Coordinator, Festivals, Events & Special Projects

Job Description

Coordinator, Festivals, Events & Special Projects, Economic Development & Tourism

Posting #: NU-2025-19

Posting Period: April 23 - May 13, 2025

Employer Group: Non-Union

Reporting to: Manager, Economic Development & Tourism

Grade: 8

Wage Range Annually: $73,164 - $89,016

Position Status: Permanent full-time

Work Hours: 35 per week

Location: Cayuga, ON (Haldimand County Administration Building)

Core Competencies

• Critical Thinking
• Interpersonal Communication
• Cognitive Flexibility
• Self-Direction
• Collaborative Skills

Position Summary

The Coordinator, Festivals, Events & Special Projects is the primary contact responsible for leading and mentoring the volunteers who plan and host public, special events on County property, including administering—in a fair, clear and consistent manner—the festival and events program, policy and associated grants, ensuring compliance with regulations/legislation, meeting the strategic and operating goals of the County and building the capacity of new/existing community groups and partnerships within Haldimand. The Coordinator fosters collaboration and teamwork with staff and community partners to ensure the smooth and safe delivery of events on County property. Part of this role is also identifying opportunities to develop or provide input into a range of culturally diverse and innovative special programs/projects for the benefit of tourists, businesses and residents. This role also administers Haldimand County’s film policy – assisting in promoting and responding to potential filming opportunities on municipally owned land.

Qualifications, Knowledge, and Skills

Education

• Post-secondary diploma/degree relative to the area of responsibility (event planning or production, community development, community engagement, recreation)

Experience

• Minimum two-three years progressive experience in a recreation/leisure, event planning/production, including a minimum two years of leadership experience (volunteer management, staff engagement, contracted services, vendors, etc.) or a combination of training, education and experience deemed relevant

Knowledge/Skills

Responsibilities

The incumbent is responsible for, but not limited to:

Corporate

• Contribute to the development, implementation and ongoing continuous improvement of appropriate policies and procedures relative to area of responsibility, including the Festivals & Events policy, and communicating with and encouraging staff, partner organizations and other stakeholders to embrace this way of work;
• Coordinate the Community Beautification grant program, including review of all grant applications and annual project grant reconciliations;
• Coordinate semi-annual downtown improvement meetings with various operating divisions and community / business members;
• Administer the existing film program, assisting in promoting and responding to potential filming opportunities on municipally owned land.  Circulation of filming inquiries through a staff review process prior to executing a film permit;
• Ensure adherence to corporate and Department/Divisional goals and objectives in the completion of projects and activities;
• Ensure staff, contractors and community groups/volunteers understand and safely conduct work within applicable Acts, regulations, by-laws and approved County policies and procedures.

People

• Establish and maintain productive relationships with staff, volunteers, community groups, stakeholders, other public groups and counterparts in other municipalities; ensure cooperative relations with other levels of government and agencies;
• Collaborate with community partners to manage approved events and projects, and identify strategic opportunities to maximize existing partnerships and develop new ones in support of County and community objectives.

Timeline

• Ensure time-sensitive deadlines are met associated with the implementation of events and programs on County property as well as corporate initiatives.

Money/Asset

• Provide input to the Division operating and capital budgets for approval by the Manager and General Manager; manage assigned portion of approved budget;
• Responsible for the allocation and reconciliation of the County grants to community event organizers, community beautification projects and program/project partner, ensuring they are managed and completed within approved parameters and to meet audit expectations;
• Assist community event organizers and other community partners (in particular with community beautification projects) with managing assets and, where possible, identifying third-party grants and/or other revenue generation opportunities to maximize project resources;
• Ensure corporate events and special projects hosted by the County meet approved values, objectives and budgets.

Functional

• General:
  • Monitor adherence to a broad range of County policies and standards by community partners/stakeholders to ensure the completion of high quality festivals, events, community (downtown) beautification, and projects and programs that build capacity of community partners and raise the profile of Haldimand County;
  • Identify and develop opportunities to maximize existing and new partnerships to implement and support events, programs and projects to ensure that community and staff relations are enhanced and there is effective and efficient utilization of human and material resources;
  • Liaise and coordinate activities with other Division staff, community groups and agencies as required to facilitate event/project implementation and ensure understanding of outcomes through clear communication;
  • Respond to inquiries from both internal and external sources regarding community and County events/projects/programs/services;
  • Communicate policies and guidelines to staff, public and partner organizations, encouraging all to participate in an ongoing program of continuous improvement;
  • Respond to inquiries from the public/other external sources regarding community and County events and special projects;
  • Ensure that project partners receiving County grants have a clear understanding of the processes and procedures to follow (result: completion of all work within identified guidelines timeframe and budget);
  • Assist the Community Programming & Partnerships (CPP) Division in the planning and delivery of the corporate annual Volunteer Recognition Night.
• Community Events:
  • Coordinate/oversee the County’s Festival & Events Program, including associated grants, to: create consistently high quality and safe events for those attending; success for the event organizers; and, raise the profile of Haldimand County. Process includes: review of applications by a multi-disciplinary team; liaising with applicants to meet all policies, by-laws, provincial legislation and operating standards for the event; approval and issuance of permits; and, provision of grants (where applicable) and reconciliation;
  • Actively assist community event organizers/partners in building capacity and creating high quality events/activities/programs, including anticipating needs to maximize community and County success;
  • Develop or provide input into associated event marketing/promotional strategies and resources to maximize the success of event organizers;
  • Maintain a high level of knowledge about Haldimand hospitality and tourism, including accommodations, venues, attractions, and other points of interest;
  • Promote Haldimand facilities, attractions, suppliers, and products to festival and event clients and facilitate introductions;
  • In keeping with consensus-building principles, manage, monitor and supervise the comprehensive staff review process for all community events taking place on County property to ensure proposals meet strategic needs/benefits to the community and County policies, standards, by-laws and procedures, mitigating risk to the County and the event organizer;
  • Research and prepare documentation for management staff about current events, conditions, issues, making recommendations as required; prepare Council reports for approval of events in accordance with policies; ensure records for all events/projects undertaken are current, accurate and complete and that documentation is readily retrievable.
• Community Beautification & Downtown Improvements:
  • Review all annual applications for Community Beautification (CB) grants and prepare recommendations for annual operating budget for specific projects (e.g., benches, bike racks, banners, planters, flowerbeds, etc.);
  • Liaise and coordinate CB activities with other Division staff, downtown / community groups and agencies as required to facilitate project implementation and ensure understanding of outcomes through clear communication;
  • Coordinate semi-annual downtown meetings to review physical and operational improvement opportunities, including:
    • Sending invitations to all required staff and community members
    • Producing minutes that identify the issue, date it was raised, details, responsible Division(s), commitment made (e.g., an immediate work order/follow-up, budget item, etc.), timeline and resolution
    • Monitoring the status of all issues to ensure items are resolved
    • Communicate updates to community members on issue status / resolution
  • Responsible for developing and leading the CB and downtown meeting portions of the agenda for all monthly Community Partnership Program (CPP) Staff Review Team meetings.
• Health & Safety:
  • Demonstrate a commitment and adherence to health and safety legislation and regulations, including actively promoting safety awareness with event organizers and volunteers, including through annual volunteer Health & Safety Education Program presentations in partnership with Community Programming & Partnerships Division.

Demonstrate commitment to the Haldimand County Code of Conduct

The duties listed above are intended only as illustrations of the various types of work that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related or a logical assignment to the job.