Ottawa Capital Pride seeks a Festival Director to oversee the organization and execution of Ottawa’s 2018 Pride Festival. Reporting to the Board of Directors, the Director will work with the Festival’s volunteer Operation Team and be responsible for overseeing all aspects of the Festival.
The Director will lead the Festival’s Operations Team, which is made up of volunteers responsible for a wide range of festival organization including volunteer coordination, marketing, media relations, event production, festival accessibility and parade coordination. The Director will support the team through regular team meetings, establishing work plans and priorities and setting timelines and deadlines. The Director will also supervise two summer staff who will aid in the coordination of the Festival.
This successful candidate will work approximately 30-40 hours per week between February and April and increases to 40 hours per week between May and September. Some evening and weekend work is required between February and July and extended evenings and weekend hours will be required immediately leading up to and during the Festival.
Start Date: Week of February 12 (or as negotiated)
End Date: September 28, 2018
Compensation: Commensurate with experience
The Festival Director is responsible for
Sponsorship: Developing sponsorship material and generating both cash and in-kind sponsorship. Also responsible for renewing existing partnerships, generating new sponsorship opportunities, and ensuring sponsorship obligations are met.
Event Production: Overseeing the organization of the Festival’s signature events including the Pride Parade, Pride Pageant, Main Stage, Community Fair, Pride Social, Human Rights Vigil, Family Picnic and Youth Events.
Liaison with Municipal Partners: Developing materials in connection with the Festival’s Special Event Advisory Team (SEAT) application and working with various municipal partners (e.g. paramedics, police) to develop festival plans as required. Also responsible for preparing reports for SEAT following the Festival.
Volunteer Management: Working with the operations team to establish volunteer requirements for all areas of the Festival and overseeing the volunteer coordinators in the recruitment, training and supervision of volunteers.
Marketing and Promotion: Overseeing the development of the Festival’s marketing and promotions plan, including both local marketing and tourism destination marketing.
Media Relations: Working with the media relations team to develop and carry out a media relations strategy, including the production of media releases, coordination of interviews with organizational spokespeople and occasional media interviews as required.
Office Administration: General office administration, answering phone calls, ensuring proper record keeping, and responding to general inquiries.
Budget and Finance: Working with the organization’s Treasurer to prepare and keep updated the Festival’s budget and ensure revenue and expense targets are met.
Community Partnerships and Outreach: Working with the Board of Directors to identify opportunities for community partnerships and performing outreach activities to strengthen Pride’s relationship with community groups. Also responsible for supporting groups looking to organize events during the Festival and those who want to participate in the Festival’s parade.
Reporting: Delivering regular reports to the Board of Directors and preparing a fulsome post-festival report.
Desired Skills
The Festival Director will be a strong and effective leader who is committed to organizing a successful 2018 Festival. The Director will have demonstrable experience leading teams and organizing multi-day events or festivals.
The following skills and experience are required:
- Minimum 2 years’ experience working in festival or event production, including experience with venue management, negotiating vendor contracts, and coordinating artists. Experience negotiating artist contracts is an asset.
- Event or festival marketing experience, including both traditional and digital marketing.
- Ability to lead and motivate volunteers.
- Understanding of non-profit organizational governance.
- Experience developing sponsorship programs that target local, regional and national partners.
- Creative problem solver with an ability to think outside the box.
- Familiarity with Ottawa’s LGBTQ community including community organizations and groups.
- Reliable, self-motivated and have the ability to work productively on your own without supervision.
- Experience with media relations is an asset.
- Excellent time-management skills.
- Strong communication skills.
- Bilingualism is an asset
Applicants are asked to submit a resume and cover letter to [email protected] no later than Sunday, February 4, 2018. Only those candidates contacted for an interview will be notified.
Ottawa Capital Pride is committed to the principles of employment equity. Applications from all qualified candidates are welcome; in particular, applications are encouraged from racialized people, Indigenous people, people with disabilities, queer and trans people, and women.
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