Director, Business Development & Community Engagement

Push Operations; Toronto; On-site; CAD 160,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Push Operations is actively seeking a Director of Business Development & Community Engagement (the “Mayor of Mirvish Village”) to source revenue opportunities and build sponsor partnerships within Toronto’s Mirvish Village. The role focuses on driving revenue, site activation, and collaborations with tenants, sponsors and the local community.

You will lead signature events, manage stakeholder relationships, and represent the Village publicly, aligning with Peterson’s vision of vibrant places to

Qualifications

• Post-secondary diploma or degree in business, communications, marketing, hospitality, urban planning, community development, or a related discipline.
• Strong relationship-building and communication skills with stakeholders.
• Entrepreneurial, organized, and hands-on with sound judgment.

Responsibilities

• Source, build and manage a pipeline of sponsors, brands, hospitality groups, restaurants, retailers, event producers, and cultural or sporting organizations that can drive revenue, visitation, and awareness.
• Source, pitch, and coordinate collaborations that bring new audiences to the site and create value for the community, tenants, and stakeholders.
• Create and champion at least two signature annual events or festivals that establish Mirvish Village as a destination.
• Stay connected to Toronto’s hospitality, sports, concert, restaurant, retail, cultural, non-profit, local community stakeholders and event landscape to identify timely partnership and revenue opportunities.
• Lead non-traditional revenue opportunities beyond lease income, including sponsorships, branded activations, corporate events, community functions, venue or room rentals, amenity paid use, event packages, pop-ups, and tenant add-ons.
• Develop sponsor packages, partnership concepts, and revenue-generating offers that align with the Mirvish Village brand and enhance the community experience.
• Track prospects, outreach, outcomes, and lessons learned to support future growth.
• Support tenant visibility through promotions, introductions, and cross-tenant collaboration.
• Gather feedback, identify opportunities to improve and generate revenue from the resident, tenant, and visitor experience, and coordinate timely follow-up with the appropriate teams.
• Partner with Marketing and Communications to share tenant stories, sponsorships, events, and community highlights.
• Act as an ambassador for Mirvish Village, representing the Village professionally at networking, industry, media, and public-facing events.
• Monitor market, community, social media and industry feeds to identify risks, and opportunities, providing practical recommendations to leadership.
• Coordinate with Property Management to guide a high-quality on-site experience.
• Support special projects and represent Peterson with professionalism and sound judgment.
• Drive revenue and growth at the food and beverage component at Mirvish Village.
• Supervise the Director of Food and Beverage Operations, who has day-to-day oversight over the food and beverage operations.
• Supervise other direct employees as may be included, from time to time, to support execution on the role’s mandate.
• Grow event and sponsorship revenue in conjunction with Food and Beverage Operations.
• Providing oversight and leadership to direct employees and otherwise on site and managing the flow of work for such employees.
• Working with the team to establish and improve processes and procedures for optimum internal efficiencies and to govern how employees interact with tenants, users, community groups and other stakeholders.
• Coordinate activities and event calendars across the Village to support collaboration between tenants, partners, Property Management, Food and Beverage Operations, and other stakeholders.
• Prepare pro forma budgets, forecasts, business cases, and return on investment analyses for major events, activations, sponsorships, and other non-real estate operations.
• Using Peterson’s people management systems (recruitment, training, and development, communications, and performance management) to lead, manage and engage staff effectively and consistently to meet and plan for Peterson’s current and future operational needs.
• Respectfully and capably representing the best interests of Peterson in all internal and external dealings.

Skills

Relationship-building

Communication

Stakeholder management

Entrepreneurial mindset

Organizational skills

Education

Post-secondary diploma or degree in business/communications/marketing/hospitality/urban planning/community development

Tools

Microsoft 365

Job description

Director, Business Development & Community Engagement

• Bloor and Bathurst, Toronto ON
• Full-Time
• $160,000 - $180,000/year

Job Description

The Director of Business Development and Community Engagement (to be known as the “Mayor of Mirvish Village “) is responsible for sourcing revenue opportunities, building strategic relationships within the community and with sponsors, and driving revenue-producing foot traffic to the site. The role will be responsible for generative non-traditional real estate (e.g. residential and commercial) revenue and value at Mirvish Village and for leading overall site activation. This will include sourcing and converting sponsorships, collaborations, tenant add-ons, venue uses, and other non-traditional revenue opportunities that enhance the Mirvish Village experience.

Acting as the on-site connector and community relationship point-person, the role will work with tenants, residents, sponsors, partners, and the local and broader Toronto community to strengthen Mirvish Village as a vibrant destination supporting Peterson’s vision of creating exceptional places where people want to live, work, visit, and connect.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Business Development and Strategic Partnerships:

• Source, build and manage a pipeline of sponsors, brands, hospitality groups, restaurants, retailers, event producers, and cultural or sporting organizations that can drive revenue, visitation, and awareness.
• Source, pitch, and coordinate collaborations that bring new audiences to the site and create value for the community, tenants, and stakeholders.
• Create and champion at least two signature annual events or festivals that establish Mirvish Village as a destination.
• Stay connected to Toronto’s hospitality, sports, concert, restaurant, retail, cultural, non-profit, local community stakeholders and event landscape to identify timely partnership and revenue opportunities.

Sponsorships and Revenue Generation:

• Lead non-traditional revenue opportunities beyond lease income, including sponsorships, branded activations, corporate events, community functions, venue or room rentals, amenity paid use, event packages, pop-ups, and tenant add-ons.
• Develop sponsor packages, partnership concepts, and revenue-generating offers that align with the Mirvish Village brand and enhance the community experience.
• Track prospects, outreach, outcomes, and lessons learned to support future growth.

Tenant Success and Storytelling:

• Support tenant visibility through promotions, introductions, and cross-tenant collaboration.
• Gather feedback, identify opportunities to improve and generate revenue from the resident, tenant, and visitor experience, and coordinate timely follow-up with the appropriate teams.
• Partner with Marketing and Communications to share tenant stories, sponsorships, events, and community highlights.
• Act as an ambassador for Mirvish Village, representing the Village professionally at networking, industry, media, and public-facing events.

Operations and Continuous Improvement:

• Monitor market, community, social media and industry feeds to identify risks, and opportunities, providing practical recommendations to leadership.
• Coordinate with Property Management to guide a high-quality on-site experience.
• Support special projects and represent Peterson with professionalism and sound judgment.

Hospitality:

• Drive revenue and growth at the food and beverage component at Mirvish Village.
• Supervise the Director of Food and Beverage Operations, who has day-to-day oversight over the food and beverage operations.
• Supervise other direct employees as may be included, from time to time, to support execution on the role’s mandate.
• Grow event and sponsorship revenue in conjunction with Food and Beverage Operations.

Managerial Responsibilities

• Providing oversight and leadership to direct employees and otherwise on site and managing the flow of work for such employees.
• Working with the team to establish and improve processes and procedures for optimum internal efficiencies and to govern how employees interact with tenants, users, community groups and other stakeholders.
• Coordinate activities and event calendars across the Village to support collaboration between tenants, partners, Property Management, Food and Beverage Operations, and other stakeholders.
• Prepare pro forma budgets, forecasts, business cases, and return on investment analyses for major events, activations, sponsorships, and other non-real estate operations.
• Using Peterson’s people management systems (recruitment, training, and development, communications, and performance management) to lead, manage and engage staff effectively and consistently to meet and plan for Peterson’s current and future operational needs.
• Respectfully and capably representing the best interests of Peterson in all internal and external dealings.

QUALIFICATIONS

1. Academic, technical and professional competence

• Post-secondary diploma or degree in business, communications, marketing, hospitality, urban planning, community development, or a related discipline.
• Relevant certifications in business development, placemaking, tourism, hospitality, or community engagement are considered an asset.

2. Experience and Technical Skills:

• 8+ years of experience in business development, partnerships, sponsorships, hospitality, destination marketing, placemaking, retail or related field.
• Proven ability to source, pitch, and manage partnerships, sponsorships, and revenue opportunities that drive visitation and measurable value.
• Strong awareness of Toronto’s hospitality, sports, concert, restaurant, retail, cultural, and event landscape, with the ability to translate market trends into partnerships.
• A strong connection to the Mirvish Village neighborhoods and community is considered an asset.
• Excellent relationship-building, communication, and stakeholder management skills, with confidence representing a brand in public-facing settings.
• Entrepreneurial, organized, and hands-on, with sound judgment and the ability to manage competing priorities through to completion.
• Proficiency with Microsoft 365 and comfort learning new tools, platforms, and technologies.
• Comfortable working flexible hours, including occasional evenings and weekends.

3. Personal Aptitudes:

Demonstrates attributes consistent with the Petersons’ Core Values

• Relationships: We value and care about our relationships and treat everyone with dignity, respect and trust.
• Integrity: We keep our promises and hold ourselves personally accountable for delivering on our commitments, acting with honesty and fairness.
• Entrepreneurship: We continuously seek opportunities and challenge ourselves to find better ways of creating value.We believe diverse approaches, opinions, and experiences contribute to better outcomes for our stakeholders
• Gratitude: We are grateful for the opportunities we are given.We support initiatives that affect positive change in our communities and value the skills, strengths and perspectives of our team.