Parks, Recreation & Community Services Manager - Special Events & Cultural Arts

Parks, Recreation & Community Services Manager - Special Events & Cultural Arts - #26A-8 )

City of Redwood City

Full-time

Redwood City

Negotiable

Unknown

1017 Middlefield Road Redwood City, 94063

We offer a wide range of meaningful career opportunities with potential for growth, training and development, competitive salaries, flexible work schedules, paid time off, and robust benefits. The Redwood City team is guided by excellence, integrity, service, collaboration, inclusion, and innovation
. Inherent in these values is a great organizational culture based on trust, strong and supportive leadership, respect, risk‑taking, empowerment, and effective communication.

The community is known for its inclusivity, strong engaged neighborhoods, and civic pride. The City works diligently to maintain positive and productive relationships with community partners, together providing outstanding services, programs and opportunities for residents and businesses. This mix of tradition and progress, community and diversity, makes Redwood City an extraordinary place to work and call home. If you’re looking to grow your career as a part of a hard‑working and fun Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department team that fosters innovation, creativity and collaboration, we hope you’ll apply.

The Parks, Recreation & Community Services Manager – Special Events and Cultural Arts is responsible for leading the planning, production, and oversight of the City’s signature special events, while also supporting Redwood City’s cultural arts programming. From large‑scale downtown festivals and concerts to cultural celebrations, family events, and community gatherings featured on , this position helps ensure that our parks, plazas, and public spaces remain active, welcoming, and full of life.

This role oversees the full lifecycle of major community events, including concept development, budgeting, sponsorship coordination, vendor and performer booking, permitting, logistics, safety planning, marketing coordination, and on‑site production. Signature events such as outdoor concert series, holiday celebrations, cultural festivals, movie nights, and destination activations require thoughtful coordination with Police, Fire, Public Works, Economic Development, and community partners. The Manager leads cross‑departmental teams, supervises event staff, manages complex timelines, and ensures every event is inclusive, professionally executed, and reflective of Redwood City’s diverse and dynamic community.

In addition to overseeing special events, this role supports the City’s cultural arts programs and public art initiatives. Responsibilities include serving as staff liaison to the Arts Commission, supporting implementation of the Public Art Master Plan, assisting with Percent for Art ordinance compliance, coordinating with developers on qualifying projects, and helping maintain and promote the City’s growing public art collection.

More broadly, this position negotiates, prepares, and manages contracts and agreements with vendors, performers, artists, and community partners, while ensuring compliance with City policies and maintaining strong inter‑agency collaboration.

The ideal candidate will be a creative, organized, and collaborative professional with experience in managing large‑scale community events and cultural arts programming. They will bring both vision and attention to detail, balancing the excitement of producing vibrant cultural events with the administrative expertise required to manage contracts, budgets, and ordinance compliance.

This role calls for someone who thrives in dynamic, fast‑paced environments and can successfully lead teams while building strong partnerships with artists, nonprofits, cultural organizations, developers, and other City departments. The ideal candidate will also demonstrate confidence in public engagement, including presenting to City Council, the Arts Commission, and community stakeholders.

Familiarity with grant funding and sponsorship development is also an asset.

Most importantly, the ideal candidate is passionate about using special events, arts and…