Employment Type: Part Time Position (Hours fluctuate based on events schedule)
Location: Granville Island
About Arts Umbrella
Arts Umbrella is where young artists ages 2–22 cultivate their creativity in Art, Design, Dance, Theatre, Music, and Film. As a non-profit organization for arts education, we believe that art is powerful. Powerful enough to change a child’s life in incredible ways. When young people connect with the arts, they gain self-confidence, develop self-discipline, and discover creative expression—qualities they carry with them for life. Arts Umbrella has two locations in Vancouver and Surrey, as well as donor-funded programs at schools, community centres, neighbourhood houses, and healthcare facilities across Metro Vancouver. We serve nearly 20,000 young people every year, with 77% participating in donor-funded programs.
In April 2021, Arts Umbrella moved into a new home on Granville Island. This transformational opportunity allows us to further our vision for a better world where all young lives are inspired to pursue a lifelong journey towards self-expression, compassion, and humanity. It is our mission to be a leader in arts education for young people; to build community and deliver profound life experiences through our commitment to innovation, excellence, and inclusivity. Arts Umbrella is an organization full of heart, where self-expression and creativity are valued and nurtured.
The Opportunity
The Event Liaison will report to and support the Manager, Rentals & Events in various tasks related to event bookings with the Arts Umbrella facility.
In this role you will
- Provides exceptional customer service to all guests and vendors to the building on event day
- Assists with arrivals and load-in by facilitating elevator access for vendors and other suppliers
- Ensuring clients adhere to their rental agreement which includes access to the space(s) and monitoring client activities
- Establishes communication protocols with the client contact for the duration of the event
- Assists with the arrival and departure of catering and other suppliers including set-up or clean
- Assists with set-up and clean up if required
- Liaises with other internal departments within Arts Umbrella as necessary
- Reports any unsafe conditions, practices, or injuries in the appropriate manner
- Prepares and distributes an end-of-day report via email
- Ensures a smooth transition of venue logistics to Student Services or Security at the end of each day
For theatre Bookings, with a live audience:
- Implements a high standard of customer service from all front-of-house staff including volunteers, box office attendants, ushers, and concession/bar servers by providing training and orientation to their duties at the start of their shift, and overseeing the front of house throughout the event
- Provides an excellent patron and producer experience at all times
- Coordinates with theater management, technicians, and stage management through headset or radio throughout the event
- Coordinates the distribution of printed material, if any, for each performance
- Maintains the cleanliness and organization of the lobby and all other relevant areas; communicates with Housekeeping and Facilities as necessary to ensure a clean and safe environment
- Delivers the Front of House speech if required, or ensures that the relevant safety information is communicated to the audience by other means
- Ensures that the POS devices and front of house computer are secured and charged at the end of the event.
- Oversees the safety and wellbeing of patrons throughout the performance, providing leadership in emergencies, including fire alarm warnings and evacuation
- Coordinates the exit of patrons at the end of the show, ensuring no patrons or items are left behind
- Report any unsafe conditions, practices or injuries in the appropriate manner
- Provides administrative support to the Manager, Rentals & Events on an as-needed basis
- Performs related duties as assigned by the Manager, Rentals & Events
Here is what you bring
- Must possess a high school diploma
- Minimum 1 year experience in customer service or front-of-house experience in special events, entertainment, or hospitality field, ideally with some supervisory experience. Exceptional communication and organizational skills
- Customer service experience is required, especially within an events setting is an asset
- Flexibility to adapt to the changing needs of the events, with a proactive approach to -problem-solving
- Ability to multitask and be proactive while performing a variety of event-related support tasks
- Ability to work in a high-pressure, fast-paced environment, including evenings and weekends as required
Diversity & Inclusion
Arts Umbrella is dedicated to promoting diversity and inclusion. Our commitment is reflected in our programming, the audience we engage with, the students we serve as well as the staff we employ. Diversity and inclusion in our organization means fostering a workplace in which individual differences are recognized, appreciated, and respected. We actively seek applications from Indigenous peoples, visible minorities, persons with disabilities, people of all sexual orientations and genders, and others with knowledge in diversity and inclusion to help us strengthen our commitment.
