INSS Event Coordinator

Status: Independent contractor, approx. 15 hours per week

Reports to: Marketing Manager

Location: Remote within USA, strong preference for St. Louis metro area

Compensation: Flat rate $6,000 (billable 50% upon contract signing, 50% upon successful completion of all deliverables), plus up to $1,000 travel reimbursement

Timeframe: May 19 through September 12, 2025; LION’s office is closed for the week of July 4 and the contractor would not be expected to work during that time

Project Summary

Are you a tech-savvy logistics wizard? Do you delight in ensuring that data is accurate and complete? Would it energize you to make sure that event registrants have all the information and accommodations they need? If so, you might be a great fit for this project!

LION Publishers is looking for an independent contractor to support the smooth operations of our third Independent News Sustainability Summit (INSS). This year’s Summit will take place in St. Louis, MO, from September 3-5. The INSS Coordinator will be expected to dedicate an average of 15 hours per week to the responsibilities below:

Scope of Work

• Logistics Coordination (70%)
  • Registration
    • Track and update the refund request spreadsheet and help ensure all requested refunds are tracked in that document; coordinate with LION’s finance and operations manager and/or marketing manager to ensure refunds are processed
    • Answer common registration questions received at summit@lionpublishers.com
    • Ensure registration list and counts are continually updated and accurate, and proactively contact attendees to secure any missing registration information
    • Help ensure all sponsor contacts and guests are registered by the stated deadline and that sponsors haven’t exceeded their allotted ticket thresholds
  • Sessions logistics
    • Assist with coordinating and confirming room configurations for sessions, including providing a mockup of the rooms to send to speakers
    • In coordination with the event planner and/or associate director of coaching, assist with confirming room volunteers
    • In coordination with the event planner, help onboard and prepare room volunteers
  • Accommodations
    • Compile and track a list of requested attendee accommodations in consultation with the event planner and/or director of development
    • Coordinate communications about accommodations/special requests with attendees and event planner
    • Follow up with folks who made accommodations/special requests and ask how the experience went for them (during and post-event)
• Marketing Support (20%)
  • Promotion
    • Assist with the implementation of marketing and communications plans, including updating content in the event app and conducting outreach to potential leads for fundraising, event promotion, and attendance, plus potential special projects, as assigned
  • Session summaries
    • Attend various Summit sessions and write three to five key takeaways from those sessions to be shared with the marketing team (for post-event articles)
• Data Management (10%)
  • Fundraising data
    • Run reports with up-to-date information in event software and Salesforce
    • Keep databases up to date with complete and accurate sponsorship pipeline data, creating new sponsor account and opportunity records as needed

Included in the 15 hrs/week scope of work, the contractor will attend initial training sessions, and have progress check-ins with the Marketing Manager via Zoom twice per week.