Senior Event Officer | Full-time Permanent

Australian Capital Territory; Canberra; Hybrid; AUD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

The ACT Government's Health and Community Services Directorate is seeking a Senior Event Officer to help deliver the National Multicultural Festival in Canberra. You will coordinate creative programs, schedules, operations, and volunteers while managing contracts and grants with diverse communities.

The role requires strong administration, communication, and stakeholder engagement, with capacity to work outside standard hours during the event delivery period and to collaborate with Aboriginal

Qualifications

• Highly organised, detail-oriented, proactive with strong administration and communication skills.
• Experience working with diverse communities and stakeholders is valued.
• Ability to manage complex contracts and grants for public events.

Responsibilities

• Creative program development for the festival and related events.
• Scheduling, production coordination and event operations.
• Volunteer management and community engagement across diverse groups.
• Contract administration and grant management for event delivery.
• Liaison with artists, partners and stakeholders to ensure high-quality outcomes.

Skills

Event management

Stakeholder engagement

Grant management

Contract administration

Community engagement

Coordination

Multicultural experience

Job description

Details: Join the team behind Australia's largest celebration of cultural diversity. As a Senior Event Officer, you will help deliver the National Multicultural Festival, Canberra's flagship street event and one of Australia's most celebrated cultural festivals. Every year, the festival brings hundreds of thousands of visitors together to experience food, music, dance and traditions from around the world, showcasing the rich cultural diversity that makes Canberra such a welcoming and connected city.
This is a unique opportunity to contribute to a high-profile, nationally recognised event. Senior Event Officers may undertake a range of responsibilities including creative program development, scheduling, production coordination, event operations, volunteer management, and community engagement.
We are looking for an experienced and motivated event professional or cultural producer to support the planning and delivery of the National Multicultural Festival and, other events, programs and initiatives.The ideal candidate will be highly organised, detail-oriented and proactive, with strong administration, communication and stakeholder engagement skills.
They will be comfortable managing high volumes of process-driven work, including activities such as contract administration, grant management and program coordination, while maintaining accuracy and delivering high-quality outcomes. They will also have strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build positive relationships with artists, participants, volunteers, community organisations and stakeholders from diverse cultural backgrounds. Experience working with multicultural communities, whether through professional experience or lived experience, would be highly valued.
The Women, Youth, LGBTIQA+ and Multicultural Affairs Branch, within the Health and Community Services Directorate, delivers programs, services and events that strengthen inclusion, participation and community connection across the ACT. The Branch leads the National Multicultural Festival and other initiatives that celebrate and support Canberra's diverse communities.
We are committed to creating an inclusive environment where people with diverse thoughts, lived experience, and perspectives can thrive and contribute their unique talents to the ACTPS and ACT community. We encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people with disability, people with culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, veterans, younger and older workers, and people with diverse genders, sexes and sexualities to apply.
HCSD is an inclusive employer where all people are respected and valued for their contribution. We strongly encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people with disability, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, veterans, mature age workers, and people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ+).

Eligibility/Other Requirements:

• This role requires flexibility to work outside standard business hours during the event delivery period.
• As this role is likely to work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and young people, cultural awareness, the capacity to work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is highly desirable.

Note: Two positions are available. One position is permanent. One position is a temporary opportunity available from 31 August 2026 until 30 June 2027, with the possibility of extension (not exceeding 12 months) and/or permanency.
Appointment to each position will be based on the skills, experience and suitability of the successful applicant.
A Merit Pool will be established from this selection process and will be used to fill vacancies over the next 12 months.
This position operates under the ACT Government's hybrid working arrangements, providing flexibility to work from home and from an activity-based working (ABW) office environment.

The ACT public service is committed to closing the gap, underpinned by the belief that when Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have a genuine say in the design and delivery of policies, programs and services that affect them, better life outcomes are achieved. More information can be found here ACT Closing the Gap Implementation Plan - ACT Government Transparency Portal .