Job Title: Registration Specialist

Position Supervisor:  Sr. Meeting Manager

Classification Level: Exempt

Location: Arlington, VA (Hybrid/Local)

Position Timeline: Permanent  

APHSA is recruiting new talent! We are seeking an ambitious new hire who is efficient and successful at registration management. 

APHSA represents leaders from state, county, and city human services agencies to advance the well-being of individuals, families, and communities nationwide. As a nonprofit, bipartisan membership association, we work with our members to generate pragmatic solutions grounded in lived experience with a lens for racial equity and belonging.

Join a team of dedicated, results-oriented professionals who are helping our members improve the well-being of individuals, families, and communities across the nation! Our team at APHSA needs a person like you who leans forward and feels comfortable engaging with teammates, thought leaders and partners.  

We are looking for an innovative, solutions-oriented action taker who will add to our collaborative team environment.

Our team at APHSA needs a person like you who leans forward and feels comfortable engaging with important thought leaders and partners. We’re looking for solution-oriented action takers who will add to our collaborative team environment. While your main focus will be supporting APHSA’s conference, meetings and events because they help advance the association’s mission and goals, we’re also looking for someone who thrives in a multi-team environment. In addition, we need someone who is comfortable being on multiple cross functional internal teams to advance the work both internally and externally with kindness, compassion, inclusion, and a can-do spirit.

Your direct supervisor and coach will be the Senior Meeting Manager. Your support will be the entire APHSA organization because we work best when we all work together! 

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Registration Specialist is responsible for coordinating registration, housing services and management of travel portals for assigned meetings and conferences. Responsible for management of registration and housing platforms in collaboration with related service providers. Responsible for developing, presenting, and coordinating requests and assignments for registration and housing for APHSA’s VIP attendees, exhibitors, staff, and vendors.

Supervisor Responsibilities:

• No

Major Responsibility #1 Registration: (40%)

• Leads all aspects of advance registration, housing reservations, and travel agency processes and serves as liaison with vendors to provide a user-friendly process for registrants. Establishes timelines, processes, and scopes of work for registration, housing, and travel agency programs for all assigned conferences;
• Build registration forms for all events and convenings;
• Responsible for accuracy of registration pages on all event and convening postings;
• Work with lead planners/organizers to ensure accuracy of registration information;
• Provides regular PACE reports identifying trends in registration;
• Communicates with members and attendees on registration questions;
• Processes and reports on event attendance, revenue, and related data. Identify and establish cost savings and revenue gains as appropriate and applicable;
• Responsible for managing two general email accounts where members send inquiries;
• Coordinates and manages temporary personnel and/or volunteers, as needed, for multiple events to ensure adequate support for APHSA staff in all aspects of our events management;
• Manage project timelines and deadline compliance, while effectively presenting project status and related information as the need arises. Establish positive relationships and communication with internal staff, volunteers, and vendors and anticipate needs and expectations of all;
• Interacts with other departments on events.

Major Responsibility #2 Housing/Hotel Block Management: (35%)

• Advises on housing process and serves as liaison with contracted venues to ensure that all meeting attendees who require hotel rooms will be accommodated and served;
• Responsible for managing the housing for scholarships/fellowships and staff;
• Responsible for providing regular tracking of hotel blocks;
• Works with Director, Membership and Events and lead planner to ensure attrition is addressed in a timely fashion on all hotel blocks;
• Ensures VIP housing is addressed in timely fashion for APSHA Leadership, Board of Directors, Keynote Speakers, and other designated VIPs;
• Reviews proposed blocks on RFPs during site selection process to ensure the blocks are adjusted to reflect the bell weather trends;
• Coordinates and manages temporary personnel and/or volunteers, as needed, for multiple events to ensure adequate support for APHSA staff in all aspects of our events management.
• Responsible for maintaining historical data on housing, per event, to identify trends on hotel blocks.

Major Responsibility #3 Travel Management: (10%)

• Responsible for managing the Gant Gateway Meetings program;
• Responsible for providing regular tracking of airfare costs for each meeting;
• Provides travel reports for grant-funding housing;
• Responsible to book ground transportation for VIPs and other designees, as needed;
• Responsible for creating travel profiles for new hires.

Major Responsibility #4 Financial: (10%)

• Responsible for invoicing all group registrations on a timely basis;
• Responsible for ensuring all registrations are paid in full within 90 days of the close of each event;
• Work with accounting to provide monthly credit card reports and process/post payments as received in registration and exhibit platform;
• Review the housing portion of hotel invoices to ensure accuracy of charges and provide any discrepancies to the lead planner;
• Provide reports for registrations funded by grants to ensure funds are transferred internally;
• Provide accurate reporting to the Director and Accounting Department.

Major Responsibility #5 Miscellaneous: (5%)

• Responsible for accuracy of registration and housing pages on multiple event websites; 
• Work across teams to support concurrent meetings and/or small convenings;
• Serve on internal workgroups, as needed;
• Advises on vendor negotiations and management ensuring service level agreements are met;
• Participates in site visits, as needed, with APHSA Conference and Events Team to determine layout of on-site registration; manages on-site registration during the key events;
• Travel, as needed, to support registration for events (less than 10%);
• Organizes and coordinates attendee shuttle transportation, as needed;
• Support the Conference and Events Team in other event areas, as needed.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Knowledge of conference registration, housing, and travel arrangements.
• Ability to manage project time and workload efficiently.
• Knowledge of Microsoft 365 Suite, Adobe Acrobat Pro, Smartsheet and project planning tools
• Team player with a can-do, positive attitude and a great sense of humor
• Willingness to travel (up to 10%) as public health considerations permit. 

• Bachelor's Degree in Business, Hospitality, related area, or equivalent related work experience
• Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) designation preferred
• Excellent customer service skills.
• Strong organizational skills needed for management of multiple meetings.
• Excellent oral and written communications.
•  3-4 years of experience coordinating and implementing conference registration, housing, and related services for all sizes of meetings and conferences
• Ability to work in the Virginia office during peak times with the Conference and Events Team

Physical Requirements:

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• Must be able to lift up to 15 pounds at times. 

At APHSA, we value and support the health, well-being and future of our staff. Our benefit package is based on improving employee morale, which fosters a work environment where staff feel they can thrive and feel accomplished. Aside from basic benefits such as 100% employer coverage of health, dental, and vision insurance, we also offer additional employee benefits and perks like these:

• $250 work from home stipend
• 3% contribution to 401 k or ROTH Plan
• Monthly Staples account allowance
• Hybrid work environment
• Additional discretionary holidays included with 11 paid holidays
• Employee Appreciation gifts and an APHSA Swag pop-up shop
• 20 vacation days
• 15 sick/wellness days
• Disability insurance
• Life Insurance
• FSA (health, dependent, commuter)
• Optional employee paid benefits (legal, pet insurance, critical illness, accident) 

INSTRUCTIONS:

Please submit a resume and cover letter.

This employer participates in E-Verify for employment verification. 

The American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) is a bipartisan national membership association representing state and local health and human services agencies and the subject matter experts that help execute their mission to improve outcomes for people nationwide. APHSA's dedication to promoting diversity, racial equity, multiculturalism, and inclusion is clearly reflected in how we work and support our members. It is more than a commitment—it is the foundation of how we do what we do. We strive to create a workplace that reflects the communities we serve and recognize that building well-being starts with creating a space where our employees are comfortable bringing their authentic, unique selves to work. 

Building on our long-standing relationships with health and human services leaders, we focus on generating pragmatic solutions that advance the well-being of individuals, families, and communities.