Senior Events and Festivals Officer - Operations

Hume City Council seeking an experienced Senior Events & Festivals Officer responsible for leading the Major Events planning and delivery.

Hume City Council is one of Australia’s fastest growing and culturally diverse councils. We put the customer and our community at the centre of all that we do, ensuring our services are efficient and accessible.

The Senior Events and Festivals Officer – Operations is responsible for leading the planning, coordination, and execution of diverse events and festivals across the City, including Major Events, multicultural festivals, and community celebrations. This position requires an experienced operations professional with demonstrated expertise in site management, event logistics, and risk, safety, and emergency management compliance.

What you’ll be doing:

• Lead Event Operations: Direct the planning, coordination, and execution of events and festivals from concept through post-event completion, ensuring comprehensive attention to operational detail, quality standards, and compliance with all applicable risk, safety, and emergency management regulations.
• Manage Risk, Safety, and Emergency Compliance: Conduct risk assessments for all events, develop and implement comprehensive safety protocols and emergency response plans, ensure compliance with local, state, and federal safety regulations, and maintain detailed documentation of all risk mitigation measures and safety procedures.
• Manage Permits and On-Site Operations: Administer the event permitting process with emphasis on safety and compliance requirements, oversee on-site logistics including vendor coordination, enforce safety protocols, implement contingency planning, and maintain emergency management procedures to ensure events operate smoothly and safely.
• Coordinate Stakeholder Engagement: Collaborate with internal departments, external vendors, emergency services, and community partners to achieve event objectives while maintaining safety and compliance standards, addressing operational and safety challenges with professionalism and strategic problem-solving.
• Conduct Post-Event Evaluation: Maintain comprehensive event documentation including risk assessments, safety incident reports, and compliance records; conduct post-event assessments to identify lessons learned regarding safety and emergency management effectiveness, and inform continuous improvement of future events.

The skills and experience you’ll bring to the role:

• Problem solving skills and sound independent judgment within broad goals, policies, and relevant legislation, to ensure the delivery of identified events and festivals outcomes occur within regulatory and budgetary requirements.
• Extensive knowledge of statutory and regulatory compliance issues as they relate to public events and festivals.
• Proficient in operational planning, delivery, and evaluation of events ensuring they are safe, well managed, accessible, and compliant.
• Providing direction and support to staff by leading, supervising, and developing staff under their direction to ensure the successful delivery of operational outcomes.
• Well-developed project management skills to ensure that multiple projects, programs and events, are delivered on time, on budget with strong communication to stakeholders.
• Excellent communication and engagement skills, including the ability to facilitate meetings, develop networks and represent Council positively in relation to event permitting, planning and delivery.

Required Certifications & Qualifications

• Degree or Diploma in Event Management or a related field, with relevant experience in event operations, site delivery, and safety planning; or lesser formal qualifications with substantial experience in similar roles.
• Comprehensive knowledge of local government operations, statutory requirements, permits, and compliance obligations relevant to event delivery, with an understanding of public safety, risk, and emergency management frameworks.
• Proven experience in event site planning, operational logistics, contractor coordination, and on-site delivery, including traffic and crowd considerations, bump in and bump out, and the implementation of event risk and safety controls within a local government setting.
• Experience in developing and implementing event management plans that integrate program requirements with site operations, safety management, risk mitigation, and emergency preparedness, ensuring events are delivered safely, on time, and within budget.
• Strong project and operational management skills, with the ability to oversee complex event activities, monitor compliance, coordinate stakeholders, respond to operational issues, and support safe and effective event delivery across multiple sites and timelines.
• Current driver’s licence.