What is an Academy Event Manager?

Academy Event Managers are traveling on-site event managers for Best Buy’s Geek Squad Academy, formerly referred to as ‘Field Lieutenants’. This is a talent mobility role which means they will retain their current role and responsibilities outside of Geek Squad Academy time commitments. The Geek Squad Academy Season begins roughly in March with training (6-8 weeks) and ends by October with no more than 2 weeks of travel (camp weeks) back to back.

There are two Academy Event Manager roles available:

• Event Manager –8 hours a week time commitment on non-travel weeks in support of their upcoming camps and up to 50 hours a week during camp weeks.
• Event Manager Lead –These are Event Managers who have served at least one season with the program. 16 hours a week time commitment on non-travel weeks in support of both their upcoming camps and Event Managers assigned to other camps. Up to 50 hours a week during camp weeks.

Event Managers are responsible for recruiting and staffing camp , ordering catering, scheduling classes, training instructors, and facilitating a great two-day camp for Junior Agents.

Why do I want to be an Academy Event Manager?

Personal and professional development. Geek Squad Academy believes in constant and continuous growth. Each Event Manager can schedule 1:1 meetings with the leaders in Social Impact, in which they focus on professional development, personal brand, and maximizing strengths. You will have the opportunity to lead 20-30 employees at each camp, take on unique challenges, and practice in the moment decision making and problem solving – which builds up to be quite a bit of leadership experience.
Second, you’ll have the opportunity to travel to several different cities to run camp, work with employees from across the country, build a robust network from people in all levels of Best Buy, and potentially discover roles you’ve never even heard about!

What are the requirements?

• You need to be a current Best Buy employee
• You must have the ability and desire to travel, mostly by air
• There is usually lots of walking and standing with occasional lifting of up to 60 lbs – these opportunities are open to all and employees/applicants may request reasonable accommodations
• You must also be open to receiving both in the moment and post event feedback
• It’s recommended that applicants have attended a Geek Squad Academy event in the past, but this is not a requirement

How do I start?

First, talk with your leadership about wanting to be an Academy Event Manager, and Geek Squad Academy. This is a great opportunity for growth, but is also a large time commitment from you, and your leader. You will leave your role for at a minimum a week at a time, and this will impact their business rhythm. You will need their approval to move forward in the application process, and their support on expense reports, applying for travel cards, corporate laptops, and more!