Job Description / Duties

TIAC is currently accepting resumes from dynamic candidates for the position of Director, Events.

Role and Responsibilities

Reporting to the President & CEO, the successful candidate will be responsible and accountable for a prestigious events portfolio at TIAC. This includes our signature events (TIAC Tourism Congress, the Canadian Tourism Awards, and Rendez-vous Canada) plus a variety of smaller in person and virtual events held from coast to coast to coast.

You are a high achiever with demonstrable success in strategic, events-based programming. You have at least 7 years of relevant experience in the not-for-profit sector, and, hopefully, you have a comprehensive knowledge of Canada’s tourism industry. Exceptional relationship building skills and a solutions-focused manner will position you for success.

As TIAC is a small national association, you will be involved in the day-to-day work of producing our events in collaboration with our team.

The Director of Events is responsible for elements of the organization’s events (conferences, trade shows, road shows), from concept to execution:

• Provide pro-active leadership and strategic director for all TIAC events, and be able to share this with the team, the board and volunteer committee members
• Ensure all events have clear goals, a demonstrable strategy, and measurable objectives.
• Lead all event related meetings and ensure proper communications with President and CEO and staff regarding event goals, responsibilities, and follow‐up.
• Develop comprehensive plans and timelines for events.
• Work with the Communications Team to curate and deliver event collateral in line with brand guidelines; track invitations and registrations and provide post-event analysis.
• Liaise with the Sponsorship & Partnership Team to ensure events are appropriately schedules and executed, and that sponsor and partner benefits are delivered.
• Work with our Advocacy Team to develop new events that will augment member engagement in our policy work.
• Develop and maintain guidelines and processes to ensure consistency across all events.
• Prepare and manage department budgets.
• Develop general event management policies
• Stay abreast of trends and issues affecting the tourism industry to curate compelling programming.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with suppliers and contractors.
• Negotiate vendor contracts within strict budgetary parameters
• Manage and produce multiple events simultaneously.
• Conduct post-event debriefings to evaluate successful elements and challenges encountered, incorporating that information into the planning and executive of subsequent events
• Assess critical risk areas and develop/maintain appropriate contingency plans.
  • Work with the Event manager to deliver all elements of the organization’s events (conferences, trade shows, road shows), such as:
  • Event design
  • Event logistics
  • Exhibit hall floor management
  • Speaker management
  • Supplier management
  • Sponsor fulfillment
  • Production
  • Registration management

Qualifications and Education Requirements

• Minimum 7 years' experience with business related meetings/events/conferences/trade shows
• Bachelor’s degree or College diploma in an event related field
• Ability to make delegates, members and vendors feel welcome
• Strong organizational, communication and follow-up skills
• Professional appearance and attitude when working with industry stakeholders and members of the public service
• High level of personal integrity, honesty and dependability
• Bilingual (French/English) a definite asset
• Ability to multi-task while maintaining a keen eye for detail
• Ability to work individually and as part of a team
• Ability to manage time and prioritize
• A keen interest in learning and continuous improvement of processes and systems
• Excellent problem-solving abilities

Must possess good leadership qualities

Preferred Skills

• Smartsheet
• TEAM (meeting appointment software)
• Pheedloop
• Xware
• Wordpress
• Microsoft Office 365

Additional Information

This position is Ottawa based.


It is the Tourism Industry Association of Canada’s goal to be a welcoming, inclusive, accessible, and diverse organization for all Canadians. We believe that the basis of this inclusivity requires a socially and culturally diverse workforce and, therefore, we actively seek to recruit candidates who identify as women, Indigenous, Black, Persons of Colour (IBPoC), persons from the LGBTQ2+ community and persons with disabilities. We encourage you to self-identify in the recruitment process.

Contact Information

Please forward resume, cover letter and portfolio along with your salary expectations and possible start date by March 4, 2022 to:

Julie Gauvreau

Tourism Industry Association of Canada

jgauvreau@tiac-aitc.ca

We thank all candidates for their interest; however only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

About TIAC

Founded in 1930 to encourage the development of tourism in Canada, TIAC serves today as the national private-sector advocate for this $90 billion sector. Based in Ottawa, TIAC takes action on behalf of Canadian tourism businesses and promotes positive measures that help the industry grow and prosper.

TIAC is responsible for representing tourism interests at the national level, and its advocacy work involves promoting and supporting policies, programs and activities that will benefit the sector's growth and development.

TIAC's membership reflects partnerships among all sectors of the industry, and provincial, territorial and regional tourism associations, enabling the association to address the full range of issues facing Canadian tourism.