Officer, Festivals and Events
Level 4
Temporary, Specified Purpose Contract, Full-Time
- The specific purpose of the contract is to cover a maternity leave
Job Purpose
As part of Fáilte Ireland's Festivals and Events Division, the role of the Festivals and Events Officer supports the development and growth of a vibrant tourism-focused festivals and events portfolio that drives destination development, regional growth, and tourism competitiveness.
Through collaboration with stakeholders and industry partners, the role helps deliver high-quality experiences that enrich communities and attract visitors, while generating sustainable economic, cultural, environmental, and social value through strengthened festival and event capacity, innovation, and the extension of tourism activity beyond peak season.
Job Description
Strategic
Work with the Festivals and Events Manager to implement key strategic development priorities into operational plans and deliverables.
Support a strategically aligned portfolio of tourism focused festivals that drive international and domestic visitors and generate economic impact.
Work with the Festivals and Events Manager on assessment models for funded festivals and economic impact reviews.
Manage Fáilte Ireland–led festivals and initiatives to include Ireland Home of Halloween, Púca Festival and Ireland’s St Patrick’s Festivals, to ensure digital tools are harnessed and growth opportunities to drive off–peak demand and balanced regional growth are maximised.
Actively seek market knowledge from internal and external sources to inform business planning and strategy.
Work with industry partners, state agencies, local authorities to strengthen alignment between festivals, destination strategies and broader demand initiatives.
Product and Destination Development
Support Festivals to seek innovative approaches to leverage opportunities and media/promotional/sales conversion activity, and to adapt to changing market conditions.
Contribute towards development and implementation of aligned product/experience development and capacity building initiatives specific to strategy deliverables as they arise.
Support team to deliver on the development and operations of key strategic initiatives such as Ireland Home of Halloween, Púca Festival and Ireland’s St Patrick’s Festivals.
Work closely with other divisions in Fáilte Ireland to deliver on cross functional growth strategies e.g. Regional Programme Teams, Consumer Planning and Insights, Strategy Management and Investment Analysis, Enterprise Development, Commercial Development, Marketing, Digital etc. Undertake post-event evaluations and incorporate learnings to future plans and activity.
Integrate and align festival development plans with organisational sustainability, accessibility, diversity and inclusion objectives and key deliverables.
Industry and Stakeholder Engagement.
Develop and maintain relationships with key stakeholders such as local authorities, public agencies, festival and event organisers and tourism industry partners to collectively deliver agreed plans and objectives, and ultimately a ‘best in class’ visitor experience aligned to destination development goals.
Feed into and support delivery of the Festivals Engagement Plan including communication mapping and CRM integration. Present to stakeholders and industry where required.
Ensure that processes and communications with festivals are clear and effective. Constantly work to ensure consistency of approach and maximise effectiveness.
Provide regular feedback from stakeholders to the organisation.
Develop and harness industry and destination networks to actively collaborate to gain buy-in and commitment on project priorities and areas of focus.
Build robust working relationships and networks with key cultural/art organisations and public bodies to identify synergy projects and maximise collective investment
Operational & Governance
Support the Festivals and Events Manager and wider team in the delivery of divisional KPIs.
Manage multiple projects and deadlines, and navigate an effective path to deliver on agreed KPIs
Lead out on project plans including planning, resourcing and budgets. Adhere to Fáilte Ireland budgetary processes, tracking spend, and triggering remedial actions should variances occur.
Compile and track project status to assess and report performance against agreed programme KPIs. Create contingency plans and manage issues and risks at project level.
Manage operational support resources and performance reviews.
Ensure communication internally and externally is professional, consistent, timely and relevant.
Maintain all required documentation for internal and external audits
Prepare tender documentation and ensure that any procurement of work from a third party is implemented in line with the Fáilte Ireland procurement policy.
Deliver documentation for meetings of Fáilte Ireland’s Exec, the Investment Committee, and the Fáilte Ireland Authority.
Respond to information requests from the industry, their representative bodies, government departments, local authorities and the public.
Chair project meetings and record, produce and distribute actions of meetings where required.
Adhere to all Failte Ireland policies e.g. finance, human resources, ICT & corporate.
General
Carry out all other duties as required and participate as a full member of the Festivals and Events Team by supporting alternative work projects, as required.
This role requires the flexibility to travel, with attendance at a number of national and regional locations/sites on an annual basis
This role will require working unsocial hours including some bank holidays with regular attendance at Dublin-based divisional and project meetings.
Person Specification
Essential Criteria
Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
Flexible, enthusiastic and have good attention to detail.
Strong team player
Demonstrate initiative and continually deliver to high standards and best practice.
In order to be eligible to apply for this role you must have / demonstrate in your application form the following:
A minimum of 3 years' experience in a relevant role in the public sector, business, product and/or destination development, project management.
Managing senior stakeholder relationships.
Effective and efficient project management and reporting skills.
Experience leading, managing and mentoring people
A high level of proficiency in CRM, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint any finance applications or systems
Qualifications/Mandatory Training
A professional qualification (min level 6 under the QQI framework) in business, management, project management, product development, or tourism
Desirable Criteria
Experience working within tourism, festivals/events or a related sector.
Strategy, innovation or product development experience.
Sales experience including converting ambitious sales targets and pipeline growth
Event management experience
Key Competencies
Office Location and Blended Working:
We do not ask for addresses as part of the application process, however it is the responsibility of the candidate to acknowledge the base location of the role. The successful candidate must regularly work from and attend the base office location of the role
Please note: Remote working from outside the State is not permitted other than in exceptional circumstances. As this role is within the Irish public service, the post-holder must carry out a minimum of 80% of their working time within the State (Republic of Ireland). Candidates who reside in Northern Ireland must be able to meet this requirement.
Selection Process:
Shortlisting will be based on applications and the selection process may involve two competency based interviews. A panel of successful candidates may be formed following the selection process.
Interview Attendance Requirement:
Candidates must be available to attend an in-person interview at the location and date specified by Fáilte Ireland. Please note that the location of the interview may vary from the base location of the role.
Fáilte Ireland is an equal opportunities employer and is committed to fostering an inclusive workplace which values and benefits from the diversity of the workforce. We encourage you to reach out to us directly at [email protected] should you require assistance or reasonable accommodation during the recruitment process.
