Committee: Annual Conference Committee (ACC)
Position: Poster Chair
Term Dates: January 1, 2023-June 30, 2024
The Annual Conference Committee provides vision and oversight and ensures the conference is aligned with NAFSA’s Strategic Plan. They set content and networking priorities for the conference (including both concurrent sessions and poster events). They lead the content planning meeting to review the program submitted and lead the direction of the program selection. In addition, they evaluate data from the previous years’ conferences to inform their goals for the upcoming conference. The Poster Chair serves on the Annual Conference Committee (ACC). The Poster Chair is responsible for the development and oversight of the poster fairs for the 2023 and 2024 annual conferences to advance knowledge and skill building in the field of international education and exchange. This position reports to the chair of the ACC and is a member of the ACC Executive Team, as well as the full ACC. In total, this is a one-and-a-half-year commitment.
Position updated August 2022
Major Functions and Responsibilities
Within the framework of NAFSA's Strategic Plan, this position will:
Educate
- Contribute to the development of a comprehensive and cutting-edge professional development program for the annual conference.
- Assist in poster presenter preparation and training.
- Collaborate with poster fair organizers to create a balanced set of posters that serve the diverse annual conference audience.
- Serve as a communications liaison between the poster fair organizers and the ACC to ensure that the professional development needs of the audience members are met at the highest level possible.
- Coordinate between the poster fair organizers and the poster volunteers to ensure fairs are set up in a timely manner and that attendees can easily navigate the poster fairs.
Advocate
- Solicit and review proposals for poster fairs that fit the conference theme, NAFSA Board directives, and the NAFSA Strategic Plan.
- With support from ACC Knowledge Community coordinators, recruit and lead a team of skilled volunteer poster fair organizers who help solicit poster proposals, review the proposals, prepare the accepted poster presenters, and work with staff to develop promotional materials and coordinate the fairs.
Innovate
- Work closely with NAFSA staff to enhance the poster fair attendee and poster presenter experience.
- Think strategically about the role of the poster fairs at the NAFSA annual conference.
Sample Projects
In recent years, this position has coordinated projects, such as:
- Review and selection of the final posters at the annual conference, alongside Poster Fair Organizers.
- Coordinate training of Poster Fair Organizers and support their tasks and timelines.
- Enhance the on-site poster experience for presenters and attendees.
Relationships
- This position collaborates closely with other NAFSA leaders to enhance efforts across the association.
- The Poster Chair works closely with the senior director and program manager of the conference program team. Effective relationships include responsiveness to phone calls, email correspondence, timely delivery of responsibilities, open communication, and mutual respect among other characteristics.
Commitment
Volunteer Commitment:
- The Poster Chair is required to be a member of NAFSA for their full term.
- The Poster Chair will be appointed in November 2022 and begin in January 2023. The term ends after the annual conference in 2024. The time commitment for this position is 1.5 years. This role will be trained and onboarded by the previous Poster Chair and complete the remaining 2023 term.
- This individual is expected to attend the Washington Leadership Meetings (WLM) in January 2022 and 2023 (both of which are virtual) and the annual conferences in 2023 and 2024.
- The Poster Chair will also attend the ACC meetings in October 2023, at which workshops and sessions are selected for the next annual conference.
- The Poster Chair will participate in monthly conference calls throughout the 18-month period, and bimonthly during the planning phases of the two concurrent conferences.
- The Poster Chair will communicate via email and in-person meetings. Timely responses to requests for assistance and information, as well as meeting deadline targets, are essential aspects of the coordinator’s responsibilities.
- The candidate should also prepare for and attend leadership meetings at NAFSA annual conferences, when possible, and commit to visibility and engagement during meetings, events, and activities.
- In general, the time requirement does not exceed a few hours of a normal workweek, except during specific periods such as the month-long poster proposal review and rating process in the winter when commitment will increase.
Expense Reimbursement:
- Travel and expenses are reimbursed for attendance at the WLM and ACC fall meetings.
- Annual conference registration fees are waived for the two conferences that the Poster Chair helps plan (2023 and 2024).
Qualifications
- Understanding of NAFSA annual conference programs, services, and attendees, gained through attendance at three or more NAFSA annual conferences
- Broad knowledge of the professional needs of international educators
- Enthusiasm and ability to mobilize colleagues to develop strong poster proposals
- Strong leadership, analytical, and communication skills needed in leading volunteers in the proposal review process
- Demonstrated strategic planning, management, networking, and delegation experience
- Ability to work cooperatively and with mutual respect for team members and staff
- Strong coordination, analytical, oral, and written communication skills, including proficiency in using electronic tools of communication
- Understanding of NAFSA and its leadership structure and willingness to adopt organizationwide perspectives and strategic priorities
- Ability to work effectively with a team and with NAFSA staff in an outcomes-based environment
- Ability to manage unconscious bias in the assessment and decisionmaking processes
- Ability and willingness to serve and travel to conferences and meetings
