Festival Director

West Valley City•West Valley City, UT

3d•$79,000 - $138,000•Hybrid

About The Position

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.

Requirements

Possess five (5) or more years of relevant professional experience in large-scale event planning, directing, and/or implementation.
A Bachelor’s Degree in Event Management, Hospitality, Business Administration, or a related field is preferred, but not required.
A combination of education and work experience may be substituted one for the other on a year-for-year basis.
Must possess excellent written and verbal communication skills in the English language.
High-level negotiation and contracts capability to communicate directly with national partners, corporate executives, and City leadership.
Possess a valid Utah driver’s license or have the ability to obtain one.
Professional certifications in Event Management (e.g., CSEP, CMP) or crowd safety management are highly desirable.
Deep, practical knowledge of commercial vendor logistics, heavy event infrastructure (power distribution, structural staging), and complex mass-gathering safety regulations.
Proven track record of pitching, closing, and managing high-dollar corporate sponsorships and municipal event partnerships.
Mastery over fast-paced, high-stress, real-time crisis management during live multi-day outdoor productions.
Ability to work independently.

Nice To Haves

A true passion and excitement for making an impact is just as important as work experience.

Responsibilities

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