OMAI Technical Events Director

Academic Staff

Regular

Technical Director

The Technical Events Director (TED) at the Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives (OMAI) is an innovative event producer who is a technical expert at cultivating inclusive, multicultural events. The TED is generally responsible for planning, designing, implementing and managing the monthly, semesterly, and annual events produced by OMAI. They are a self-starter creative collaborator, with a diverse skill set in project management and event planning (both in the performing arts and other community gatherings).

As a producer, the TED's main responsibility is to elevate the platforms - through project management and leading the planning of logistics - for multicultural arts, to foster legitimate theatrical and academic forums to promote positive social dialogue, and to center the broad influence of hip hop and urban arts. In addition, the TED is responsible for managing, guiding and training First Wave Scholars as interns and volunteers on their technical events team.

This position reports to the OMAI Director.

• Inspects, maintains, and repairs equipment to ensure optimal and safe operation
• Instructs students in the preparation, construction, and operation of performance art productions, systems and equipment
• Cleans and maintains organization of theater and technical production equipment
• May develop unit operating budgets and identify opportunities for new unit income generating programs and services
• Develops and directs implementation of operating policies and procedures with health and safety regulations, institutional policies, and unit objectives
• Directs the planning, staffing, and execution of technical production and theatrical operations before and during performances
• Creates a project plan, sets priorities, allocates tasks, and collaborates with project staff to meet project targets and milestones, monitors progress and performance against the project plan, identifies, resolves, or escalates risks and issues
• Schedules logistics and secures resources for all aspects of events including space, vendors, and staff; coordinates details and resolves operational issues; monitors and processes event related transactions and event data and records

The Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives within the Division for Teaching and Learning at the University of Wisconsin-Madison provides culturally relevant and transformative arts programming to promote positive social dialogue and to give cultural art forms a legitimate academic forum. By harnessing the broad cultural influence of spoken word, hip hop, and emerging as well as traditional art forms, OMAI’s events and programming create learning environments that directly affect UW-Madison’s campus climate, improving retention and graduation metrics, and preparing future leaders to reinvest in their communities.

By continually refreshing this paradigm that integrates traditional academics and cutting edge arts activism, OMAI empowers transnational leaders with new tools for inclusive community building.

One of OMAI’s most prominent initiatives is the First Wave Hip Hop and Urban Arts Scholarship Program, a cutting‑edge multicultural artistic program for incoming students which offers a four‑year full tuition scholarship to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Bringing together young artists and leaders from across the United States and beyond, First Wave offers students the opportunity to live, study and create together in a close‑knitted, dynamic campus community.

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