Festival Manager, Community House

Accountabilities: Programming Curation and Coordination: Manage the application, review, and selection process for organizations interested in hosting activities at the Community House. Support participating partners throughout the planning and delivery of panels, performances, discussions, and community events. Program Scheduling: Develop and maintain the event calendar in collaboration with venue partners and festival programming teams, coordinating daily schedules, room capacities, session durations, and venue transitions. Registration Management: Establish and oversee registration processes for all activities, including those organized by internal teams, external collaborators, and venue partners. Partner and Stakeholder Engagement: Serve as the primary point of contact for participating organizations, venue representatives, vendors, contractors, and internal departments, ensuring clear communication and effective collaboration. Venue Planning and Logistics: Coordinate venue layouts, technical requirements, audiovisual equipment, electrical needs, furniture rentals, signage, connectivity, safety measures, accessibility, and evacuation planning. Event Production: Organize equipment orders and manage venue move-in, setup, daily operations, and teardown schedules. Brief and supervise the contracted event producer, ensuring that responsibilities and agreed operational standards are maintained. On-Site Festival Management: Oversee venue activities throughout the festival, including seasonal staff and volunteers, vendor coordination, event documentation, attendance tracking, and operational troubleshooting. Administrative and Compliance Coordination: Manage event documentation, vendor agreements, contracts, permits, insurance certificates, invoices, alcohol-related requests, and other administrative requirements in coordination with Legal, Finance, and Operations. Budget and Grant Management: Monitor venue and programming expenditures against the approved grant budget, coordinate payment requests, track financial variances, and ensure that grant commitments and reporting requirements are fulfilled. Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with Programming, Marketing, Partnerships, Institutional Giving, Finance, Technical Services, Venue Operations, Safety, and Security to align resources and deliver a cohesive festival experience. Reporting and Evaluation: Collect registration, attendance, programming, and spending information, conduct post-event venue walkthroughs, and prepare comprehensive festival wrap reports documenting outcomes and performance. Requirements Professional Experience: At least 3 years of experience planning and executing events, managing venues, or coordinating complex event production projects, including vendor and contractor management. Programming Expertise: Direct experience curating, producing, or advising public-facing programming, such as panels, cultural events, performances, community gatherings, or professional convenings. Community Engagement: Experience working with community-based organizations, cultural nonprofits, or grassroots groups, with the ability to support their perspectives, priorities, and authentic voices. Budget and Administrative Skills: Practical knowledge of budgets, contracts, invoicing, vendor scopes, expense tracking, and event-related administrative processes. Project Management: Excellent organizational and time-management skills, with the ability to coordinate multiple stakeholders, manage competing priorities, and deliver results under tight deadlines. Communication Skills: Outstanding written, verbal, and interpersonal communication abilities, with the confidence to engage effectively with community organizations, senior stakeholders, vendors, program officers, and volunteers. Problem-Solving and Adaptability: Ability to balance creative programming objectives with operational requirements, navigate complex organizational structures, and take initiative in situations where processes and solutions are still being developed. Relationship Management: Strong interpersonal judgment and the ability to build trust with new partners while maintaining productive relationships across different teams and organizations. Confidentiality: Ability to handle sensitive information and maintain discretion when managing internal and external communications. Technical Proficiency: Working knowledge of Gmail, Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Calendar. Additional Advantage: Familiarity with the arts, cultural, and nonprofit ecosystem in Boulder and the wider Colorado region. Work Authorization: Legal authorization to work in the United States is required. Availability: Ability to work full-time, including evenings, weekends, extended hours, and occasional on-call periods during critical festival milestones. Benefits Compensation: Weekly pay of $1,111.23 for the duration of the assignment. Employment Type: Temporary, full-time position requiring approximately 40 hours per week. Contract Duration: November 16, 2026, through February 19, 2027. Work Location: Based in Boulder, Colorado, with a hybrid arrangement and regular on-site responsibilities. Paid Leave: Paid sick leave and Institute holidays. Wellness Support: Access to an employee assistance program and employee wellness initiatives. Festival Benefits: Sundance Film Festival passes and additional festival-related benefits, which may vary each year. Professional Experience: Opportunity to contribute to the launch of a new community-focused festival initiative while developing relationships across the cultural, nonprofit, and entertainment sectors.