Description

Job Title: Festival of the Arts Director

Full-time Exempt

Reports to Executive Director

35 hours per week

2 days per week work from home (as approved and with event weeks excluded)

About Us

Arts Council Oklahoma City is a nonprofit dedicated to enriching lives through the arts. We produce year-round events, offer educational programs, and build partnerships to connect our community through creativity.

Position Overview

The Festival Director will be responsible for conceiving, planning, executing, and evaluating the signature festival (and related events) of ACOKC. This role leads all aspects of the festival lifecycle — programming, operations, logistics, marketing, partnerships, budget, vendor/artist relations, staffing/volunteers, and post-event analysis. The ideal candidate is a strategic thinker with strong event management experience, excellent communication and leadership skills, and a passion for arts and community engagement.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the overall vision and strategy for the festival, aligning it with the mission and goals of ACOKC.
• Develop, manage, and monitor the festival budget (including revenue forecasts, expense tracking, vendor payments).
• Collaborate with the marketing/communications team to promote the festival: branding, messaging, website, social media, press, community outreach.
• Secure and manage sponsorships, grants, partnerships, and vendor/artist contracts. Build and maintain relationships with artists, performers, vendors, sponsors, local businesses, community groups, and city departments.
• Oversee scheduling and programming: curated arts, coordinate artist contracts, performance logistics, and technical/production needs.
• Lead operations and logistics: site planning, permits/licensing, vendor layout, vendor relations, safety/security, volunteer management, hospitality, on-site staff scheduling.
• Manage staffing of the festival: hire/manage festival staff, recruit/train/coordinate volunteers, specify roles and responsibilities, ensure strong customer service and attendee experience. Oversee 28 committees responsible for the recruitment of 2,500 volunteers.
• Ensure accessibility, inclusivity, and engagement of underserved communities, aligning with ACOKC’s mission of participation in the arts for all.
• Monitor and enforce compliance with relevant local regulations (permits, insurance, health & safety, ADA/accessibility, vendor/contractor requirements).
• Post-event evaluation: collect data, feedback, metrics (attendance, financials, vendor/artist satisfaction, press coverage), prepare reports and recommendations for improvement.
• Work proactively with the Executive Director and Board on long-term festival strategy, growth opportunities, innovation, risk management, and sustainability.
• Represent ACOKC and the festival in public: events, meetings, media engagements, and community forums.
• Assist the Executive Director in the maintenance of ACOKC buildings.
• Maintain Festival inventory and ACOKC production inventory.

Requirements

Qualifications

Education & Experience

•        Bachelor’s degree – (Arts Administration, Event Management, Business, Marketing, or Related Field)
•        5 + Years of progressive event management or festival director-level experience, preferably within arts/non-profit/cultural organizations.

Project & Program Management

• Demonstrate experience with large-scale, multi-day public events.
• Strong budgeting and financial management skills: comfortable managing complex budgets, revenue streams, and expense forecasting.
• Strategic thinker with close attention to detail and strong organization skills; able to manage multiple projects and deadlines in a fast-paced environment.

Community & Partnership Aptitude

•        Proven ability to secure sponsorships, partnerships, and develop funding relationships
•        Easily builds strong working relationships, with the ability to recruit and manage volunteers successfully.
•        Excellent leadership and people-management skills.

Communication Skills

• Outstanding verbal and written communication.
• Public-facing presence required.
• Knowledge of Excel, Google Suite, Adobe, Canva, and Microsoft Office. 

Work Style

• Flexible availability, including readiness to work during events, lunches, evenings, and weekends. Ability to work independently with minimum supervision and ability to work as part of a team. Ability to be flexible and respond quickly to change.

Desired Attributes

•        Creative and visionary: able to envision the festival’s future, propose new initiatives, enhance attendee/artist experience.
•        Collaborative: works well with internal teams, community partners, sponsors, and artists.
•        Resilient: comfortable managing stress, shifting priorities, problem-solving on the fly.
•        Passionate about the arts and community impact: believes in the power of the arts to transform communities, and can articulate that mission.

Physical Requirements

• Events require the ability to spend an extended duration standing and the ability to lift 50 pounds.
• Willingness to work outdoors and in various weather conditions during events.
• Ability to operate a personal vehicle.

Compensation & Benefits

• Salary commensurate with experience.
• Benefits include health, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance – at no cost to the employee.
• 401(k) retirement plan and 15 paid holidays annually.
• 10 sick days annually and accrued PTO.

Originality Requirement – Use of AI

Creativity and personal expression are central to our mission. To maintain the integrity of our hiring process, all applicants must submit original, personally written materials. By applying, you confirm that your cover letter and other application materials are your own work and not generated by AI or automated tools.

Starting salary $60,000.00

Please submit your resume and cover letter to info@artscouncilokc.com. Deadline to apply 1/30/2026.

Arts Council Oklahoma City is an equal opportunity employer and strongly encourages applicants from all backgrounds to apply.