Position Title: Coordinator, Community Events and Engagement
Reports to: Director, Community Wellbeing
Supervises: Seasonal event staff, temporary or casual staff, students, contractors and volunteers as assigned. No permanent staff supervision unless assigned through the Department structure.
Salary Range: Level 3 - $60,024 - $79,381 (2026/27)
Classification: Permanent, full-time
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Position Summary:
Working under the direction of the Director of Community Wellbeing, the Coordinator, Community Events and Engagement (the Coordinator) is responsible for planning, coordinating, delivering, and evaluating Town events, external event coordination, community engagement related to events, community recreation and wellbeing, staff wellbeing initiatives, and neighbourhood engagement support. The Coordinator will explore relational practices in their work by creating opportunities to develop resident-led recreational activity, facilitating co-design principles and encouraging resident participation in program development and planning. The position supports the Department of Community Wellbeing by creating clear event processes and dedicated capacity, strengthening relationships with residents and partners, and ensuring that civic gatherings, neighbourhood activities, and partner-led events contribute to community wellbeing, belonging, and public life in Wolfville.
This position works closely with the Coordinator of Community Recreation, Community Safety and Compliance staff, Office of the CAO, Public Works, Corporate Services, the Wolfville Business Development Corporation; Acadia University, community organizations, businesses, volunteers, and event organizers. The role requires strong decision-making discipline, practical project coordination, public-facing relationship skills, and the ability to move work from idea to implementation.
Core Expectations of the Role:
Town Events and Gatherings
- Lead the planning, coordination, delivery, and evaluation of assigned Town events, including annual Heritage Day, Volunteer Appreciation, Canada Day, Mud Creek Days, Welcome to Wolfville, Night of Lights and other civic, seasonal, recognition, and community events.
- Incorporate co-design and participatory planning principles into event planning and development where appropriate.
- Develop and maintain comprehensive event workplans and facilitate post-event debriefs that identify lessons learned after each event and update procedures to improve future delivery.
- Coordinate internal service requirements with appropriate Town officials, support agencies and other partners as required.
- Coordinate event vendors, performers, contractors, volunteers, permits, insurance requirements, facility or park bookings, equipment, supplies, signage, and site logistics.
Neighbourhood Engagement and Community-Led Activity
- Work collaboratively with the Coordinator, Community Recreation to support integrated delivery of recreation, neighbourhood engagement, and community events.
- Support the Department’s neighbourhood-based approach to recreation by helping turn resident ideas, park conversations, and emerging community interests into small gatherings, pop-up activities, and community-led initiatives.
- Use events and gatherings as opportunities to build relationships, listen to residents, identify emerging needs, and strengthen a sense of belonging across neighbourhoods.
- Assist residents, informal groups, and community organizations with practical coordination such as space access, equipment, promotion requests, volunteer logistics, and simple planning tools.
External Event Attraction and Coordination
- Assist in the development of strategy and methods for identifying and attracting unique events that are a good fit for Wolfville and contribute positively to community and economic life.
- Serve as the point of contact for external event organizers seeking to host special, large-scale, or recurring events in Wolfville.
- Help event organizers navigate Town processes, including bookings, permits, insurance, road closures, waste management, safety & emergency planning, accessibility, public communication needs, and internal service requests.
- Provide recommendations to the Director on event attraction, event support levels, and emerging opportunities.
Business Engagement and Event-Driven Economic Development
- Work with the Wolfville Business Development Corporation (WBDC), local businesses, tourism partners, and event organizers to strengthen the connection between events, downtown activity, visitor experience, and local business benefit.
- Communicate with businesses and the WBDC regarding event opportunities, impacts, and ways to participate in or benefit from Town-supported events.
- Collect practical feedback from businesses, visitors, and partners following major events and summarize patterns that may inform future planning.
- Plan and coordinate event-related and/or seasonal decoration initiatives intended to beautify the Town or incorporate themed elements such as holiday lighting and decorations around Night of Lights and Wolfville Glows.
Staff Wellbeing, Recognition and Team-Building
- Coordinate staff wellbeing, recognition, appreciation, and internal community-building initiatives in cooperation with other departments as appropriate.
- Ensure staff wellness initiatives are practical, inclusive, respectful of workload pressures, and coordinated with existing policies and practices.
Communications and Public Information Support
- Work with the Manager of Communications & Strategic Initiatives to support clear, timely, accurate, and accessible public information related to events.
- Draft event information, operational details, web or social media inputs, partner notices, internal updates, and background information for review through the Town’s communications process.
- Identify communications needs early in event and engagement planning, including signage, public notices, partner messaging, Council updates, resident impacts, accessibility information, and post-event storytelling.
- Gather photos, stories, participation notes, and feedback where appropriate, ensuring that privacy, consent, and Town communication standards are respected.
Access, Inclusion, Safety, and Continuous Improvement
- Ensure Town events are welcoming, accessible and aligned with the Department’s focus on community wellbeing, belonging, participation, and inclusivity.
- Work with Community Safety and Compliance staff to support an education-first and prevention-oriented approach to events, public space use, noise, traffic, parking, neighbourhood impacts, and shared expectations.
- Use debriefs, resident and business feedback, staff observations, and partner input to improve event delivery, engagement practices, and Department systems.
Additional Duties
- Perform other related duties as required.
Qualifications:
- Post-secondary education in event management, recreation, community development, public administration, business administration, tourism, communications, or related fields.
- Two to four years of related experience in event coordination, community programming, public service, business engagement, administration, tourism, recreation, or a comparable public-facing coordination role.
- An equivalent combination of education and experience will be considered.
- Experience working with the public, community organizations, businesses, volunteers, contractors, or partner agencies.
- Valid Nova Scotia Class 5 driver’s license or ability to travel within and outside of Wolfville as required.
Ideal Set of Skills, Knowledge and Capabilities
- Experience coordinating events, public-facing projects, community initiatives & engagement, tourism, recreation, or related municipal/community work.
- Strong organizational skills, including scheduling, tracking, procurement support, follow-up, and attention to detail.
- Excellent written and oral communication skills, including the ability to prepare clear public information, partner updates, meeting notes, and operational summaries.
- Excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to exercise courtesy, tact, diplomacy, and good judgment with residents, businesses, Council members, staff, volunteers, contractors, and community partners.
- Ability to coordinate multiple projects, deadlines, partners, and operational details while maintaining a relational approach.
- Knowledge of or interest in community wellbeing, recreation, public events, tourism, engagement, co-design principles, volunteerism, accessibility, and inclusion.
- Ability to work collaboratively across departments and with partners while maintaining clear role boundaries and accountability.
- Practical problem-solving ability, including the ability to anticipate issues, reduce barriers, and move work from planning to delivery.
- Comfort using common office, scheduling, records management, and communication tools. Experience with online registration platforms is considered an asset.
- Experience supporting budgets, invoices, purchasing, sponsorships, grants, or financial tracking is considered an asset.
Decision-Making
- The Coordinator makes day-to-day operational decisions related to events, engagement activities, logistics, vendors, volunteers, and internal coordination. The position advises the Director, CAO and Council on event support, external event opportunities, community impacts, resource needs, process improvements and policy decisions. Limited financial controls will also be assigned to this role.
Additional Benefits
- Professional association memberships.
- Access to group benefit plans.
- Vacation entitlement.
- Continual professional development and training.
Working Conditions
- This position spends periods of time in front of a computer screen.
- This position spends periods of time away from the office, working directly with the public, associated colleagues, and community stakeholders.
- This position requires public speaking and engagement.
- This position may require handling situations of high stress.
- This position requires some weekend and evening work.
- This position is subject to a probationary period.
Commitment to Equity and Inclusion
The Town of Wolfville welcomes and encourages applications from all qualified candidates, including Indigenous peoples, Black and other racialized individuals, people with disabilities, newcomers to Canada, members of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, and others with diverse lived experiences.
If you require an accommodation at any stage of the recruitment process, please contact Barb Shaw at 902-679-9124 or at [email protected].
We are committed to working with applicants to meet their needs.
How to Apply
Submit your application, including a cover letter and resume by email to Laura Yaroshevska at [email protected] with Application: Coordinator, Community Events and Engagement in the subject line.
Applications will be accepted until Friday, August 14th, 2026. A full job description can be viewed on our website at www.wolfville.ca.
We thank all applicants for their interest; only those selected for an interview will be contacted.
Pay: $60,024.00-$79,381.00 per year
Benefits:
- Dental care
- Disability insurance
- Life insurance
- On-site parking
- Paid time off
Work Location: In person
