Program Specialist - Awards and Degrees – Logistics

Description

The Awards and Degrees Program Specialist – Logistics, Operations & Event Delivery leads the planning, coordination, and execution of National FFA’s Agriscience Fair, American FFA Degree, American Star Award, National Chapter Award, SAE Awards and Honorary Awards annually across in‑person, virtual, and hybrid formats. This role ensures events are well‑organized, safe, accessible, and executed with consistency and operational excellence.

As the primary logistics owner for assigned events, the specialist manages the full operational lifecycle—from pre‑event planning and space coordination through virtual and on‑site execution and post‑event evaluation. The role develops detailed logistics plans, venue layouts, schedules, and contingency strategies, and serves as the on‑site operational lead during events. The role leads to the recruitment, retention and recognition of well over 4,000 volunteers annually to judge applications and host interviews.

Working in close partnership with content and assessment specialists, vendors, and cross‑functional teams, the specialist integrates operational planning with program requirements while stewarding the awards and recognitions budget to support high‑quality delivery and positive participant experiences.

• Oversee and execute end‑to‑end logistics for more than six national judging events annually, including in‑person, virtual, and hybrid formats.
• Own the operational lifecycle for assigned competitive events, from pre‑event planning and space coordination through virtual and on‑site execution, post‑event closeout, and evaluation.
• Design, develop, and maintain detailed event logistics plans, including schedules, run‑of‑show documents, space plans, room diagrams, and event flow maps.
• Coordinate venue, hotel, and site logistics, including room layouts, equipment placement, accessibility considerations, and traffic flow.
• Lead on‑site operations during events, resolving real‑time logistical challenges to ensure safety, efficiency, and a positive participant experience.
• Evaluate operational workflows and identify opportunities to improve efficiency, scalability, and consistency across competitive events.
• Anticipate logistical risks and develop contingency plans to support continuity and participant safety.
• Coordinate event setup, teardown, shipping, inventory, and equipment logistics in collaboration with vendors and internal teams.
• Oversee the stewardship of the awards and recognition budget of over $500K, ensuring logistical decisions align with fiscal responsibility and program priorities.
• Partner with the SAE Awards and the Agriscience and National Chapter Awards Specialists to ensure logistical plans fully support scoring processes, judging flow, and assessment requirements.
• Partner with the event management team and external vendors to evaluate, plan, and confirm adequate space, layouts, and event flow in compliance with venue requirements, vendor rules, and operational constraints.
• Ensure all logistical plans comply with vendor guidelines, contractual requirements, safety standards, and accessibility expectations, escalating issues and recommending solutions as needed.
• Oversee the design and implementation of all physical awards.
• Oversee the recognition of all volunteers.
• Schedule and oversee over 14,000 adult volunteers to assist in the judging of six or more award and grant judging processes.
• Recruit, onboard, supervise and coordinate 2 Convention Assistants supporting award and degree logistics, including task assignment, training, daily workflow management, quality checks, and on‑site performance feedback.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for on‑site volunteer operations, including issue triage, reassignment of staff, incident response support, and communication of real‑time updates.
• Maintain volunteer operations documentation (e.g., staffing rosters, assignments, communications templates, and post‑event notes) to support consistency and continuous improvement across event cycles.
• Perform other responsibilities.

• Demonstrates strong knowledge of large-scale event operations, venue…