Commercial Co-working Space and Events Coordinator
- Position Title : Commercial Co-working Space and Events Coordinator
- Position Type : Regular, Full Time
- Location : Gaza Sky Geeks /Mercy Corps
- Duration : One Year
PROGRAM/DEPARTMENT SUMMARY: -
Gaza Sky Geeks (GSG) is Gaza’s leading co-working space, tech education hub, and startup accelerator, run by Mercy Corps, a nonprofit international relief and development organization with programs in the occupied Palestinian territories since the 1980s. Mercy Corps founded GSG in partnership with Google.org in 2011. We bring together online freelancers, outsourcers, and startup founders together under one roof to share ideas, best practices, code, and build brighter futures through the power of the internet. Gaza Sky Geeks’ overarching goal is to build an internationally competitive technology ecosystem in Gaza through online freelancing, outsourcing, and startups.
GENERAL SUMMARY OF THE POSITION
What are we looking for?
We aim to be Gaza city’s premier co-working space for the tech and youth community as well as a space to host events and activities for organizations which align with our mission and values.
We want to provide an environment that inspires startups, independent professionals, nonprofits and artists to get more done. We are proud of our community and so we provide a place for them to accomplish great things.
We achieve all of this with the hospitality mindset.
In order to deliver on these goals, GSG is actively seeking a friendly, analytical and detail-oriented person to be the face of our commercial co-working space and events offering. You will help us grow this component of our community by creating a great member experience while executing sales and operational tasks with excellence. This is your opportunity to take ownership and responsibility of a mission-driven business with the complete support and experience of the entire GSG team.
What we expect from you?
There is lots of growth opportunity in this position and we need someone who can:
- Devise new revenue streams and models
- Proactively consider ways to structure our rental and event space offering
- Drives outreach to grow the pool of potential renters and customers
- Sells new memberships and manages existing rental agreements
- Promotes our space as a premier events facility
- Help our customers to curate and deliver events
- Maintains cleanliness and ensures everything is in working order
- Fosters "spontaneous" interactions which benefit our customers
- Handles all operational and logistical matters relating to renters and events
- Provides a smile and energy to members and visitors alike
Some of your key attributes include:
- People Skills: Most members join co-working spaces because of community. A good manager will make sure these prospective members (or existing members) feel comfortable and welcome – whether its an event idea, issue, or suggestion, members want to be heard.
- Accountability: You stay on top of reports such as revenue, member changes, and pending issues which are key to showing the value you bring to your community. Managers should be independent, hardworking, and not above any job.
- Authenticity: A good co-working space and events manager integrates their own interests and hobbies into discussions with members. This is a great way to find common connections, build relationships and foster a strong network within your space.
- Curiosity: A co-working space and events manager should follow up with members and potential members to find out how their businesses and lives have changed. Showing a keen interest lets your members know that you care. You should show that same curiosity for other aspects of GSG and connect the dots where relevant.
- Enthusiasm: It's important that our members believe whole-heartedly in our space and the ideas it supports. You are the ambassador for this.
Responsibilities:
Community management
- Super-proactive with sharp attention to detail you are always surveying the space - you see what our customers see and fix issues before they are raised
- Create a welcoming environment by acting in a friendly, patient and professional manner which facilitates high member satisfaction
- Screening for members / non members and greeting guests / informing members of guest arrival
- Working with the GSG team to create a sense of connection among members and the broader community
- Plan and launch community initiatives to create connections between members across GSG
- Take lead in member communications - be the ‘face’ of the commercial co-working and events space
- Espouse the GSG co-working space's values
- Seek out information about the business and personal objectives of our rental and event organizations and individual members
- Resolve issues between members quickly and in a manner that diffuses tension
- Foster a sense of inclusivity where fresh ideas are welcome
Business development
- Responsible for setting and achieving sales objectives, occupancy rates and pricing
- Devise and execute marketing strategies to generate leads
- Working with the community management team, promote the space to generate interest in membership and event rentals
- Follow up on a frequent basis with prospective members, document activity in CRM and marketing platform
- Conduct tours for prospective members
- Negotiate member and event deals
- Be knowledgeable about membership contracts and guidelines as well as manage the work environment
- Oversee new member onboarding and member moves out of the space
- Input and maintain accurate data across various platforms (billing, customer data, inventory)
- Ensure that new members will fit in with our culture, dynamics and mission
- Maintain a positive relationship with key vendors
Facilities and space management
- Manage the commercial co-working space operations to the satisfaction of members
- Maximize up-time and availability of key facilities assets like the Wifi network, kitchen, printers/copiers
- Keep members aware of facilities issues that may impact them
- Make recommendations about new features or perks that will entice members
- Manage maintenance and repairs with the support of the operations and logistics team
- Be aware of member safety and emergency preparedness
Events planning and execution
- Build a calendar of co-working events that engages:
- Current members to increase satisfaction / retention
- Future members for lead generation and sales-related events
- The local community to identify outside organizers and encourage them to use our event space
- With the operations and logistics team, oversee events from catering to a smooth event check-in process to cleanup
SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY:
You will indirectly be responsible for managing junior operations and logistics staff. Depending on your past management experience and performance at GSG, this may be formalized.
ACCOUNTABILITY:
ACCOUNTABLE TO: GSG CFO
WORKS WITH: Entire GSG Team, GSG community and commercial customers, MC Operations staff
Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders:
Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.
QUALIFICATIONS, KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE AND SUCCESS FACTORS :
- University degree in Business Administration, Marketing , IT or any related field is required .
- 2-4 years’ experience with increasing responsibility in a hospitality, hotel sales or customer service role
- Demonstrated project management skills
- Comfortable speaking, selling, and growing the community
- Self-starter, quick learner, and confident
- Exceptional organizational and multi-tasking skills
- Warm and approachable
- Reliable
- Professional demeanor
- A high level of emotional intelligence and empathy
- A humble, proactive, and curious approach to learning
- Able to understand and work with the variety of hardware and software applications that our space depends on
- Passion for our tech and entrepreneurial community
- Fluent in English and Arabic
- A high level of ethics, empathy and dependability
- Prior leadership experience is a plus
SUCCESS FACTORS:
- Ability to work in a flat, fast-paced environment with others who are passionate about supporting Gaza’s technology ecosystem
- Comfort with uncertainty and change—GSG is a small program but growing rapidly. Just like our program, we seek staff who are adaptable and pitch in on what needs to be done.
- Strong listening abilities in order to understand the needs of Gaza’s startup community and GSG’s tech community
- High degree of self introspection and leadership potential
- Superb attention to detail
- Positive attitude and passion for your work
- Proactive, get-stuff-done mentality that always prioritizes outcomes, not just inputs
- Strong interpersonal, conflict resolution and negotiation skills;
- Excellent time and organizational management skills;
- Excellent ability to work under pressure and carry out multiple tasks simultaneously.
Ongoing Learning:
- In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion:
Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.
We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.
Equal Employment Opportunity:
Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact.
We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.
Safeguarding & Ethics:
Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct elearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.
How to Apply
Qualified persons with disability are highly encouraged to apply.
Interested candidates are encouraged to submit an application online HERE no later than Wednesday, 26 August 2020
- Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.
- Please apply separate application for each position you are interested in.