Title: Event & Marketing Assistant
Contract: Full-time seasonal (May 6 – Aug 2, 2024)
Hours and Wage: Monday-Friday, 35 hours per week, $18.00 per hour. Some evening and weekend work required, flexible schedules to be arranged in lieu of overtime.
How to Apply:
If you are interested in applying for this position, please send an email containing your resumé and a cover letter in one pdf document by 5:00 pm on Friday April 26, 2024 to the Executive Director at [email protected].
Hillside is an equal opportunity employer and encourages all qualified individuals to apply. If you self-identify as belonging to a traditionally under-represented community, we invite you to address this in your cover letter.
JOB DESCRIPTION: Event & Marketing Assistant
Reports to: Operations Manager
Takes direction from: Operations Manager. Works with Executive Director, Graphic Designer, Video Editor, Videographer, Artistic Director, Publicist, Operations Manager, Volunteer Program Manager, Bookkeeper
This position is for an organized problem-solver who keeps track of everything, doesn’t lose things, writes really well, is adept at marketing and social media, can handle a cash register and counting money, and is open, warm, and kind with our people. This position suits a flexible and resourceful self-starter. The incumbent must be returning to full-time study in September 2024, as a condition of the funding of this position.
Communication Skills:
A large part of this position is communication with stakeholders—musicians, small and large businesses, media, festival patrons, volunteers, community members, vendors, committee members, and staff. The student would learn to develop strong interpersonal skills in their role as a key communicator. There will be a lot of writing and proofreading involved, including assisting the Marketing Coordinator with the development of original copy for social media posts, website content, direct mail, and print advertisements. In addition, the Event & Marketing Assistant will be tasked with ensuring a consistent brand voice across all channels as they assist the Marketing Coordinator with writing and copy-editing marketing materials.
Event-Planning Tasks:
You will be expected to participate in the varied and often hectic aspects of event planning where deadlines are immoveable.
Tasks:
- Provide customer service to patrons, volunteers, vendors, performers, etc. This involves answering the phone and directing people; greeting people who come into the office; selling tickets and processing volunteer fees.
- Gather & disseminate information from front-desk emails, phone calls, & patron queries.
- Provide administrative support to Operations Manager, Volunteer Program Manager, Marketing Coordinator, Bookkeeper & Executive Director.
- Assist Marketing Coordinator with updating the website.
- Assist Marketing Coordinator in the creation of newsletter stories, where needed.
- Take lead on VIP & sponsor invitations & create gate books.
- Assist the Operations Manager in the procurement of ads for the festival program.
- Manage office volunteers with the assistance of the Volunteer Program Manager.
- Assist in creation of tourist information for website.
- Manage the parking passes and create a gate list.
- Handle the cash register, count money, and reconcile at the end of every day.
- Balance customer-service duties with getting tasks completed.
- Oversee running of equipment (photocopier, POS machine, cash register, shredder) and troubleshooting of same with the assistance of the Operations Manager.
- Troubleshoot at the festival in a variety of areas, including media, merchandise, accessibility, photography/video, parking and hospitality.
- Sort lost-and-found post-festival.
- Participate in all relevant pre-festival and post-festival meetings,
- Write post-festival reports on summer student work and assist Marketing Coordinator in writing reports on promotion.
Assistant Marketing-Coordination Tasks:
The Event & Marketing Assistant will work with other employees to plan and implement the Hillside Summer Festival by marketing several aspects of the festival to attract attendees.
The Event & Marketing Assistant will be expected to research the targeted audience as well as the performers we are showcasing in order to create unique content that describes the festival’s unique features. Such content will be both textual and visual and will be disseminated in the following ways:
a) Through press releases;
b) Through website News and relevant sections of the website;
c) Through social media posts;
d) Through print and digital advertising.
The Event & Marketing Assistant will help the Marketing Coordinator in interacting with industry partners and suppliers, contractors, other staff, and the general public in the following ways:
a) Working with agents and managers of musicians, as well as the musicians themselves to procure information (photos, bios, tour dates, “news,” interesting facts and stories, permissions to reproduce parts of songs);
b) Working with other staff and service providers—a graphic designer, video editor, and videographer—to shape messaging;
c) Working with news agents for print and digital advertising as well as press releases;
d) Working with the Marketing Coordinator and Marketing Committee to develop and tweak the marketing campaign;
e) Working with Hillside staff and multiple sectors (educational, cultural, tourism) to reach out to unusual audience pockets.
f) Working with parenting magazines to negotiate advertising—in our program and in their pages;
g) Working with staff to secure advertising in our program with both past advertisers and new ones. This will involve working with small businesses (boutiques, bistros, music-supply stores) and large ones (arts centres, music agencies);
h) Working with distribution companies and volunteers on poster and postcard distribution.
Environment and Training:
- Duties are performed in an accessible office with a desk and computer. Our office is comfortable and relaxed, with a side porch and back patio. Particularly in June and July, we expect our staff will spend at least 50% of their working time in the office, unless other arrangements have been made. This position requires a lot of communication, so the candidate should be prepared to meet over Zoom, on the phone, or in person and to collaborate extensively over email.
- Hours and wage: 7 hours/day at $18.00
- A computer and office desk will be provided for in-person office work.
- The ideal candidate will have a laptop of their own for use at off-site activities.
You will be given hands-on orientation and training, clear projects, task lists and timelines, a job description, evaluations at one month and post-festival, tours of the office, computer system, storage units and festival site. You may create your own work plan in consultation with the Marketing Coordinator and Operations Manager and will be encouraged, whenever possible, to work on projects that intrigue you. You will attend some organizer/coordinator meetings, many of which are scheduled in the evenings.