Festival Director - part-time, moving to full-time in 2027

Castlemaine State Festival - 2028 Festival Director Are you the right person to lead Victoria’s pre-eminent regional arts festival?

The Castlemaine State Festival is a biennial arts and cultural festival located on Dja Dja Wurrung Country in central Victoria.

Grounded in unique heritage spaces, landscapes and arts venues, its diverse multi-arts program embraces the wealth of local creatives and creativity within the region. Creative collaborations, be they local or global, fuel its aspiration to be “a festival experience like no other”.

The CSF Board is seeking to appoint a passionate and exceptional individual to be the 2028 Festival Director who will lead and have oversight of all aspects of the 2028 Festival including:

• artistic direction and creative collaborations
• marketing and communications
• budgets and financial planning
• production and logistics
• staff, contractors and volunteers

 In partnership with the Board, the Festival Director will:

• lead and develop the 2028 Festival Fundraising Action Plan

 As the 2028 Festival Director, the ideal candidate will demonstrate:

• experience as a well-regarded creative industries leader with a minimum of 5 years in a leadership role
• an inspiring track record curating, developing and producing multi-arts events and/or programs , ideally in a festival context
• proven ability to develop and manage budgets, oversee production plans and event logistics
• experience identifying fundraising opportunities and securing support
• knowledge of program marketing and communications
• ability to work collaboratively with a wide range of colleagues and stakeholders resulting in a cooperative and supportive culture
• ability to inspire the Festival’s broad range of supporters and donors

Salary $130,000 FTE; part-time will be pro rata of that amount. The successful candidate will need to be based at the Goods Shed premises in Castlemaine, Victoria, Australia for a material portion of the year, in a flexible part time role, moving to full time from July 2027. The role ends 30 June 2028, subject to possible renewal.

Applications close at 5pm AEDT Friday 19 June 2026, please apply by email to [email protected]  

For a Candidate Information Package and further enquiries, please email [email protected]