/or projects (e.g. conferences, festivals, multi-day programming) and describe your experience managing a team including those you may not directly supervise, through the completion of a multifaceted event and/or project.
• Please note when applying, there will be only one attachment field. You must upload all your documents in the attachment field. Applicants are to submit a cover letter and resume detailing their training and experience relating to the required and preferred qualifications referenced above.
• The deadline for assuring full consideration is November 15, 2026, at 11:59 PM (CST).
• Please note that successful applicants are responsible for ensuring their eligibility to work in the United States (i.e. a citizen or national of the United States, a lawful permanent resident, a foreign national authorized to work in the United States without need of employer sponsorship) on or before the effective date of appointment. UW-Madison is not an E-Verify employer, and therefore, is not eligible to employee F1 STEM OPT Extension participants.
• This position has been identified as a position of trust. The selected candidate will be required to pass an initial background check to be eligible for employment and every two years.

Contact Information:

Kevin Johnson, kbjohnson8@ohr.wisc.edu, 608-262-9939

Relay Access (WTRS): 7-1-1. See RELAY_SERVICE for further information.

Institutional Statement on Diversity:

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, including but not limited to, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, pregnancy, disability, or status as a protected veteran and other bases as defined by federal regulations and UW System policies. We promote excellence by acknowledging skills and expertise from all backgrounds and encourage all qualified individuals to apply. For more information regarding applicant and employee rights and to view federal and state required postings, visit the Human Resources Workplace Poster website.

To request a disability or pregnancy-related accommodation for any step in the hiring process (e.g., application, interview, pre-employment testing, etc.), please contact the Divisional Disability Representative (DDR) in the division you are applying to. Please make your request as soon as possible to help the university respond most effectively to you.

Employment may require a criminal background check. It may also require your references to answer questions regarding misconduct, including sexual violence and sexual harassment.

The University of Wisconsin System will not reveal the identities of applicants who request confidentiality in writing, except that the identity of the successful candidate will be released. See Wis. Stat. sec. 19.36(7).

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