Executive Director – Food & Wine Festival

About the role

The Executive Director will lead the Columbia Food & Wine Festival, overseeing all aspects of planning, sponsorship, marketing, and execution. Reporting to The Post and Courier’s events division, this senior position manages the festival’s budget, staff, and external partners to deliver a successful annual event and related off‑season activities.

Key responsibilities

• Direct the full lifecycle of the Columbia Food & Wine Festival, from concept through post‑event reporting.
• Create, monitor, and adjust the annual festival budget and individual event budgets to meet revenue and profit targets.
• Lead a team of contracted event planners, marketing partners, vendors, and internal staff, ensuring timely delivery of all milestones.
• Negotiate scopes of work and contracts with contractors, sponsors, talent, farms, media partners, and other stakeholders.
• Secure and manage sponsorships, working closely with the Free Times advertising sales team.
• Represent the festival at networking events, media interviews, and industry conferences.
• Oversee government funding relationships, including HTAX requests and reporting.
• Coordinate ticket sales platforms and ensure accurate invoicing, revenue recognition, and expense payments.

Required profile

• Proven experience in P&L management and achieving budgeted revenue and net‑income goals.
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to manage cross‑functional teams and external partners.
• Excellent communication and relationship‑building abilities with sponsors, media, and public officials.
• Demonstrated success in event planning, sponsorship sales, and contract negotiation.

Required skills

• Budget creation and financial oversight.
• Sponsorship acquisition and partnership development.
• Contract negotiation and scope of work definition.
• Event planning and execution.
• Government funding administration (HTAX processes).