Events Officer

The JobsBoard; Canterbury; Hybrid; GBP 33,000 - 40,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Local government pension scheme

23 days annual leave + bank holidays

Cycle to work scheme

Training and development allowances

Employee discounts

Job summary

Canterbury City Council is seeking an Events Officer to act as the central contact for event applications across council services and external partners, coordinating permissions and reviewing proposals to ensure legal, safety and operational requirements are met.

The role focuses on managing a varied portfolio of applications, guiding organisers through procedures, mitigating risks, and maintaining accurate records, with flexible hours, hybrid working, and a commitment to public spaces safety.

Qualifications

• Experience of small and large scale event management.
• Experience managing events in public open space.
• Experience of partnership and collaborative working.
• Budget management experience.
• Experience of managing high profile events.

Responsibilities

• Support community groups, charities and commercial organisers to hold safe and well managed events on council owned public open spaces.
• Provide advice and guidance to event organisers on industry best practice, event safety management and relevant legislative requirements.
• Coordinate consultation and approval processes across council departments and partner agencies, including emergency planning and Safety Advisory Group representatives where appropriate.
• Build and maintain positive relationships with event organisers, residents, businesses, council services and partner organisations.
• Identify potential safety, operational, environmental and reputational risks and work collaboratively with partners to agree suitable mitigations. Maintain accurate records and manage a diverse caseload of events, ensuring deadlines and statutory requirements are met.
• Manage event applications from initial enquiry through to approval, ensuring organisers provide all required information within agreed timescales.
• Review event management documentation, including risk assessments, site plans, traffic management proposals and operational plans, ensuring applications meet required standards.
• There will be the opportunity to occasionally support the council in direct event delivery and event management.

Skills

Outdoor event management

Health and safety

IT skills

Job description

What’s in it for you?

A Salary of £36,291.51

Cost of living pay award negotiated annually as a salary increase

Flexible, hybrid working – we understand the importance of a good work-life balance.

We offer a generous annual leave entitlement! You’ll receive 23 days annual leave which increase with service, plus bank holidays, PLUS 3 given days which are usually used over the Christmas period when our main offices are closed. You’ll also have the option to buy more annual leave.

A fantastic local government pension scheme.

We’ll support and encourage your career by providing excellent opportunities for training and development.

Employee benefits, including multiple retailer and lifestyle discounts to help you get the most out of your money and enjoy your free time.

An easier commute: free use of Canterbury’s Park and Ride, flexi bus tickets, and a cycle to work scheme.

Stay healthy: Access to free counselling, advice and webinars through our employee assistance programme, as well as contributions to the cost of Flu Jabs.

About this role:

This is a unique opportunity to play a key role in enabling community and commercial events to take place safely and successfully across the district's public open spaces.

As Events Officer, you will act as the central point of contact for event applications, working with organisers, council services and external partners to coordinate permissions, review event proposals and ensure all required information is submitted and assessed appropriately.

This is not primarily an event delivery role. Instead, you will manage a varied portfolio of event applications, guiding organisers through council processes, coordinating input from multiple departments and agencies, identifying and mitigating risks, and ensuring that applications meet legal, safety and operational requirements.

The role requires excellent organisational skills, attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple projects, stakeholders and deadlines simultaneously.

Here’s what you’ll get up to:

• You will support community groups, charities and commercial organisers to hold safe and well managed events on council owned public open spaces.
• You will provide advice and guidance to event organisers on industry best practice, event safety management and relevant legislative requirements.
• You will coordinate consultation and approval processes across council departments and partner agencies, including emergency planning and Safety Advisory Group representatives where appropriate.
• Build and maintain positive relationships with event organisers, residents, businesses, council services and partner organisations.
• Identify potential safety, operational, environmental and reputational risks and work collaboratively with partners to agree suitable mitigations. Maintain accurate records and manage a diverse caseload of events, ensuring deadlines and statutory requirements are met.
• Manage event applications from initial enquiry through to approval, ensuring organisers provide all required information within agreed timescales.
• Review event management documentation, including risk assessments, site plans, traffic management proposals and operational plans, ensuring applications meet required standards.
• There will be the opportunity to occasionally support the council in direct event delivery and event management.

Working Pattern

Flexible working hours around event delivery including evenings and weekends.

Permanent contract, 37 hours per week.

Hybrid working, with regular days in the new St Georges Lane offices in line with our Smarter Ways of Working Policy.

About You, the ideal Events Officer for the job:

Your knowledge

• You will have in-depth knowledge and understanding of Outdoor Event Management processes and health and safety requirements, with a good understanding of assessing risks in public open spaces.
• You will have a good understanding of the Purple Guide and industry standards linked to event planning for small and large events in public spaces.
• You will have strong IT skills to enable management of multiple systems and processes.

Your experience

• Experience of small and large scale event management
• Experience managing events in public open space
• Experience of partnership and collaborative working
• Budget management experience
• Experience of managing high profile events

Your skills

• Ability to assess and monitor risks
• Monitor measurable and meaningful performance targets
• Ability to work flexibly with different customer groups including but not limited to councillors, management, external organisations and the public
• Ability to manage multiple conflicting deadlines
• High level of problem solving, taking into consideration multiple sources of information
• High level of IT competencies

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion at Canterbury City Council.

We are committed to promoting equality and diversity in everything we do. We provide a safe and welcoming environment where everyone is valued, included, and respected.

Our diversity strengthens our ability to serve the diverse communities we support through our work.

To demonstrate this through our actions, all applications are anonymised for the shortlisting panel, allowing all applicants to be assessed on merit alone.