Senior Manager, Event Attraction & Partnerships

Socket.dev; Edmonton; On-site; CAD 90,000 - 135,000; Full time

Job summary

Explore Edmonton is seeking a Senior Manager, Event Attraction to position Edmonton as a leading destination for high-impact sport and cultural events. Reporting to the Director, Sport & Culture Events, you will guide strategy and lead its practical execution with industry, government, and internal partners.

The ideal candidate combines strategic thinking with strong relationship-building and negotiation skills, able to manage complex bids and develop high-performing teams while delivering

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Tourism, Marketing, Sport Administration, Business, or equivalent experience.
• 7–10 years of experience in sales, business development, client relationship management, or related field.
• Proven leadership of high-performing teams.
• Strong negotiation and relationship-building skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead implementation of Explore Edmonton’s event attraction strategy, translating priorities into target markets, sales plans, and measurable objectives.
• Lead the event attraction pipeline and priority rights-holder relationships to achieve established targets.
• Identify and pursue high-value national and international sport and cultural events.
• Lead priority bids, negotiations, opportunity assessments, and investment recommendations.
• Provide market intelligence and pipeline insights to support strategic planning and decision-making.
• Build strong relationships with rights holders, venues, hotels, government, and destination partners.
• Lead, coach, and develop the Event Attraction team.
• Strengthen processes, reporting, and performance measures to drive accountability and continuous improvement.

Skills

Sales

Business development

Client relationship management

Leadership

Negotiation

Strategic planning

Market intelligence

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Job description

Explore Edmonton is seeking a Senior Manager, Event Attraction to position Edmonton as a leading destination for high-impact sport and cultural events. Reporting to the Director, Sport & Culture Events, you will guide strategy and lead its practical execution with industry, government, and internal partners.

The ideal candidate combines strategic thinking with strong relationship-building and negotiation skills, able to manage complex bids and develop high-performing teams while delivering