Festival Director

Festival Director

Come join a team dedicated to making a positive impact in our community, where the well-being of our residents is always our top priority. We offer flexible scheduling options (based on position) and foster professional growth through comprehensive training programs and learning opportunities. Shape your future in a career that empowers you to make a difference and thrive in a collaborative, purpose-driven environment.

The Festival Director is responsible for the conceptual creation, strategic planning, operational execution, and long-term local, regional, and national growth of West Valley City's signature, large-scale annual festival. The Director leads the entire event lifecycle from master planning, site layout, infrastructure build-out, partner relationships, sponsor cultivation, vendor procurement, marketing, public-safety coordination, and financial accountability.

Starting Pay: $79,000.00 - $ - Open to exceeding the top of the payband for an exceptional candidate with proven track record of directing, national-scale event production experience.

Benefits:
Full Benefits; health, dental, vision, life insurance, paid time off, paid holidays, parental leave, pet insurance, tuition reimbursement

Retirement:
Utah Retirement Systems, pension and/or 401(k)

Schedule:

Flexible 40 hour work week

FLSA Status:
Exempt

Final date to receive applications:
Open until filled

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Executive Event Planning & Execution:

• Serve as the director and project manager for the City's signature, large-scale annual festival.
• Build, maintain, and execute the comprehensive multi-year master plan, production timeline, and operational scripts for the entire festival footprint.
• Research best practices for cultural festivals, food festivals, arts events, destination events, and community celebrations to inform festival planning and improvement.
• Design the physical site layout, crowd flow maps, electrical/water infrastructure networks, and waste management plans for a massive-scale outdoor venue.
• Direct all real-time, on-site event operations, managing the rapid setup, live execution, and complete teardown of the festival marketplace and stages.

Logistics, Permitting, & Public Safety:

• Lead meetings with City Police, Fire, Public Works, and Risk Management to build and execute mass-gathering security and traffic control plans.
• Work with City departments to coordinate resources and event needs.
• Identify staffing and volunteer needs.
• Secure all necessary municipal, county, and state health, structural, and operational permits.
• Work with WVC business licensing and state tax commission.
• Contract and oversee third-party logistics firms, heavy equipment operators, stage production crews, and structural engineers.

Local & National Procurement & Asset Management:

• Identify and work with local food vendors and restaurants that will participate in the festival.
• Identify and work with local entertainment acts, community groups, non-profits and partners.
• Scout, negotiate, and legally contract with high-volume food vendors, regional and national commercial merchants, and entertainment acts.
• Build out highly competitive sponsor packages and pitch national brands, corporate donors, and tourism boards to secure elite multi-year funding partnerships.
• Control the festival's full multi-year business plan, ensuring strict adherence to public-sector procurement laws, ethical standard compliance, and revenue-generation goals.

Analytics & Quality Control:

• Establish data-driven key performance metrics evaluating visitor satisfaction, economic impact, and vendor profitability.
• Manage comprehensive post-event audits to fix operational bottlenecks, streamline multi-million-dollar budgets, and expand national visibility.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• Directly exercise supervision over contracted event management firms, seasonal staff, third-party operators, and large-scale volunteer networks assembled to execute the festival.

Requirements:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability…